Replacement guarantee
Also known as: placement guarantee
A replacement guarantee is a recruiter's commitment to re-run a search at no extra fee if a placed hire leaves or is let go within a set period, commonly 3 to 12 months. It puts the recruiter's incentive on a hire that lasts, not just one that signs.
A longer guarantee period signals the recruiter’s confidence and shifts retention risk from the client to the recruiter, aligning both sides on a hire that works out rather than one that merely closes.
It is most common in retained search, and it is the structural counterweight to the placement-only incentive of contingency recruiting.