The best pricing structure for Federal recruitment support pays for defined outputs the contractor controls. In practice that usually means a fixed monthly price for ongoing sourcing, pipeline management, and reporting; fixed prices per recruitment campaign, tiered by difficulty; fixed prices per event; and reimbursable travel and event fees approved in advance. Per-hire fees, and per-lead fees used alone, create the wrong incentives.
Why hourly pricing is a weak fit
Many draft pricing structures list labor categories and hours, often labeled firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort. There are two problems with this. First, hours times a fixed rate is a labor-hour structure, and the Government then carries the risk that the hours produce little. Second, firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort contracts under FAR 16.207 are generally limited to $150,000 or less unless the chief of the contracting office approves an exception. Labor-hour pricing has its place when demand is unpredictable, but it should be a deliberate choice with a ceiling, not a default.
A structure that matches commercial practice
Commercial recruiting and recruitment marketing firms usually price by retainer and by engagement. Translated into contract line items:
- Program support, fixed price per month: the strategy plan updates, lead reports, outreach reports, pipeline tracker, monthly performance report, and status meetings.
- Talent market research and strategy, fixed price each: one per occupational group, delivered at the start of work.
- Recruitment campaigns, fixed price each, in tiers: for example general professional, specialized or technical, and executive. Each tier defines the campaign length, position family, and minimum outreach volume.
- Virtual and in-person events, fixed price each: contractor planning, promotion, outreach, and reporting.
- Event fees, reimbursable up to a not-to-exceed amount: registration, exhibit, and sponsorship fees, which vary too much to fix in advance.
- Travel, reimbursable up to a not-to-exceed amount: under the Federal Travel Regulation, with prior approval.
- Transition-out, fixed lump sum.
Tiering campaigns matters most. An executive search and a general professional campaign can differ several times over in effort, and a single unit price forces every offeror to guess the mix.
Units to avoid
Per-hire or contingency fees reward outcomes the contractor does not control and invite pressure on candidates. Per-lead fees used alone reward volume over fit. If an agency wants a per-lead unit, it should pair it with a quality standard, such as a minimum share of leads that meet the written sourcing criteria, and a cap.
What offerors need to price well
Whatever structure an agency chooses, quotes are only comparable if offerors price the same workload. The most useful information to publish with a solicitation:
- the number of occupations or campaigns expected each year
- the split between executive, specialized, and general professional roles
- the expected number of events, virtual and in person
- historical recruiting data such as time to fill and applicant pool size
- whether option years are expected, and the workload in each
Career Consults comments on draft pricing structures as part of market research. Contact us if you are building one.