Home › Retained Recruitment
Retained recruitment · UK & IrelandRetained recruitment, built on evidence
Before we search, we tell you in writing what's holding your hiring back. Then we fix it and fill your roles.
Watch how Retained Recruitment works
What you receive at each step: the written findings, the shortlist notes, the weekly numbers and the market map that stays with you. No registration needed.
Retained Recruitment in one line: one exclusive partner who works out why a hire is hard, from your salary and competitors to your online footprint, fixes what it finds and runs the search. Scoped and priced on a call.
The same role keeps coming back.
Re-advertising and paying for another search treats the vacancy. These are signs the cause is somewhere else.
- The same role has been advertised two or three times this year.
- You get applications, but not from the people you want.
- Good candidates drop out, or turn down the offer.
- People you approach have never heard of you.
- You don't know if your salary is competitive locally.
- You pay a fee every time and nothing is left once the hire starts.
We start with the evidence, not the advert.
Before any search goes out we look at six things and give you the findings in writing, each with the evidence behind it.
Market standing
How you compare as an employer with the businesses hiring the same people near you: the offer, flexibility, progression and what people say about working for you.
EvidenceTheir live adverts, your reviews and staff voice, side by side with yours
Salary and package
Where your pay sits against the local market for this exact role. If there aren't enough adverts to give a fair band, we tell you that instead of guessing.
EvidenceLive local adverts that state a salary, never a job board's estimate
Competitor analysis
Who else is hiring for the role in your area, how often they advertise, what they offer and how long their roles stay open.
EvidenceLive job adverts across the major boards
Market mapping
Where the people you need work today, by employer and location, and how many of them are realistically within reach of you.
EvidenceOur candidate database and LinkedIn reach across your commuting area
Online presence and footprint
What a candidate finds when they look you up: your careers page, whether your jobs appear in Google for Jobs, and whether AI assistants can see you at all.
EvidenceOur Recruitment Health Check, run on your own website
Adverts and process
How your adverts read, how long they stay live, whether the salary is shown, and where good applicants drop out between application and offer.
EvidenceYour adverts and your hiring timeline
The TalentFinder Hiring Framework: seven steps
Every retained engagement follows the same method, in three parts: diagnose, search, hire. Each step ends with something you can read, keep and reuse.
- Stage 1 · Diagnose
- 1
Diagnose and position
The six-part review, then what makes you worth joining, written in the terms candidates use when they weigh up a move.
You receiveFindings report and employer value brief
- 2
Brief and market map
A role brief built around what the person must achieve, which skills are essential and which can be trained, and where those people work today.
You receiveRole brief and market map
- Stage 2 · Search
- 3
Targeted attraction
Adverts rewritten and posted across the major job boards, direct approaches to people on the market map, our own candidate database and referrals.
You receiveAttraction plan and live adverts
- 4
Screening against your criteria
Must-haves and knockout criteria agreed with you from the brief. Every applicant and every approach is measured against them.
You receiveScreening matrix
- 5
Structured phone interview
Our recruiter interviews each strong candidate on competence against the brief, motivation to move, salary expectations, notice period and any concerns.
You receiveInterview notes on every candidate
- Stage 3 · Hire
- 6
Shortlist and your interviews
A shortlist report with a note on every name: why them, against which must-have, on what evidence. We then help you run a two-stage interview, with an optional task.
You receiveShortlist report, interview guide and scoring sheet
- 7
Offer and start
We manage the offer and the negotiation, prepare for a counter-offer, and stay in touch with your new starter through to their first day.
You receiveAn offer managed through to the start date
One partner, and you always know where it stands.
One exclusive partner
Candidates hear one consistent message about you, and nobody is approached twice by different firms.
A dedicated lead recruiter
One person who knows your brief, your market and your business, from the first call to the start date.
A weekly update with numbers
Each week you hear:
- how many people we approached
- how many replied
- how many were screened and shortlisted
- what the market is saying about your salary
The same standard we apply to our own numbers
Every finding we give you comes with its evidence. Here is ours.
The next hire starts from evidence, not from scratch.
Retained, or a single search?
| Service | What we do | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Retained Recruitment | Diagnose why hiring is hard, fix the causes, then search | A role keeps coming back, or you are hiring several and want it right |
| Guaranteed Hire | Advertise, headhunt and screen one role until it is filled | You know the role and the package, and need it filled |
| Executive Search | Market map and assessed shortlist for senior roles | The role pays £80,000 or more |
| Advertise a Job | Write and post your advert across the major boards | You want to run the process yourself |
Retained recruitment, answered
What is retained recruitment?
A recruitment engagement where one partner works on your hiring through a defined set of steps, instead of one advert or a race between several agencies. With us it starts with a diagnosis of why the hire is hard, then a search built on that evidence.
How is it different from Guaranteed Hire?
Guaranteed Hire fills one role for a flat fee: we advertise, headhunt and screen until it is filled. Retained is for when a role, or your hiring as a whole, keeps proving hard. We look at the causes first and fix them alongside the search, so the next hire is easier too.
How much does it cost?
We scope every retained engagement on a call, around how many roles you are hiring, their seniority and how much of the diagnosis you need. You get one figure for your engagement, agreed before any work starts.
What can you control, and what can't you?
We control the quality of the evidence, how widely we search, how carefully every candidate is screened and how often you hear from us. We cannot control the job market, a candidate's personal circumstances or your final decision. That is why we agree the measures at the start and report against them.
Why one partner instead of several agencies?
Candidates hear one consistent message about you, nobody is approached twice by different firms, and your role gets our full attention instead of being a race to send CVs.
Do I need a vacancy open right now?
No. Some clients start with the diagnosis before a hiring round, so their salary position, adverts and careers page are right before the roles go live.
Find out what's holding your hiring back
Book a call. We'll ask about the roles, tell you what we'd look at first and scope it with you, as soon as today or tomorrow.
Or call 0161 327 2895 · Not ready to talk? Run the free Health Check