Subscription recruitment is a good fit for growing teams that expect several hires across the year. But it’s not the answer to everything. There are situations where a straightforward 15% per-hire fee is still the cleanest and fairest option for everyone involved.
This isn’t about pushing one model over the other – it’s about choosing the right tool for the job.
1. One-off or ad-hoc hiring
If you genuinely only expect to make one hire in the next 12 months, a subscription is probably overkill.
In that situation, a simple 15% fee gives you:
- Clear, one-off cost tied to a single hire.
- No ongoing monthly commitment.
- A straightforward conversation with finance and leadership.
You can still expect a proper search, shortlisting and process management – you just pay once when the role is filled.
2. Senior, niche or £100k+ roles
For senior leadership, highly niche specialists or roles with £100k+ base salaries, a different structure often makes more sense.
That might be:
- A standard 15% fee on the final salary.
- A retained or part-retained search for critical leadership positions.
Subscription plans like the Osiris Starter, Growth and Scale tiers are primarily built around mid-level hiring up to around £70k base salary. Senior roles can sit alongside that, but are usually scoped separately.
3. Very low or unpredictable volumes
If your hiring pattern is “we might hire, but we’re really not sure”, then it can be hard to justify a subscription – especially for smaller organisations.
In that case, paying 15% when you actually make a hire can be more comfortable than committing to a 12-month plan you may or may not fully use.
4. Testing a relationship for the first time
If you haven’t worked with a recruiter before, you might want to start with a single 15% role first.
That gives you space to see:
- How the communication feels.
- How strong the shortlist is.
- What the process looks like end-to-end.
If it lands well and you know more hiring is coming, you can then look at moving onto a subscription for future roles.
How to sense-check the numbers
A simple way to see which route makes most sense is to plug your numbers into the Osiris subscription vs 15% calculator.
If your expected hires and salary bands show a small difference either way, the decision may come down to preference and cash flow rather than raw savings.
Subscription and 15% can work together
It doesn’t have to be an either/or decision.
Many teams use a subscription to cover their core, mid-level hiring – and keep a 15% option in place for the odd senior, specialist or one-off role.
That way you get predictable spend for the majority of hires, while still having flexibility when you need it.