When the pressure to hire is on, most business leaders face the same question: do you bring in an agency, or embed a recruiter directly into your team? Both models can deliver results, but the real differences come down to speed, quality, and cost.

Ollie Salisbury, Client Lead at Solve, shares how each approach works in practice and what leaders should weigh up when making the call.

What is embedded recruitment?

Embedded recruitment means placing a dedicated talent partner inside your organisation, working as part of your team. They use your systems, adopt your tone of voice, and represent your brand in-market, while also drawing on the networks, tools, and expertise of a partner like Solve.

As Ollie explains:

“The biggest benefit of embedded is that you’re combining resources. You can leverage everything the client already has, plus all the infrastructure, resources and networks of Solve. But what really sets embedded apart is commitment. An embedded recruiter doesn’t just support your hiring goals, they live them with you – fully invested in delivering results that move your business forward.”

Embedded is typically most effective for scale-ups and businesses in periods of high growth, whether that’s following a funding round, opening in a new market, but is equally viable when backfilling critical roles.

What does an agency model offer?

Agency recruitment operates one step removed. You brief an external recruiter, they work their networks, and they’re incentivised by a placement fee. This model can be effective for hard-to-fill specialist roles or one-off executive hires.

But, as Ollie puts it:

“With an agency, there’s a degree of guesswork. They’re motivated, of course, but they don’t live inside your business; your brand values, tone of voice, or your internal systems. That separation could impact the candidate and hiring manager experience.”

Speed to hire: Which is faster?

Speed is understandably one of the biggest considerations when choosing a model, and while agencies are often quick to present CVs, the process can stretch out if the brief isn’t crystal clear.

Embedded, on the other hand, shortens the cycle by streamlining sourcing and reducing interview load on hiring managers. Working inside your team means fewer missteps, less duplication, and candidates progressing faster.

“Because embedded partners are such high-quality operators inside the business, they reduce the time to hire. That speed translates directly to revenue when you’ve got roles waiting to be filled,” says Ollie.

Hidden costs leaders often miss

On paper, agency fees can look like a simpler, pay-as-you-go option. But Ollie points out that leaders often underestimate the total cost of hiring.

Beyond recruiter fees or salaries, the hidden costs of hiring can stack up fast. LinkedIn licences, job board spend, ATS subscriptions, interview scheduling tools, and the countless hours hiring managers lose in extended processes. Add to that the opportunity costs: reduced productivity from understaffed teams, burnout from existing employees covering gaps, slower project delivery, weaker customer experience, and the revenue lost every week a critical role remains unfilled... All of these factors quietly inflate the true cost of every hire.

Embedded helps bring those costs into the open. It’s usually a fixed investment that’s easier to forecast and control, while also reducing reliance on agency spend for a portion of roles.

Candidate and hiring manager experience

There’s also the human side to consider. Candidate experience is shaped by how well recruiters can articulate your EVP and sell your story, and embedded recruiters do this from the inside out, ensuring consistency and credibility.

Hiring managers also benefit. Instead of fielding multiple agency calls or sitting through poorly matched CVs, they work with a dedicated partner who already understands their priorities.

As Ollie says:

“The feedback we see from hiring managers is incredibly strong, and it’s driven by speed, care, and attention to detail.”

What success looks like

Success in an agency model often means landing the ‘superstar’ hire. But with embedded, success goes beyond: growing at pace, reducing cost per hire, strengthening employer brand, and improving hiring processes.

Ollie sums it up:

“With embedded, the client shouldn’t even realise that the recruiter isn’t part of their business. Success is growth without the wheels coming off, at a cost and speed that the business can handle.”

The bottom line

So, which is better for getting candidates faster? Agencies can be a tactical solution, but embedded recruitment offers a more strategic, integrated approach. For businesses facing scale, rapid hiring, or new market challenges, embedded delivers speed and quality with less hidden cost.

Launching a new location? Facing growth that’s pushing your TA team to its limits? Embedded offers the perfect solution for those critical moments. At Solve, we plug our talent partners directly into your team to accelerate hiring, enhance candidate experience, and get results faster. Learn more about our embedded services or get in touch to discuss options.

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