Retained Services

RETAINED PERMANENT RECRUITMENT

A retained search is preferable in cases where a company has a pressing professional level need that requires a candidate who will hold key leadership responsibilities and whose services are integral to overall organisational success. The Retainer option is used primarily when a position must be filled within a specific period of time. 1st Aid International provides executive candidates on an exclusive basis. We guarantee an agreed-upon number of in-person interviews.

The Strategy

Under retained recruitment conditions, 1st Aid International acts as a fully 'outsourced' recruitment arm of your organisation and conducts a recruitment process on your behalf. The recruitment process is tailored to meet your organisation's specific needs, through detailed consultation and constant communication with you, the client.

With a retained assignment, the client generally pays one-third of the fee at commencement of the assignment; one-third upon delivery of a short list; and the balance upon successful placement of the ideal canditate. In this way, you, as the client, are paying for a ‘service’ in recognition of the time and materials that are expended in conducting the assignment.

Many organisations are inclined to engage several recruitment agencies on a contingent basis, rather than a single agency on a retained basis – in this situation, a placement fee is only paid if and when a suitable candidate is found. This method is not a reliable way to source employees, as recruitment agencies engaged on a non-exclusive contingent basis generally do not apportion the necessary resources and energy to the assignment, in the knowledge that other agencies are working on the same vacancy and that the chances of obtaining a fee are reduced.

Retaining a single agency on an exclusive basis enables the client to hold the agency accountable for the recruitment process. If multiple agencies are engaged, then control and accountability are lost, and the chances of finding a suitable candidate are reduced significantly. Further justification for exclusive engagements can be found under the heading ‘Why Engage Us' Exclusively.

With Solomon Cartwright, two senior account managers are designated to all retained assignments that we undertake. The recruitment process that we use is rigorous and parallels that of an offsite 'project management' methodology. A detailed search is conducted to find Ideal Candidates, who are then subjected to a comprehensive screening and interview process. Once a short list is determined, 1st Aid International will work closely with you to arrange interviews, undertake reference checks and to broker job offer to a network of recruiters, providing a certain anonymity to the search assignment and our clients.

1st Aid International produces a detailed written proposal for all retained recruitment assignments. The proposal contains an agreement which needs to be signed by the client before we can proceed. This service attracts a variable fee from 25-33% depending on the nature of the assignment. Typically it is harder to find senior medical personnel and fees are generally higher for these types of assignments.