Compare and choose
There is no such thing as the best recruitment solution. There is a best solution for your challenge. Here we put every model side by side, honestly, including the situations where you don't actually need us.
The models on the dimensions that really matter
Master comparisonFour popular routes, compared on what they deliver for you in the long run.
| Permanent placement | Job boards | Interim recruiter | SocialFind RPO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fee per placement | Cost per job posting or click | Hourly or daily rate | Fixed partnership, no placement fees |
| Ownership of the candidate relationship | The agency knows the candidate, you get the hire | Candidate responds to an ad | With your organization, as long as the interim is there | Entirely yours: candidates get to know your brand |
| Employer branding | Not included | Not included | Not included | A core part of the approach |
| Reach among passive talent | Depends on the agency's network | Active job seekers only | Depends on the person | Targeted through media, content and sourcing |
| Scalability | Purchased again for every vacancy | More budget = more postings | Limited to one person | Playbooks per role type, scalable volume |
| Data ownership and learning effect | Stays with the agency | Limited reporting | Leaves with the person | Data and learnings available to your organisation |
| Suitable volume | A handful of vacancies | Vacancies with many active job seekers | The capacity of one recruiter | From a few hires to a continuous inflow |
| Long-term effect | Nothing structural is built | Nothing structural is built | Temporary reinforcement | Employer brand, talent pool and funnel keep getting stronger |
Start from your challenge, not from what's on offer
Employers can choose from in-house recruitment, recruitment and selection, no cure no pay, an interim recruiter, recruitment marketing, sourcing, job boards, staffing, secondment and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Most of the decision stress comes from reasoning based on what's being offered. Flip it around and start from your situation:
- One tough senior role, no structural need? A good permanent placement agency or executive search firm may well be your best choice.
- Temporarily short on hands in a process that otherwise runs well? An interim recruiter solves exactly that.
- Plenty of process, too little visibility with your target audience? Then recruitment marketing is the tool you're missing.
- Need a flexible workforce rather than permanent staff? Staffing or secondment is built for exactly that.
- Multiple vacancies on a structural basis, a wide range of role types or audiences you can't reach? Then separate solutions leave you stuck in coordination and fragmentation. That's where an integrated approach like RPO becomes interesting.
SocialFind doesn't sell a pre-selected recruitment channel. SocialFind takes over the recruitment challenge, determines the right approach for each role and runs the entire funnel under the client's brand. That's not a better model for everyone. It is the logical model when your need for staff is structural. How we determine what works per vacancy is explained on our approach page. Every form of outsourcing is explained at recruitment outsourcing.
Alongside the models above, five more comparisons are ready: RPO or secondment, RPO or an internal recruitment team, RPO or job boards, RPO or a recruitment marketing agency and RPO or a sourcing agency.
Solve one vacancy or build a recruitment engine?
Tell us who you need. We determine how to find, convince and hire them, and we'll tell you honestly if another model suits you better.
Frequently asked questions about comparing recruitment solutions
Start with your challenge, not with the offer. First determine whether you have a single vacancy, temporarily lack capacity or structurally need people; that already points to a type of solution. Then compare agencies on payment model, specialisation in your sector, guarantee, reporting and who actually does the work. A good agency also tells you when you do not need it. Our page on choosing a recruitment agency has a complete checklist.
A recruitment agency is a transaction: the agency searches for candidates for one vacancy and you pay a fee per placement, commonly a percentage of annual salary. RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) is a structural partnership in which one partner runs the complete recruitment process under your name, for a fixed fee without placement fees. An agency suits a single vacancy, RPO suits recurring or multiple vacancies.
When you need a flexible workforce instead of permanent employees. A temp agency is built for peaks, seasonal work and temporary deployment: the temp worker is on the agency's payroll and you pay an hourly rate with a mark-up. If you want people who stay, commit to your organisation and grow, temping is an expensive detour and recruiting for a permanent contract makes more sense.
That depends on the model. A recruitment agency charges a fee per placement, usually a percentage of gross annual salary. An interim recruiter works on an hourly or daily rate. A recruitment marketing agency charges a monthly amount plus media budget. RPO works with a fixed monthly fee without placement fees; at SocialFind that starts at EUR 6,500 per month, all-inclusive within the agreed scope. Always compare the total cost per hire, not just the moment of payment.
Good recruiters know the target group they recruit, can honestly tell a candidate why a job does or does not fit and follow up quickly. They aim for a lasting match, not a quick placement. At an agency you recognise that by probing questions about your organisation and terms of employment before they send a CV. With an internal recruiter or RPO partner you recognise it by data: they know where candidates drop out and adapt the process accordingly.