Retainer Metrics

Hi Danny,

What activities and metrics are average for retained search? We're a retained firm and so many of the metrics you track don't make sense for our model (i.e. Sendouts). Still, retained firms must track their productivity. What should we track and what are the averages in a good economy and in one such as this?

Danny's response,

About half of our work is also retained, and the only difference in metrics we allow for is the length of the process. The higher level jobs are going to take longer and usually have more meetings. (Flying in a spouse to look at real estate and schools, meeting the entire management team a second time, etc.) So we expect a sendout to placement range to be 25-33% longer. We also expect the presentation to send out ratio to be practically 100%, since neither you nor the company have any motivation to present or interview a candidate that is marginal. (Whereas in contingent, we often do so to protect ourselves). The makeup of a recruiter's "hot sheet" is different in a retained practice as well. You might be working on only 1 or 2 jobs a month, whereas a contingent recruiter might have 6 jobs and 15 sendouts, you have 1 job and 5 sendouts this month but a lock on a fill. (It is important to note here that I know million dollar producers in both camps, so one is not superior, it’s a question of what is suitable for you, what tempo you like to work, how many balls you need to have in the air, how beholden to a client you like to be.) A retained recruiter's front end metrics on the candidate side will be the same, but they will have a longer qualification process for the "short list" of presented candidates, so their interviewing times will be extended.

In general, while the activity ratios and metrics must be reduced for retainer, the model is the same. The big mistake I see is actually the opposite, the "that doesn't count in retainer" excuse for not tracking your work or holding yourself accountable. Adjust your metrics, tailor them for your firm, but then respect them. Accountability is key no matter the model. And the desire to discount or avoid accountability is a human trait, not a contingent one.