Making a Recruiting Detour: Finding the Right Hiring Model for 2026

Last week, we explored the Year of the Fire Horse philosophy—embracing bold energy, strategic partnerships, and the recognition that there are many ways up the mountain. This week, we're applying that same thinking to one of the most critical strategic decisions your organization will make in 2026: how you approach hiring and building your team.

Just as we challenged ourselves to audit our path and identify multiple routes forward, it's time to do the same with your recruiting strategy. Are you following a hiring model out of habit, or because it genuinely serves your goals?

The Traditional Recruiting Path: One Size Doesn't Fit All

For years, organizations have defaulted to one of two approaches:

1. Contingency recruiting firms for immediate, transactional hiring needs

2. Full-time internal recruiters for organizations with consistent, high-volume hiring

But here's what we've learned: Most mid-sized organizations fall into a gap between these two extremes. You're hiring enough that contingency fees add up painfully fast, but not enough to justify the full-time overhead, ramp-up time, and management burden of an internal team.

Sound familiar?

Thinking of Making a Recruiting Detour This Year?

If you're hiring 4-10 people per quarter, you're in the sweet spot for rethinking your approach. The Fire Horse philosophy invites us to ask: What if there's a third path that combines the best of both worlds?

Enter Fractional Talent Acquisition.

Fractional TA offers the strategic partnership and dedicated capacity of an internal recruiter, with the immediate impact and flexibility of an external partner—without the transactional nature and unpredictable costs of contingency firms.

But don't just take our word for it. Let's break down the options so you can make an informed decision.

Your Three Paths Up the Mountain

We created two side-by-side comparisons to help you navigate your options with clarity and transparency. No judgment, no pressure—just the information you need to choose the right model for your organization's hiring volume, budget, and growth stage.

Path #1: Fractional TA vs. Contingency Recruiting

When Contingency Makes Sense:

• You're hiring 1-3 specialized roles per quarter

• You have limited internal capacity and can absorb per-placement costs

• You need expertise for hard-to-fill, niche positions

• You don't mind the transactional nature of the relationship

When Fractional TA Makes More Sense:

• You're hiring 4-10 people per quarter

• Unpredictable contingency fees are killing your budget

• You want strategic partnership, not just transactional placement

• You need dedicated capacity without competing with other clients

• You value market intelligence and process improvement, not just filled roles

The Bottom Line: For most organizations hiring 5-10 people in a quarter, contingency fees can easily run $75K-$150K+. Fractional TA delivers similar outcomes—qualified candidates, exceptional experience, strategic partnership—with predictable monthly investment and dedicated focus on your hiring goals.

Path #2: Fractional TA vs. Internal Recruiting Team

When an Internal Recruiter Makes Sense:

• You're hiring 12+ people per quarter consistently

• You need someone embedded in your culture full-time

• You have the management bandwidth to supervise and develop them

• You're building a recruiting function with multiple team members

• You can afford 3-6 months of ramp-up time

• You have enough ongoing work to keep them fully utilized

When Fractional TA Makes More Sense:

• You're hiring 4-10 people per quarter

• You need Day 1 productivity, not 3-6 months of ramp-up

• You want multi-industry networks and fresh candidate pools

• You don't want the management overhead of another direct report

• You value flexibility to scale up or down based on hiring volume

• You want proven systems, not building from scratch

• You're uncertain about sustaining full-time recruiting workload

The Bottom Line: A full-time recruiter's salary is just the starting point. Add benefits (30-40%), payroll taxes, recruiting tools, training, and management time—the true cost is $110K-$150K annually, plus 3-6 months before they're fully productive.

But here's the lingering question many leaders face:

What happens when you can't keep them busy? 

Between hiring cycles, during slow quarters, or after you've filled your immediate roles—you're still paying $9K-$12K per month for someone with limited work to do. Do you create busywork? Ask them to help with other HR functions? Watch them become disengaged and start looking elsewhere?

Fractional TA eliminates this uncertainty. You scale hours up during busy hiring periods and scale down when things slow—paying only for the expertise you need, when you need it. No awkward conversations about workload. No worrying about retention when recruiting slows. Just flexible, strategic partnership that adapts to your actual needs.

Applying the Fire Horse Framework to Your Hiring Decision

Let's apply the framework from last week specifically to your recruiting strategy:

1. Audit Your Current Path

• What's working? Are you filling roles on time with quality candidates?

• What's creating friction? Blown budgets? Slow time-to-fill? Poor candidate experience?

• Are you following a model out of habit or because it genuinely serves your hiring goals?

2. Identify Multiple Routes

• Challenge yourself: What are three different ways you could approach your hiring needs?

• Who's doing it differently? What are other organizations your size doing for recruiting?

• What would strategic partnership look like instead of transactional hiring or going it alone?

3. Embrace the Fire Horse Energy

• Courage: What bold move would improve your hiring but feels risky?

• Independence: Where do you need to trust your instincts instead of defaulting to "how it's always been done"?

• Fierce Spirit: What fires need to be lit in your recruiting process?

4. Build for Flexibility

• Can your hiring model adapt if your volume increases or decreases?

• Are you creating systems that scale or ones that trap you in fixed costs?

• What partnerships would accelerate your ability to attract and hire top talent?

Red Flags Your Recruiting Model Needs a Detour

Watch for these warning signs that it's time to rethink your approach:

• Hiring managers are frustrated with the candidate pool or how long roles stay open

• Quality of candidates has declined or you're settling for "good enough"

• Your recruiter says "you never know" about candidates waving BIG RED FLAGS

• Unpredictable costs are making it hard to budget for hiring

• Slow time-to-fill is causing you to lose top candidates to competitors

• You're spending more time managing recruiters than they're spending recruiting

• Candidate experience is suffering and damaging your employer brand

• You're hiring reactively instead of proactively building pipeline

• Market intelligence is missing—you don't know what's competitive anymore

Green Lights You're on the Right Path

• Predictable costs and timelines make hiring plannable

• Quality candidates are consistently in your pipeline

• Strategic partnership means your recruiter understands your business and culture

• Your TA partner is now an advisor—challenging job descriptions, flagging market trends, and improving your hiring strategy

• Your TA is working WITH you—helping identify great and not-great candidates with honest, fair feedback (no more "you never know")

• Flexibility allows you to scale up or down based on actual needs

• Candidate experience is strong and reinforces your employer brand

• Market intelligence keeps you competitive on comp, benefits, and messaging

Making Your Decision: A Simple Framework

Still not sure which path is right for you? Ask yourself these three questions:

Question #1: What's your quarterly hiring volume?

• 1-3 hires: Contingency might work fine

• 4-10 hires: Fractional TA is likely your best bet

• 12+ hires: Consider internal recruiting team

Question #2: What matters most right now?

• Predictable costs: Fractional TA or Internal Team

• Immediate expertise: Fractional TA or Contingency

• Cultural integration: Internal Team or Fractional TA

• Zero management burden: Fractional TA or Contingency

Question #3: What's your tolerance for risk?

• Low risk tolerance (need proven results fast): Fractional TA

• High risk tolerance (can wait for ramp-up): Internal Team

• Willing to pay for speed: Contingency

Ready to Make Your Move?

The Fire Horse philosophy isn't about following one prescribed path—it's about having the courage to choose the route that's right for your specific situation. Whether you're ready to make a recruiting detour or want to explore your options, we're here to help you navigate the decision.

Want to talk through your specific situation? We'd love to hear about your hiring challenges and help you think through which model makes the most sense for your organization. No pressure, no sales pitch—just strategic conversation about what's right for you.

Contact Us

What's your biggest recruiting challenge right now? Drop us a note—we genuinely want to hear what's keeping you up at night when it comes to hiring.

Missed last week's post? Read "The Year of the Fire Horse: Rethinking Your Path in 2026" to explore the philosophy behind making bold strategic detours in your business.