When a straightforward 15% fee still makes more sense than a subscription

You will see a lot of noise about subscriptions being the future of recruitment. They can be a good fit when you are hiring 3–10 roles a year, but they are not always the answer.

There are still plenty of situations where a simple 15% fee is exactly the right tool for the job. The aim is not to squeeze everything into a subscription, but to match the model to the pattern of hiring you actually have.

When 15% is usually the better choice

A straightforward 15% fee often makes more sense when:

• You have a single, clearly defined role to fill, with no near-term pipeline behind it
• The role is senior, niche or experimental, and you genuinely do not know if or when you will hire another like it
• You are making a one-off hire into a new function to test the value of that capability
• You are replacing a leaver on a like-for-like basis, but it is not the start of a bigger hiring wave

In these scenarios, tying yourself into a subscription can add unnecessary complexity when all you need is one good hire on clear terms.

Why people sometimes over-rotate to subscription

The appeal of a subscription is understandable. It promises predictability and a more joined-up relationship with your recruiter.

The risk comes when you start a subscription because it sounds modern, without checking whether your actual hiring volume justifies it. If you only end up making one or two hires across the year, a subscription may cost more than a couple of 15% placements would have done.

A simple way to sense-check the decision

Before you commit either way, sense-check three things:

• How many permanent hires do you realistically expect over the next 12 months?
• Would you genuinely use an agency for most of those roles?
• Are those roles in similar salary bands and disciplines, or all over the place?

If you end up with one or two genuine agency roles and no clear pattern beyond that, a 15% fee is probably cleaner. If you end up with a list of 4–8 hires across similar Technology and Engineering bands, it is worth running the numbers on a subscription.

How Osiris approaches it

Osiris offers both options: a clear 15% one-off fee and subscription plans for 1–3, 3–6 and 6–10 hires a year. The starting point is always the same question: what does your next 12 months of hiring really look like?

Sometimes the honest answer is that a 15% fee is better. There is no point forcing a subscription where it does not add value. It is better to get one hire right on clear terms than to wrap a single vacancy in unnecessary structure.