Retained executive search is an exclusive engagement in which a client pays one search firm in stages to fill a senior role. The fee – usually about a third of the hire's first-year cash compensation – buys a mapped market, confidential approaches to executives who are not looking, and a short slate assessed against a written scorecard. It is paid whether or not a hire closes, because most of the work happens before anyone is hired. Contingency recruiting is the opposite bargain: non-exclusive, and paid only on placement. Retained is the standard for C-suite, board, confidential, and scarce-talent roles.
That is the whole machine. The rest is what each payment should buy, and how to tell a real retainer from a contingency search with an invoice up front.
Key takeaways
- Retained search is exclusive and paid in instalments; contingency is non-exclusive and paid on placement only.
- Market practice as of October 2026: about 25–35% of first-year cash compensation, a third most common, paid in thirds – signing, slate, offer accepted.
- Each third should buy something the client can inspect: a scorecard and a map, then a slate with coverage, then a closed offer with references.
- A typical mandate runs 12–20 weeks; the slate lands around weeks 5–8.
- Topliner's system holds 2.6M+ executive profiles and 234K+ companies, and 1,200+ executive searches have run on it.
What is retained executive search?
It is a fee for a defendable market, not a fee for a CV.
The client hires one firm, exclusively, for one seat. The firm writes a scorecard the client signs off, names the companies and seats that produce the profile, approaches the people in those seats one at a time, and narrows them to a slate of three to five the client should meet. The full sequence is on the executive search process page.
The people on that slate did not apply. Most are employed, many are content, and some will only take the call because it is confidential. That is why the work is paid for up front: the expensive part – market mapping, talent mapping, and the approaches – happens before anyone says yes.
How is retained different from contingency and engaged search?
Retained buys the search. Contingency buys the introduction. Engaged sits in between.
| Retained | Engaged (container) | Contingency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusivity | One firm | One firm, usually | Several agencies at once |
| How it is paid | Instalments, regardless of hire | Part up front, balance on hire | On hire only |
| Typical fee (as of Oct 2026) | 25–35% of first-year cash comp | 25–33% | 20–30% |
| The work | Scorecard, full market map, confidential approaches, assessed slate | Lighter map, faster shortlist | CVs from a database and inbound |
| The person | Sitting executive, not looking | Mixed | Often actively looking |
| Best fit | C-suite, board, confidential replacement, scarce market | VP and senior director | Roles with a deep active pool |
The tell is not the contract. It is the first two weeks. If the "retained" firm sends CVs before anyone has agreed what the market is, it is running contingency with the money moved forward.
What does a retained search cost, and how is it paid?
About a third of first-year cash compensation, billed in thirds. That is market practice as of October 2026, published by firms across the US and Europe; it is not a Topliner price.
| Instalment | Usual trigger | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| First third | Engagement letter signed | Scorecard, market definition, off-limits, the map |
| Second third | Slate delivered (often 30–60 days in) | Approaches, assessment, references in progress |
| Final third | Offer accepted | Close, references, true-up to the real package |
Two proposals that both say "33%" can differ by a lot. One counts base only. Another counts guaranteed bonus and sign-on. Some add an indirect-expense charge or a minimum fee. Ask what goes into the base before comparing.
Guarantees are common – the firm reruns the search if the placed executive leaves within a set period, typically 90 days to 12 months. A rerun is not a refund. The instalments already paid bought work that happened.
What should each third buy?
Something the client can read without a phone call. If a payment cannot be tied to an artefact, it is a deposit, not a retainer.
- First third – a brief that can fail, and a map you can argue with. A scorecard with three to five things that must be true. The decision-makers. A compensation range finance has seen. Off-limits in writing. Then a named list of companies and seats – not "fintech scale-ups", but the employers, the seat as it is held, and the empty ones.
- Second third – a slate with its working shown. Three to five people, each scored against the scorecard. Next to it: how much of the agreed market was touched, how many approaches became a real no, and why names died. A slate without coverage is a CV pile with a cover note.
- Final third – a closed offer. Referencing beyond the names the candidate supplied, compensation landed inside the range, a counter-offer handled, a start date. And the map, kept, so the next mandate in that market does not start blank.
That is also the honest test for a firm selling retained: can you show the client, at each invoice, what the money bought?
How long does a retained executive search take?
Twelve to twenty weeks from signing to accepted offer is normal. Published firm timelines cluster around one to two weeks of preparation, six to eight of research and approaches, and two to four of interviews and selection.
Where it slips is almost never the research. It is the brief changing after the slate, a decision-maker who joins late, or off-limits that quietly delete the only companies that produce the profile. Notice periods for sitting executives add one to six months after acceptance; that is the start date, not the search.
When is retained the wrong model?
When the person you need is already looking.
If the role has a deep active pool, a public advert would work, and confidentiality does not matter, paying for a map is paying for a picture you will not use. Contingency or engaged search will be faster and cheaper. Retained is also wrong when the client will not commit to a scorecard or a decision-maker – the firm will deliver a slate to a brief that does not exist yet.
Retained earns its fee when the hire is consequential, confidential, or scarce: a CEO succession, a CFO before a raise, a replacement nobody can know about, a market of thirty people.
How does an independent firm run retained without a research floor?
The large firms carry the first third on a research team. An independent consultant or a two-partner boutique has to produce the same map and the same coverage numbers with fewer hands.
That is a systems question as much as a staffing one. The executive search software has to hold the mandate as the unit of work: scorecard, map, off-limits, approaches, slate, and a client view, in one record. An ATS or a recruiting CRM – the tools people search for as executive search ATS or executive search CRM – stores stages and sequences. It does not show a client what the first third bought.
Topliner is the research loop for independent search firms. As of October 2026, the system holds 2.6M+ executive profiles and 234K+ companies, and 1,200+ executive searches have run on it – the same system we use on live mandates. The map, the longlist and the coverage numbers come out of it; the judgement and the client stay with the consultant. Between mandates, the map becomes a talent pipeline. When the clock is weeks rather than months, it is an interim search.
Topliner's commercial model is a partnership – a revenue share with the firm, by invitation. There is no per-seat price.
How do we know?
Topliner runs research for retained mandates on the system described here. The fee figures are market practice as published by search firms and fee guides as of October 2026, not our pricing. The milestone test – every invoice tied to an artefact the client can read – is how we judge our own work.
If you run a retained desk and want the research loop on the system we use ourselves, request an introduction. The judgement stays yours.
Questions people actually ask
What is retained executive search?
An exclusive engagement in which one search firm is paid in stages to map a market, approach sitting executives confidentially, and deliver a short slate against a written scorecard. The client pays for the work, not only for a hire.
What is the difference between retained and contingency search?
Retained is exclusive and paid in instalments whether or not a hire closes. Contingency is usually non-exclusive and paid only when a candidate the recruiter introduced is hired.
How much does retained executive search cost?
Market practice as of October 2026 is about 25–35% of the hire's first-year cash compensation, with a third the most common figure. Ask exactly what counts as compensation before comparing proposals.
How is a retained search fee paid?
Usually in thirds – on signing, on delivery of the slate, and on offer acceptance – with a true-up if the final package differs from the estimate.
What happens if a retained search does not produce a hire?
The instalments already paid are usually not refunded, because they paid for research and approaches that happened. Most firms add a guarantee that reruns the search if the placed executive leaves within 90 days to 12 months.
How long does a retained executive search take?
Typically 12–20 weeks from signing to accepted offer, with a slate around weeks 5–8. Cross-border and confidential replacements run longer.
Is retained search worth it for a VP role?
When the person you need is employed, the role is confidential, or the market is small, yes. When strong people are actively applying, contingency or engaged search is often enough.
What software does a retained search firm need?
Something that holds the mandate – scorecard, market map, off-limits, slate, client report – on people who did not apply. A staffing ATS stores stages; it does not show a client what the fee bought.