In today’s competitive talent market, relying on the same old hiring playbook is a recipe for falling behind. Smart scaling requires agility and cost control, prompting many businesses to explore Recruitment-as-a-Service (RaaS) models.
This shift often introduces new terms: Embedded and Fractional that can sound confusingly similar. Let’s break down these approaches, examine how they differ from your internal DIY efforts, and explain why they’re fundamentally different from the traditional Agency success-only model.
1. You’re Probably Thinking: What is Embedded Recruitment?
Embedded Recruitment is when an expert recruiter is placed directly inside your company on a retained or subscription basis. They function as a dedicated, temporary member of your internal Talent Acquisition team.
- How it works: The recruiter uses your tools, adopts your branding, reports to your hiring manager, and is culturally integrated. They handle the full lifecycle of hiring (sourcing, screening, managing stakeholders) for a defined period or until specific roles are filled.
- Ideal Use Case: Scaling start-ups or SMEs experiencing rapid, continuous hiring needs, or companies looking to build out a new internal TA function.
- You’re Probably Thinking: What is Fractional Recruitment?
Fractional Recruitment is about providing high-level, specialist expertise on an on-demand or part-time basis. This model is focused on flexibility and strategic impact, not just volume hiring.
- How it works: You hire a senior expert like a Fractional Head of Talent, a Fractional CTO, or a specialist Recruiter for a set number of days a month, or for a specific project. They bring strategic expertise that might be too expensive or unnecessary to hire for full-time.
- Ideal Use Case: Businesses needing interim leadership, requiring strategic advice on setting up a TA function, or needing high-impact expertise to complete a specific, complex hiring project.
3. How Does RaaS Differ from Our Own DIY Approach?
The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach is when your internal team (HR generalists, hiring managers, or founders) handles all hiring tasks.
| Feature | Embedded/Fractional | DIY Internal Approach |
| Expertise | Dedicated, specialist recruitment professional. | Generalist HR or time-stretched hiring managers. |
| Focus | 100% focused on talent acquisition/strategy. | Often one of many competing priorities. |
| Speed/Network | Deep market insight, existing talent pools, faster time-to-hire, placing both passive and active talent. | Limited reach, relying on job boards/referrals, predominantly attracting active talent. |
| Cost | Predictable monthly subscription/day rate. | Hidden costs of lost productivity, failed hires, and high staff turnover. |
Key takeaway: While DIY is cheap upfront, it often sacrifices speed and quality. Embedded/Fractional injects immediate, targeted expertise without increasing permanent overhead.
4. How Does RaaS Differ from the Agency Success-Only Model? Surely It’s All the Same?
Traditional Contingency Agencies work on a success-only model they get paid a large fee (typically 15–30% of the salary) only if they successfully place a candidate.
Crucially, this is a highly saturated market. You do find some excellent, solid specialist agencies with fantastic networks who operate with integrity. The challenge lies in navigating the sheer volume of providers to find that diamond you truly gel with, especially across different business functions.
The difference in the RaaS model is one of strategic alignment and control:
| Feature | Embedded/Fractional (RaaS) | Contingency Agency (Success-Only) |
| Focus | Brand and Growth Consulting: Strategy across all business silos, market insight, and employer branding control. | Candidate Delivery: Focus on filling the immediate vacancy with a specialist. |
| Alignment | Integrated: Recruiter acts as an extension of your brand; incentivised by long-term success. | External: Recruiter acts as a vendor; incentivised by placement fees. |
| Control | Full Visibility: You control candidate data, market messaging, and process efficiency. | Limited Visibility: Candidates are often “CV-dropped” with less insight into sourcing. |
Key takeaway: If you need deep, integrated expertise across all business silos and help with consulting on growth, something many specialist agencies lack due to their focus on one vertical the Embedded or Fractional model provides a strategic partner. It’s a shift from a transactional relationship to a strategic partnership, giving you better control over your employer brand and process efficiency.
Conclusion: Choose Strategy, Not Just Transactions
For scaling businesses, the choice between traditional DIY, a contingent agency, or a RaaS model boils down to one question: Do you need a transaction, or do you need a strategy?
While some contingent agencies excel at delivering immediate CV’s, the Embedded and Fractional models are designed for predictable growth and sustainable scalability. By integrating recruitment expertise directly into your operations either full-time (Embedded) or on-demand (Fractional) you gain long-term control, maintain brand integrity, and build resilient talent pipelines without the steep costs and long-term commitment of permanent hires. The future of smart hiring lies in this agile, expert-led partnership approach.
