EP118: Retrained Search – Identifying Clients for Retained Model

All-In Recruitment is a podcast by Manatal focusing on all things related to the recruitment industry’s missions and trends. Join us in our weekly conversations with leaders in the recruitment space and learn their best practices to transform the way you hire.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

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Lydia: Welcome to the All-In Recruitment podcast by Manatal, where we explore best practices, learnings, and trends with leaders in the recruitment space. If you like our content, please subscribe to our channels on YouTube and Spotify and stay tuned for our weekly episodes.

I'm your host, Lydia, and this week we have Louise Archer, who's the founder of Retrained Search. A pleasure to have you with us, Louise

Louise: Thank you, Lydia. It's an absolute pleasure to be here.

Moving to a Retained Model

Lydia: So tell us about your company, Louise. What's the story behind that?

Louise: I was a contingent recruiter for a long time—about 13 years—and I was frustrated with the way I would work on fees but it wouldn't result in anything. I'd be working really hard to find candidates, and then the client might fill it internally, or something might happen, and either I or another agency would place it. Luckily, someone taught me how to move to a retained model, which meant I was working with committed clients, and everything I worked on resulted in a fee because of that financial commitment. It really surprised me that nobody had taught me how to do it before and that more people aren't working in that way.

I didn't change the level I was working at. I was working at a mid-level—not senior or executive work at all. And I didn't change the market I was working in. I just changed the model I used. I'd had training on how to sell retainers before, but it hadn't, it hadn't worked, and the particular way I was taught this time just worked really well for me. The company I was working for then asked me to start teaching people internally how to do what I had done, and it kind of grew arms and legs and turned into a fully blown company.

So now I run a firm called Retrained Search, and we have a training program that teaches contingent recruiters how to move from contingent—either all or in part—to retained. And we operate all over the world now.

Lydia: Do you have any success stories to share?

Louise: We've taught about 1,500 recruiters how to move to retain model. Most of them had no experience working on a retained basis at all. One of the teams I taught won their first-ever retained project on a $500,000 US basic salary. It was a $90,000 US dollar fee—the biggest fee the firm had ever seen by three times, and they won it on a retained basis. That was just the start. We have firms that, after just three months of working with us, are fully retained, whereas before, they had no retained revenue at all. I think we're at about $35 million in retained revenue now from our members. It's difficult to count, but from what we've counted, you could say that we have quite a big impact on people's careers.

Lydia: So how does it work? Is it in the community? Is this training on a subscription basis? Do they come back? Do they have refreshes and how long does it last?

Louise: Originally we run an eight-week program, and that's the kind of what we call the foundation course. That takes the recruiters on a journey from the mindset through to learning how to sell and learning how to deliver, which is such a crucial component of it and around that there's wraparound support of live coaching weekly and the community and all the documents and all the support.

So you actually get 12 months working with us when you join with us. So it's a journey and it doesn't just happen overnight. We take it one step at a time. Some people take it slowly and some people just want to run at it, and that's okay. We tailor it to work for you.

How to Guarantee 95-100% Fill Rates in Recruitment

Lydia: I also understand looking at the website and also having a quick chat with you, pretty sure that the training also guarantees agencies ways to achieve, and I quote, 95% to 100% fill rate and for customer revenue. So what elements go into making this happen?

Louise: The way to achieve those kinds of fill rates is by working with a financial commitment from your client. But it's not just that. The financial commitment from the client often isn’t the thing that solves the challenge of, say, a difficult, challenging, niche, or awkward hire.

It’s the process you put in place to deliver and execute that search that makes the difference. So, as I was taught, the retained solution is the financial commitment from the client, which allows you to establish a robust process designed to solve that particular problem, whether it’s a low-level multi-hire campaign, a mid-level niche critical hire, or a senior, executive, or confidential hire.

The delivery model does depend on the level and complexity of the assignment, but fundamentally, the success rate is based on the client’s commitment to work on the project with you and to provide what you need from them at every stage of the process. This allows you to put in place a process that you know will guarantee a result. That’s what the financial commitment enables—you can execute research and put the client in a position where they’re confident they're making their decision based on all of the talent available to them in the market at this time, and the best of that talent. And that’s why the typical retained completion rate is now between 95% and 100%.

Lydia: How can contingent recruiters identify the kind of clients who might be good candidates for retained search for this kind of model?

Louise: That's a really good question because most people think it’s for senior or executive hires, and therefore, that’s what you’re looking for when seeking opportunities for retained. But actually, what I found is that the retained model can be applied at any level. In fact, the best way I’ve found to apply a retained model in many cases is where the contingent model isn’t yielding the results that the client or the recruiter is looking for. So the best clients are those who aren’t having a good experience with a contingent model.

What I normally say is, if a client is getting what they want, when they want it, and it’s an enjoyable process using the methods they’re currently using, then leave them alone—let them carry on with what they’re doing. But most people aren’t, and that’s the beauty and ease of working with clients on a retained basis; most clients aren’t having a great time with a contingent model. So, I would say that anyone who isn’t having a good experience—if they’re either not getting what they want, or not getting it when they want it, or if they’re not particularly enjoying the process—then they’re excellent candidates for a retained partnership. The retained model is able to solve the challenges that the contingent model doesn’t.

Lydia: So I think the key, based on what I'm hearing, is in the process that you put in place with the client, and tailored solutions for different levels. I suppose that is the give and take in a retained search model.

Louise: Yes, there are some fundamentals that I’ve learned are non-negotiable, regardless of the level of the position. But then, there are flexible elements—for example, behavioral profiling. You might want to do technical testing if it’s a warehouse operative position, but it would probably be more important to do behavioral and personality profiling if it’s a leadership position, for instance. So, there are elements that would vary, but there are core parts of the mechanics of a retained solution to ensure you reach a result that I’ve found can’t be adjusted—like not drip-feeding candidates through a process.

For instance, taking the brief, executing the search, and presenting all the candidates at the same time allows the client to make the best decision, rather than seeing one candidate and having to make a decision based on just that one, without seeing any of the others. So, yeah, there are some components that are flexible and some that are obligatory, if you like.

Lydia: What might be some common objections that clients have to retain search and from the recruiter's point of view, how can they address them?

Louise: I mean, you get all sorts. It depends on the situation in which you’re making the recommendation. Let’s say this is a client who’s only ever worked on a contingent basis and they’ve never done retained. They’ll often say, "Why should I pay you upfront? Nobody else is asking me for money upfront. Why should I do this?" That’s quite a common one. So to that, I would say, "I’m not suggesting that you should do anything differently than what you would normally do, but what you shared with me was that you’re frustrated with the quality of candidates coming through for this position, or the volume, and the fact the position is still open after, you know, four months. And so this is the way to solve the problem, and I’d like the opportunity to show you."

So that’s one. You also get things like, "What happens if I don’t fill it? What happens if you don’t fill it?" Or, "We’ve never had to do this before. Why do we have to do it now?" So yeah, I mean, I can share how I would overcome those too, if you want me to.

Obviously, if you don’t fill it—the reality is that it’s about what I can guarantee and what I can’t guarantee. What I can’t guarantee is that you’ll end up with the perfect candidate because I can’t guarantee that the perfect candidate exists. I can’t guarantee that the person with the exact skill set you’re looking for, with the exact company background, and at the salary you’re willing to pay is ready to make a move to you right now. I can’t create people, and I can’t force people to do things against their will. But it’s about what I can guarantee.

I can guarantee that I’ll take a thorough brief and align that brief as closely as possible with what exists in the market, using both my knowledge and yours. I can then guarantee that we’ll systematically identify all of the people who appear to meet that brief across the relevant talent pool, geographical areas, or target companies.

I can guarantee that we’ll present the most compelling message possible to every single one of those people and that we’ll bring all of the candidates that are humanly possible to the table.

At the end of this process, I can guarantee that you’ll be making your decision from all of the people available to you in the market at this time. And if, for any reason, you decide not to make a hire from what’s available, you’ll have all the data, intelligence, and evidence to make an informed decision about what to do instead. That’s the best position anyone can put you in, and I’d like to be the one to do that.

Maximizing Tech for Every Step in Retained Searches

Lydia: Speaking of data, it will definitely come hand in hand with technology. So how much technology plays a part in making sure you've got that robust process put in place, and in terms of managing the expectations of the client, how important is technology here?

Louise: That's a good question. I mean, technology plays a part in every stage of, well, our lives, doesn’t it? But specifically in a retained process, it isn’t necessarily about one piece of technology being essential. It’s about maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of each stage of the process. So, let’s say, for example, you’re at the research stage and identifying all of the candidates, either across a location or within target companies. We’ve used multiple different methods and various technologies to do that. We might be using LinkedIn, probably some kind of data or sourcing tool, like SignalHire or Lusha, to get phone numbers. We’re also looking at publicly available data across the internet, like speaker notes or company websites.

So, there are hundreds of these technologies that you can use throughout your research, but no single piece is the complete answer. The reality is, it’s probably not much different from the tech you’re using on a contingent basis, but because you’re working on a retained partnership, you’re able to thoroughly carry out each stage to ensure that every stone is unturned and every candidate is reached in every possible way. Of course, you don’t get the luxury of time to do that on a contingent basis, because, well, someone might have already sent a CV before you’ve even had the chance to start doing that.

Lydia: Now, in terms of the delivery process, how does this process refer to routine searches compared to contingent?

Louise: It depends, because some contingent recruiters are just throwing CVs at the wall and hoping some of it sticks, and some contingent recruiters I’ve met—and I would probably put myself closer to that bracket—are very thorough in their approach to research and finding candidates. So, the biggest difference really is the process and the timescales by which you’re moving through each stage. Because you’re able to have a fixed process and a timescale set out with the client, you’re able to fully execute the research stage before moving into the longlisting and shortlisting stages.

There’s no danger of submitting a candidate and then thinking there might be better candidates out there. You actually reach a stage where you can be certain you’re putting your client in a position to go ahead and make their decision from the best of the talent available to them in the market at this time, and that’s one of the biggest differences in the execution process.

Exploring Career Paths in Talent Acquisition

Lydia: Now, final question Louise, given all these different models and the different results that we see from switching the models, as you have seen in your career, what advice would you give someone who is just starting out in recruitment today, Louise?

Louise: That's a good question. I would say, know that there are different ways to work. I didn’t know when I first started, and they’re quite different, and there are different career paths within different talent acquisition models. I didn’t realize, for example, that talent mapping, talent pipelining, and talent insights could be a career. I didn’t know that there’s a route through executive and retained search firms that don’t involve sales. And I think when you’re just starting out, it’s worth investigating different models of talent acquisition before you embark on the journey.

Lydia: Thank you very much, Louise, for your time and these insights and I wish you all the best. You've had great success so far in Retrained Search, and I'm glad you're able to give that back to the community in something that you've learned 13 years into contingent recruitment.

So thanks again. For those listening in who might want to pick up a conversation with you or connect with you, where can they find you?

Louise: Of course. So it's Louise Archer, Retrained Search. I'm on LinkedIn quite often, so feel free to connect with me there. Our website is retrainedsearch.com and there's loads of information and helpful resources. Feel free to use those to help you in your journey wherever you are.

Lydia: Excellent. Thanks again, Louise. We have been in conversation with Louise Archer, founder of Retrained Search. Thank you for joining us this week, and remember to subscribe to stay tuned for more weekly episodes from All-In Recruitment.