Understanding contingency placement fees
How contingency hiring works, when you pay, and how it compares to retained and traditional agencies.
Contingency means you pay only on a hire
With a contingency model, there's no upfront cost and no subscription. You pay a fee only if you successfully hire a candidate we introduce — typically a percentage of the hire's first-year base salary. If you don't hire, you owe nothing.
How our fee is structured
Our fee is tiered by volume within a calendar year and by whether the role is standard or executive, starting at 12.5%. The more you hire through us in a year, the lower the rate on later hires. The full schedule — including timing, coverage windows, and terms — is on our Fee Terms page.
Contingency vs. retained vs. traditional agencies
Retained search charges upfront regardless of outcome, and traditional agencies often run 20–30% with less transparency. Contingency aligns our incentives with yours: we're paid when you make a great hire, not before. Because our candidates consent to your specific role before you see them, your shortlist is also genuinely interested — not a stack of unvetted résumés.
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