Our Services

Retained Search

If you have a Director-level or above role to fill (or a confidential replacement position), you should conduct a Retained search. There are several reasons why:

• Candidates ask whether the search is Retained. Directors, VPs, and C-level Executives are extremely busy and don't want to waste their time with a company that doesn't value the position enough to conduct a Retained search. They know they are important to an organization and want to feel as such.
• You don't want mixed messages in the marketplace. When multiple Contingency search firms work on an Executive-level role, you inevitably get young, inexperienced recruiters articulating the wrong message and failing to properly explain or sell the opportunity. You lose great candidates who might otherwise have been interested.
• Executive searches require Executive-to-Executive communication. An experienced Executive Recruiter who truly understands your company, your culture, your needs, your industry, and the position can communicate at the level these candidates expect. You won't get this from junior Contingency Recruiters — and the candidate will recognize it and lose interest.
• Critical roles deserve a partner who won't quit. When you go the Retained route, you get a recruiting partner who works the search until it's filled. Typical Contingency recruiters work a role for a week or two and then give up.

Dedicated Engagement

Most companies aren't sure when to use Retained services or just go the typical Contingency route. This is one of the main reasons we created a third option — our Dedicated Engagement model. It's a hybrid, very often used by clients who aren't allowed to use Retained services and clients who have multiple positions to fill.

• If your organization isn't allowed to use Retained search firms, but this is a very important role: this isn't a retainer. You're simply paying a small upfront fee to engage our services.
• If you have multiple mid-level roles to fill (Managers or Senior Managers) because you're building out a new team or department, you probably can't get the blessing from Corporate to use a Retained firm. But because you have multiple positions open, you need much more attention and a higher level of service than you would get from a normal Contingency search.
• What you get with OSCR's Dedicated Engagement: a team of dedicated recruiters, the ability to change jobs or titles at any time, the freedom to add or delete roles, and a focus and attention you will not get from a typical Contingency search effort.

Contingency Search

This is the most common option companies use — and why not? It's free, and doesn't cost you anything unless you fill the role. You should go this route if you only have one role to fill, it is mid- to junior-level, and it is not a critical hire.

If these percentages of success are acceptable for your open position, Contingency is the right model. If not, we highly recommend our Dedicated Engagement offering.