When permanent hiring repeats across teams, job families, or locations, employers may consider ongoing recruiting support. A useful first step is to make the expected work clear enough to discuss and scope.
National Search Group describes its Recruiting Subscription Service as ongoing support for agreed permanent-hiring priorities, including sourcing and screening candidates and maintaining priority pipelines between openings. Actual responsibilities and terms depend on the written agreement. Review the Recruiting Subscription Service.
Prepare a one-page hiring brief
Use this checklist before a service discussion. Keep confirmed openings separate from forecasts or exploratory plans.
| Planning item | What to write down | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring pattern | Permanent role families, locations, and expected timing. Label each need as approved, forecast, or exploratory. | Which openings are authorized now, and which are only possible future needs? |
| Role readiness | For each approved opening: business need, reporting line, essential requirements, compensation range, work location, schedule, and interview steps. | Could a recruiter explain the role accurately to a candidate today? |
| Work to be supported | Identify activities that need support, such as intake, sourcing, screening, candidate communication, or interview coordination. | Which activities stay with the employer, and which are proposed for the recruiting partner? |
| Decision ownership | Name the hiring manager, recruiting contact, approver, and owner of candidate feedback. | Who can resolve a changed requirement or priority, and how quickly can the team respond? |
| Current process | List the existing recruiting stages, handoffs, known delays, and the available baseline period. | Which measures can be compared consistently across similar roles? |
| Scope and terms | List the role types and locations to include, employer inputs, review cadence, fees, term, and process for changing or ending the scope. | Which details must be written into the agreement before work begins? |
How to turn the checklist into a useful discussion
- Separate current openings from possible demand. Mark each role as approved, forecast, or exploratory. Do not describe a forecast as a current vacancy.
- Complete one role profile for each approved opening. Include the reporting line, essential requirements, compensation range, location, schedule, and interview process. Note missing decisions instead of guessing.
- Map the handoffs. Write down who provides the intake, who sources and screens, who communicates with candidates, who coordinates interviews, and who returns feedback. These are planning questions; the agreement determines the final allocation.
- Name decision owners. Identify who can approve a role, change a requirement, pause recruiting, and resolve a priority conflict.
- Choose measures the team can define consistently. Record the current baseline period and what starts or ends each measure before comparing future results.
- List the commercial and operating terms to confirm. Resolve fees, term, included roles and locations, candidate ownership, review cadence, scope changes, and exit provisions in the written agreement.
Hypothetical example: separate approved roles from forecasts
Imagine an employer has one approved permanent maintenance opening and expects a second opening may be approved later. In the brief, list the first as approved and the second as forecast. Complete the role-readiness fields for the approved opening; mark the unknown requirements for the possible second role as unresolved. This keeps the initial discussion tied to authorized work while giving the employer a place to record future planning.
This illustration is hypothetical. It is not an NSG client example, hiring result, or statement about current vacancies.
Clarify responsibilities before recruiting starts
A written scope should explain what the recruiting partner will do and what the employer will provide. Discuss role intake, sourcing and screening responsibilities, candidate communication, interview coordination, feedback expectations, and the process for approving changes. Confirm candidate ownership, fees, term, and exit provisions in the actual agreement.
Keep recruiting activity distinct from hiring decisions. The employer defines and approves openings, evaluates candidates, makes selection decisions, and supplies accurate role information. The recruiting partner performs only the activities and priorities assigned in the agreement.
If the team cannot identify priority roles, decision owners, or the work that needs support, resolve those points internally before committing to an ongoing scope. A written brief helps reveal what is ready and what still needs a decision.
Set a baseline before reviewing progress
Choose a small set of measures and define each one before work begins. Depending on the process, an employer might review time between recruiting stages, candidate progression, offer outcomes, or open-role status. Record the same stages and time periods for comparable roles. Treat a change in a measure as a prompt to investigate; it does not, by itself, show that a service caused the change or establish hiring quality.
Review where a delay occurred and what evidence is available: sourcing, employer feedback, changed requirements, compensation, candidate availability, or another documented factor. Do not use a target as a guarantee unless the written agreement explicitly makes it one.
Questions employers can bring to the discussion
- Which approved permanent openings should be in scope first?
- What information and feedback will hiring managers need to provide?
- Who will approve changes to role requirements, priorities, or locations?
- How will the parties review progress and handle a pause in hiring?
- What fees, term, candidate ownership, and exit conditions apply?
If you are still comparing permanent recruiting structures, see Which NSG Recruiting Model Fits a Specialized Employer?. This article focuses on readiness and scope; the comparison guide covers model selection.
Discuss your permanent-hiring needs
Bring your one-page brief to a conversation about recurring permanent hiring. National Search Group can review the roles, responsibilities, and written scope under consideration. Discuss Recruiting Subscription Service with National Search Group.
