Search Engagement Options

The right search model should match the importance of the hire.

Precision Placements offers engaged, retained and contingency executive search. The difference is not simply when a fee is paid. It is the level of shared commitment, search priority, market development and dedicated resources the assignment requires.

Discuss the Right Approach See Our Search Process

One Standard of Quality

Different structures. The same expectation of professionalism.

Every client deserves a search conducted with judgment, confidentiality and respect for the people involved. Every candidate we present is vetted before introduction, and every assignment begins with understanding the business need behind the position.

What changes from one engagement structure to another is the level of commitment we can make to the assignment: how aggressively we map the market, how much dedicated time we reserve, how broadly we approach passive candidates and how deeply we invest before a hire is made.

For a critical leadership search, the lowest-risk structure is not always the one with the least commitment at the beginning. The real question is which approach gives the company the best chance of hiring the right person.

Three Ways to Engage

Choose the level of partnership the assignment deserves.

We can recommend a structure after we understand the role, urgency, market and business consequences of the hire.

Balanced Commitment

Engaged Search

Engaged search—sometimes described as partially retained—is a hybrid structure for clients who want a search to receive dedicated priority while keeping a meaningful portion of the fee tied to a successful placement.

Best suited for

Important senior and executive roles where speed matters
Searches requiring proactive outreach to passive candidates
Clients who want priority attention without a fully retained structure
Assignments where both sides want a clear shared commitment

This structure has become an effective middle ground for searches that warrant dedicated resources but benefit from a success-linked fee component.

Deepest Commitment

Retained Search

Retained search is designed for the most critical, confidential or difficult assignments. The client and Precision Placements make a mutual commitment at the beginning, allowing us to devote the highest level of dedicated research, candidate development and market coverage to the search.

Best suited for

President, C-suite, VP and other business-critical leadership roles
Confidential replacements or sensitive succession searches
Rare profiles where the best candidates are unlikely to be actively looking
Searches where a missed hire would carry significant business cost

Retained assignments allow the search to be managed as a true consulting partnership from market strategy through candidate acceptance and transition.

Success-Based

Contingency Search

Contingency search remains available for appropriate assignments. There is no search fee due simply to begin the assignment; the fee becomes payable when a candidate we recruit is hired.

Best suited for

Clearly defined roles with a relatively accessible candidate market
Assignments that do not require the same depth of dedicated market mapping
Clients who prefer to keep the search primarily success-based
Situations where several recruiting channels may be operating at once

Because the client has made less commitment at launch, contingency assignments cannot always receive the same dedicated resource level as engaged or retained searches.

The Practical Difference

How the search structure changes the assignment.

The models are not different levels of recruiter effort after a candidate appears. They determine how much dedicated investment can be made before the right candidate has been found.

Search Element	Engaged	Retained	Contingency
Client commitment at launch	Shared commitment	Highest commitment	No upfront search fee
Search priority	Dedicated priority	Highest dedicated priority	Based on assignment and market activity
Direct market mapping	Targeted and proactive	Comprehensive	Selective as appropriate
Passive candidate outreach	Core part of the search	Core part of the search	Used where appropriate
Candidate assessment	In-depth vetting	In-depth vetting	Vetted before presentation
Fee structure	Initial engagement + success component	Milestone-based commitment	Success-based
Best fit	High-priority search with balanced risk	Critical or difficult executive search	Appropriate, accessible search assignments

Which Is Right for You?

Start with the consequence of getting the hire wrong.

The seniority of the title is only one consideration. A VP of Sales opening a new market, a plant leader inheriting a troubled operation, or a U.S. commercial executive building a business for an international manufacturer may each justify a deeper search even when the titles differ.

We look at the assignment through four questions:

01
How critical is the role?
What happens to revenue, operations, customers or strategy if the position remains open or the wrong person is hired?
02
How difficult is the profile to find?
Does the person need unusual technical experience, specific customer relationships, leadership depth or knowledge of a narrow market?
03
Are the best candidates actively looking?
If the likely hire is succeeding elsewhere, the assignment requires direct outreach and a compelling reason for that executive to engage.
04
How much priority does the search require?
Urgency, confidentiality and business impact determine how aggressively resources should be committed from the start.

Flexible by Design

The structure can fit the assignment—not the other way around.

We do not publish a one-size-fits-all fee schedule because executive searches are not all alike. Depending on the assignment, compensation structure, number of positions and expected scope, we can discuss salary-based fees, flat-fee arrangements or other structures that make sense for a longer-term partnership.

Our objective is to create enough mutual commitment to conduct the search properly while aligning the engagement with the client's priorities and expected return on the hire.

Start With the Search

Tell us what you need to accomplish. We will recommend the structure.

You do not need to decide between engaged, retained and contingency search before contacting us. Start with the role, the business challenge and the timeline.

All client conversations are confidential.

Discuss a Search 843-475-2699