Contingent
- Pay only on placement
- Non-exclusive
- Best for urgent or high-volume roles
Permanent recruitment · Sydney & NSW
Permanent recruitment agency in Sydney
Contingent, exclusive or retained search for every role in your business, from trades and supervisors to engineers, finance, sales and executives. Built around your site and culture, and assessed by people who know the work.
How a custom brief works
Permanent recruitment in Sydney, built around your business
A permanent hire rarely fails on the CV. It fails on the shift pattern, the site, the manager or the way a team talks on a bad day. A job ad captures none of that, so we do not start with one.
We start with a conversation about your business: what is changing, who is leaving and what good looks like in the first ninety days. We write the brief with you, then run the search against it. You deal with one consultant from first call to first day, backed by tradespeople who test the technical side.
Roles
A Sydney recruitment agency for every role
FieldTrades & supervisorsElectricians, fitters, welders, crane operators, leading hands and foremen.
MaintenancePlanning & maintenancePlanners, schedulers and reliability engineers.
OperationsOperations & plant managementOperations, plant, production and workshop managers.
EngineeringEngineering & projectsProject, maintenance, electrical and mechanical engineers, and project managers.
SafetyHSEQAdvisors and managers who build safety, environment and quality systems.
BusinessCommercial, finance & adminEstimators, procurement, contracts, accounts, payroll and administration.
GrowthSales & business developmentAccount managers, business development and technical sales.
LeadershipExecutiveGeneral managers, directors and senior leaders.
Engagement models
Three ways to engage us.
Exclusive
- One agency for an agreed period
- Priority search with a named consultant and timeline
- Fee agreed up front
Retained
- Part of the fee up front
- Dedicated search for senior, confidential or hard-to-fill roles
- Shortlist within an agreed window
Side by side
Retained search in Sydney, compared
| Feature | Contingent | Exclusive | Retained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusivity | Non-exclusive | One agency for an agreed period | Exclusive for the search |
| Fee timing | On placement | On placement | Part up front, balance as agreed |
| Search depth | Active search on your brief | Priority search, named consultant | Dedicated search with market map and progress reports |
| Typical timeline | Set by the market | Agreed up front | Agreed up front, with a shortlist commitment |
| Guarantee | Replacement guarantee period agreed in writing before the search starts | ||
| Best for | Urgent or high-volume roles | One accountable agency | Senior, confidential or hard-to-fill roles |
Fees. Transparent and agreed up front, whichever model you choose. Send us the brief and we will quote against the real role.
The process
Brief to first day in eight steps
01
Brief
We learn the business, site and culture, and agree what good looks like.
02
Market map
Who is doing this job across Sydney and NSW, and who could step up.
03
Search and approach
Direct approaches, candidates we know and advertising where it helps.
04
Testing and checks
Technical or role-specific testing, then The Smart Standard checks.
05
Shortlist
Written assessment notes on each person: what we tested and where the risks are.
06
Interviews
We coordinate interviews, brief candidates and collect feedback from both sides.
07
Offer and onboarding
We help shape the offer and keep the candidate engaged through notice.
08
Check-ins
We check in with you and the new starter after placement.
Temp-to-perm and discretion
Temp-to-perm and confidential hires
Temp-to-perm. Converting one of our people to your payroll is a normal path, with terms agreed in writing when the placement starts. You can also run a search as a temporary placement that converts once you have seen them on site. See labour hire.
Confidential hires. Replacing someone who has not left yet? We can run the search without naming your business, and candidates learn who you are only once they agree to be put forward.
Questions
Permanent recruitment FAQs
What is the difference between retained, contingent and exclusive search?
Contingent: you pay only on placement and can use other agencies. Exclusive: one agency for an agreed period, with a named consultant and timeline. Retained: part of the fee up front for a dedicated search on senior, confidential or hard-to-fill roles, with a shortlist commitment.
Do you recruit outside industrial trades?
Yes. Permanent recruitment covers every role in the business: trades and supervisors, operations and plant management, engineering and projects, HSEQ, commercial, finance and admin, sales and business development, and executives.
How does temp-to-perm work?
Conversion terms are agreed in writing when the placement starts, so there are no surprises. You can also run a search as a temporary placement that converts to permanent once you have seen the person on your site.
How much does a permanent placement cost?
The fee is transparent and agreed in writing before the search starts. It depends on the role and the engagement model. Send us the brief and we will quote against the real role.
What happens if the hire does not work out?
The replacement guarantee period is agreed in writing before the search starts. If a placed candidate leaves or is let go within that period, we work with you on a replacement.
Can you run a confidential search?
Yes. We can search without naming your business and handle replacement hires quietly, so the person being replaced is not alerted until you decide.
Also from Smart Industrial
Ready when you are
Let's build.
Tell us the role, the site and the shift pattern. We'll do the rest.