Retained vs. Contingent: Why Retained Search is the Smartest Choice for SME Hiring.

As a hiring manager at a growing SME, you face a unique challenge. You're competing with global brands for top talent, but a single bad hire can have a far greater impact on your business. You might feel you're spending too much time sifting through applications, yet the right candidate seems impossible to find.

If this sounds familiar, the solution may be in how you're hiring.

Many businesses use contingent recruitment. It's a highly effective model for many roles, but it has limitations when the stakes are high. For your most critical hires, a retained partnership is the most effective strategy for securing the high-impact talent your SME needs to grow.

This article explains the difference between the two models and will help you choose the right one for your next role.

What is Contingent Recruitment? (And Its Limitations)

Contingent recruitment is a popular and effective model where you engage one or more agencies to fill a role. You only pay the one who successfully places a candidate.

This model is built for speed and reach. It is an excellent choice for filling roles quickly, especially when a large pool of active candidates is available.

However, because agencies are in competition, the focus is naturally on being the first to submit a candidate. For an SME needing a precise, high-impact, or senior-level fit, this can present challenges:

• Focus on Active Candidates: The search is primarily focused on candidates who are actively on job boards, not the entire market.

• Less Strategic Depth: It's harder for an agency to dedicate exclusive, senior resources to a deep market-mapping exercise or to help you build your employer value proposition (EVP) for that role.

• Difficulty Accessing "Hidden Talent": The top performers (or "passive candidates") who aren't actively looking are often missed.

It's a powerful strategy for volume and speed, but it's not always the right tool for a high-stakes, strategic hire.

What is Retained Search? (A Strategic Partnership)

Retained search is an exclusive, dedicated partnership.

When you "retain" a specialist agency like Aspire, you pay a portion of the fee upfront. This secures a dedicated team of sector experts whose sole focus is filling your critical role.

This isn't just a service; it's a strategic process. We become an extension of your business, committing our senior resources to a comprehensive search.

It’s a strategy of quality, designed to guarantee the perfect fit.

4 Key Advantages of Retained Search for Your SME

For a high-stakes, high-impact role, a retained model provides unmatched value.

1. You Get Dedicated Focus (Quality over Quantity)

Our retained teams work on a small number of exclusive roles. This means we dive deep, investing time to understand your company culture, vision, and the precise competencies of the role.

We don't send you a stack of CVs. We send you a shortlist.

At Aspire, we provide an average of just 6 CVs for each successful placement. We do the rigorous vetting so you only spend time with high-calibre, fully-qualified individuals.

2. You Gain Access to the "Hidden" Talent Market

The best talent is rarely on a job board. A contingent search, which focuses on active job seekers, often misses them.

A retained search is designed to find them.

Our specialists proactively map the entire market and use our extensive networks to engage these "passive" individuals. In fact, 31% of our placements come directly from Aspire’s exclusive candidate database.

3. You Gain a True Strategic Partner

Our retained service goes beyond finding CVs. We provide strategic counsel to help you win the best talent. Our team, with an average of 15+ years of experience, partners with you to:

• Design the Brief: We help you define what "great" looks like.

• Create Your EVP: We help you build your "Employee Value Proposition" to attract candidates who may not know your brand.

• Manage the Process: We manage the entire candidate journey, ensuring a professional and positive experience that reflects well on your business.

4. You De-Risk Your Most Critical Hires

For an SME, a bad hire is a crisis. A retained search is the single best way to de-risk that decision.

Our process is built on precision and partnership, which is why it delivers.

• Aspire has a 97% success rate when working with retained clients.

• 96% of our placed candidates pass their probation period.

When you cannot afford to get it wrong, a retained partnership is the most secure path to success.

Choosing the Right Model: Contingent vs. Retained

Both models have their place. The key is to match the model to the role.

Choose a CONTINGENT search when:

• You need to fill a role quickly.

• The role is junior-to-mid-level.

• There is a large, active pool of candidates with the required skills.

Choose a RETAINED search when:

• The role is senior, executive, or C-suite.

• The hire is business-critical and will have a high impact on growth.

• The skillset is niche, rare, or in high demand.

• The search is confidential and cannot be publicised.

• Past contingent searches have struggled to find the right quality or fit.

The Aspire Difference: Stop Sifting, Start Strategising

For over 30 years, Aspire has connected the world’s most exciting brands—from global corporations to ambitious start-ups—with market-leading talent.

As your partner, our goal is to help you build the right talent strategy. Whether that's a fast-paced contingent search or a deep, strategic retained partnership, we have the expertise to deliver.

For your most critical hires, let's build a strategy that guarantees success. Stop leaving your growth to chance.

Submit Your Brief Today

Ready to build your team with the best? Contact our specialist team to learn more about our 97% successful Retained Search service.