Contingency recruitment is marketed as “no risk” hiring.
No upfront fee. No commitment. Pay only if you hire.
For employers, it sounds perfect.
For small recruitment businesses, it’s becoming unsustainable.
The Risk Isn’t Gone — It’s Just Shifted
In contingency recruitment, all the risk sits with the recruiter.
Employers often brief multiple agencies at once, alongside job boards, direct outreach and internal hiring. Five recruiters might work the same role. Only one gets paid.
Weeks of work can result in nothing.
That includes:
- Headhunting and advertising
- Screening and interviewing
- Candidate preparation
- Offer negotiation
- Counter-offer management
No other professional service industry operates like this.
Yet in recruitment, it’s normal.
It Has Commoditised a Professional Service
When multiple agencies compete, speed becomes more important than strategy.
The model rewards:
- Fast CV sending
- Volume over quality
- Short-term wins over long-term partnerships
It discourages proper market mapping, detailed qualification and honest advisory conversations because taking extra time means risking losing the role to another agency.
Good recruitment is consultative.
Contingency, at scale, makes it transactional.
The Disrespect Problem
With no financial commitment often comes limited behavioural commitment.
Small agencies regularly experience:
- Roles being pulled without warning
- Delayed or non-existent feedback
- Fee challenges at offer stage
- Long payment terms
- Direct hires made after extensive recruiter shortlists
When clients have nothing invested upfront, recruiters are often treated as optional suppliers rather than strategic partners.
That erodes professionalism across the industry.
Why It’s Unsustainable for Small Recruitment Businesses
Large firms can absorb losses through volume.
Boutique agencies cannot.
For small recruitment businesses:
- Cash flow matters
- Time is limited
- Resources are tight
- Every vacancy worked carries real cost
Working five contingency roles and filling one may technically “work” but the hidden cost in time, energy and overhead makes it fragile and reactive.
It leads to:
- Burnout
- Inconsistent service
- Constant firefighting
- Poor long-term planning
That’s not sustainable growth.
It Impacts Candidates Too
When multiple recruiters race to submit:
- Candidates may be poorly prepared
- Communication becomes inconsistent
- Trust in the process declines
In a world shaped by platforms like LinkedIn, reputation matters. Poor candidate experience travels fast.
The Model Needs Boundaries
Contingency itself isn’t the enemy.
But the “multi-agency free-for-all” is.
For it to work sustainably:
- Fewer agencies per role
- Clear feedback expectations
- Defined process commitments
- Consideration of exclusive or retained structures
Recruitment works best when risk and commitment are shared.
The Bottom Line
Contingency recruitment isn’t broken because recruiters lack skill.
It’s broken because the structure encourages short-term, competitive behaviour over partnership and professionalism.
For small recruitment businesses, continuing to absorb all the risk simply isn’t viable long term.
The future belongs to agencies confident enough to move from being optional suppliers…
to trusted, accountable partners.
