How should a technology scale-up apply this?

Write routing rules by role category, run all activity through one ATS and set a shared standard for employer messaging so the models reinforce rather than duplicate each other.

Does the answer change for senior or specialist roles?

Yes. Senior and specialist roles are the ones most likely to move between models, so their routing rules and ownership need to be explicit rather than assumed.

What should be measured?

Measure each model against the outcome it was chosen to solve, and review the portfolio annually against the following year's hiring plan.

Part ofChoosing a Hiring Model for a Technology Scale-up

Technology Scale-up Hiring

Can a company use several hiring models at once?

Answer

5 min read·By Saiyō Editorial

Saiyō Editorial

Headhunting & SaaS hiring research team

The short answer

Yes. Most mature technology companies use several hiring models at the same time. Internal TA may own the function, Embedded Headhunting may support continuous specialist searches, agencies may cover unexpected niche requirements and executive search may handle selected leadership appointments. The important point is to define ownership and avoid duplicated effort.

Running several models at once is normal and, at scale-up volumes, usually preferable to forcing every role through one provider. The risk is not the number of models but the absence of rules for how they interact.

Create clear role-routing rules

Define, in advance, which categories of role go to which model. Continuous specialist roles to embedded headhunting, occasional niche vacancies to specific agencies, board and CEO-level appointments to executive search, everything else to internal TA. Written routing rules prevent duplicated work and confused ownership.

Use one source of truth in the ATS

Every candidate, from every model, should live in a single ATS with a consistent status flow. Without this, the same candidate is approached twice, feedback is lost between recruiters and reporting becomes unreliable. The ATS is the operating system that lets multiple models coexist.

Protect employer messaging

Candidates rarely notice which model reached them, but they notice inconsistency. Positioning, tone and interview experience should feel like one company regardless of who ran the search. That means shared messaging assets and a single briefing standard across all external partners.

Measure each model against its intended outcome

Compare each model against the problem it was chosen to solve, not against a shared benchmark that suits none of them. Embedded headhunting should be judged on quality and continuity of senior specialist hires, RPO on cost and throughput, executive search on the calibre and fit of individual appointments.

What this means in practice

Use multiple models when their responsibilities are explicit and the candidate experience remains coordinated. Review the portfolio annually and re-route roles when the hiring pattern, market or business priorities change.

The Saiyō view

A well-designed portfolio outperforms a single provider because each model does the work it is built for. The hiring team's job is to be the operating system: setting the routing rules, owning the standard and making sure the models add up to something coherent from a candidate's perspective.

Explored in depth

This topic is explored in more depth within Choosing a Hiring Model for a Technology Scale-up.