The majority of senior hires in the print and packaging sector are still conducted on a contingency basis — recruiters working in competition with each other, paid only on successful placement, incentivised to move quickly and present volume over quality. At Chad Harrison International, we believe that for genuinely senior appointments, this model consistently produces worse outcomes than a properly structured retained engagement. Here’s why — and what the retained model actually delivers.
The Problem with Contingency at Senior Level
Contingency recruitment is built on speed and volume. Recruiters working contingency are incentivised to get candidates in front of clients quickly, before competing recruiters do. That incentive structure is fundamentally at odds with what a senior appointment actually requires: a thorough, methodical search of the relevant candidate market; careful qualification of both candidates and the opportunity; and the kind of relationship-driven outreach that reaches employed candidates who aren’t looking and would never engage with an unsolicited approach from a recruiter they don’t know.
The best senior candidates in print and packaging are not on job boards. They are not responding to generic InMails from recruiters they don’t recognise. They are working, performing, and — if they’re going to consider a move at all — doing so through a channel they trust. A contingency search cannot credibly access that candidate pool. A retained search from a genuinely specialist firm with established relationships in the sector can.
What Retained Search Delivers
A properly structured retained search engagement delivers three things that contingency cannot. First, a genuine market mapping exercise — a systematic review of the relevant candidate universe, including people who are not actively looking, benchmarked against the competency and experience requirements of the role. Second, a disciplined, research-led approach to outreach that reaches the best candidates and positions the opportunity accurately and compellingly to them. Third, and most importantly, alignment of incentive between the search firm and the client — both are invested in finding the right person, not the available person.
Our Retained Engagement Model
Chad Harrison International offers a structured retained engagement model for senior appointments across our sector verticals. The engagement is built around a thorough role and business briefing, a research-led market mapping phase, a structured approach to the target candidate population, and a managed process through to appointment. We work exclusively for the client on a retained basis — we do not run the same search contingency elsewhere while you’re paying a retainer.
The outcomes are consistently superior to what we see from contingency processes. The hired candidates are better qualified, better matched to the business culture, and more likely to be successful in the role. The process is more controlled and less stressful for the client. And the cost — when measured against the fully-loaded cost of a poor hire — is not higher.
If you’re planning a senior appointment in the next three to six months, we’re happy to discuss whether a retained engagement is appropriate for your specific situation.
