Retained search
Retained search is an engagement where the client pays part of the fee before any candidate is presented, in return for a committed search to a deadline. The fee is usually paid in instalments, often thirds: on signing, on delivery of a shortlist and on the candidate starting.
Retained work is used where a contingent approach would not get the attention the role needs: senior hires, niche skill sets, confidential replacements where the incumbent is still in post, and roles the client has already failed to fill. It is exclusive by nature. The client is buying a process, typically a market map, a longlist, interviewed and referenced candidates on a shortlist, and regular reporting, rather than a stream of CVs.
A worked example. A client retains an agency to find a finance director on a £120,000 package at 30 per cent, a fee of £36,000. Split in thirds, £12,000 is invoiced when the engagement is signed, £12,000 when the shortlist is delivered and £12,000 when the candidate starts. If the client cancels the search after the shortlist, the agency has earned £24,000 for the work done, subject to what the terms say about cancellation. Fees on retained work are often a higher percentage than contingent and more often calculated on total package.
Variations are common. An engaged or container search takes a smaller upfront payment, often a fixed sum credited against the final fee, to secure commitment without the full retained structure. Some agencies retain on a fixed fee rather than a percentage so the fee does not move if the salary does.
Reporting is part of what is sold. A retained client expects to see the market the agency searched: how many people were approached, how many were interested and why the ones who declined said no. That report is often the difference between a retained client coming back for the next senior hire and taking it elsewhere. It also protects the agency when a search runs long, because it shows the work behind the second instalment.
Where it goes wrong: the milestone is vague, so nobody agrees whether a shortlist of two counts as delivered; the second instalment is never invoiced because nobody was watching the milestone; or the search is run like a contingent role, with CVs sent as they appear instead of a considered shortlist, and the client starts to wonder what the retainer bought.
How Vayora handles it
A retained engagement is set up on the role itself, under its Finance tab. Enter the total fee and Vayora splits it into three instalments, on engagement signed, on shortlist delivery and on candidate started, with the last absorbing any rounding, or you define your own. Each instalment is marked invoiced or paid from the panel, and the first time a milestone is marked, Vayora generates a real invoice so it appears in the invoices list, the PDF and reporting. The panel shows what has been invoiced, what has been paid and what is outstanding. On the BD side, a deal can be marked retained with its retainer amount and payment milestones before it becomes a role.
Finance