What is split fee recruiting? How two agencies share one placement, and the terms to agree first
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Split fee recruiting is an arrangement in which two independent recruiting firms share one placement and its fee. The job-side firm has the client relationship and the signed fee agreement; the candidate-side firm supplies the person who is hired. The client pays the job-side firm, which then pays the candidate side its agreed share. How the fee is divided is set by a written agreement between the two firms, or by the rules of a split network such as Top Echelon's TE Network or NPAworldwide, whose published costs are summarized below as of October 2026.
"Split" means something else inside a single agency. On a split desk, one employee owns the client and another fills the order; our page on full desk recruiting covers that model. This page is about two separate firms sharing a placement.
How does a split placement work?
- The job-side firm signs the client. It has a fee agreement covering the role; see the placement fee agreement template.
- It shares the job with a partner or a network. Often the client's name is withheld at first, and the posting states the split terms.
- The candidate-side firm submits a candidate. It should hold the candidate's written consent to be represented for this role; see the right to represent template.
- The job-side firm presents the candidate to the client and manages interviews, feedback and the offer, with the candidate side keeping the candidate informed and engaged.
- The candidate accepts and starts. The client is invoiced by the job-side firm under its own agreement.
- The client pays; the job side pays its partner. Payment to the candidate side usually follows receipt of the client's payment, on the timing the two firms agreed.
- The guarantee period runs. If the hire leaves early, refunds or replacement work are shared as the split agreement says.
Who does what on each side?
| Job side (job order recruiter) | Candidate side (candidate recruiter) | |
|---|---|---|
| Owns | The client relationship and the fee agreement | The candidate relationship |
| Main work | Intake, job details, presenting candidates, interview logistics, offer negotiation with the client, invoicing | Sourcing, screening, preparing the candidate, keeping them engaged through the offer |
| Talks to the client | Yes | Normally not, unless the job side agrees |
| Talks to the candidate | As agreed, usually alongside the candidate side | Yes |
| Paid by | The client | The job-side firm |
Most firms that do splits play both roles: they share their hard-to-fill jobs with partners, and send their strong but unplaced candidates to partners' jobs.
How is the fee split?
The split is whatever the two firms agree in writing before the candidate is submitted, or what the network's rules set if they work through one. The agreement should also say whether a network brokerage fee is taken before the split and how a refund under the client's guarantee is shared.
Example with invented numbers: one placement, two ways of splitting it
Client fee for the placement: $25,000 (an example; the fee itself comes from the job side's agreement with the client).
Equal split agreed, made through a network charging 6% brokerage, assuming the brokerage comes off the total before splitting: $25,000 × 0.94 = $23,500, so $11,750 to each firm. Check your network's rules for how its fee is actually charged.
Unequal split agreed directly between two firms, 60% to the job side because it also ran the client's assessment process: $15,000 to the job side and $10,000 to the candidate side.
Guarantee refund: if the client's agreement gives a 50% refund for an early departure and the split agreement shares refunds in the same proportions as the fee, the 60/40 firms refund $7,500 and $5,000.
What are split networks, and what do they charge?
Split networks are membership organizations of independent recruiting firms that share job orders and candidates so members can make split placements with firms they may never have met. Their published terms, as of October 2026:
| Network | How it describes itself | Published costs | Protections described |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE Network (Top Echelon) | A split placement network for recruiters and placement agencies in the United States and Canada; says it has "over 500 agencies with a total of more than 1,000 recruiters" | "A one-time $350 start-up fee and a monthly membership fee of $150, plus TE's 6% brokerage fee on placements made through the Network" | Not described on that page; its explainer says only that "the placement fee is split according to agreed terms" |
| NPAworldwide | Calls itself "the original split placement network", founded in 1956 | US$500 enrollment fee for new applications and US$250 per additional location, monthly dues (amount not published) and "a brokerage fee paid on each split placement" (amount not published) | Dispute path: owners first, then each party's board representatives, then an arbitration hearing before the full board with appeals; protection against nonpayment by another member |
Membership counts and results are the networks' own claims. Neither page above publishes a standard split percentage, so do not assume one; read the member rules before your first deal. Firms also split outside networks, through direct agreements with recruiters they know. Without a network, there is no one to arbitrate a dispute or cover an unpaid fee, so the written agreement matters more.
Which terms should a split fee agreement settle?
- Parties and the role: both firms, the client (or a coded reference until disclosed), the job, and the client's fee terms the split depends on.
- The split: percentages, whether any network fee comes off first, and whether expenses (travel, assessments) are shared.
- Payment timing: for example, within a set number of days after the job side receives the client's payment, and what happens if the client pays late or not at all.
- Guarantee: how refunds are shared, who does the replacement search, and whether a replacement is split the same way. Our placement guarantee period page covers the client side.
- Candidate ownership: how long the candidate side's claim lasts if the client hires the same person later or into a different role; see candidate ownership disputes.
- Client contact: the candidate side does not contact the client about this candidate or other business without the job side's agreement, for a stated period.
- Candidate contact: who speaks to the candidate about the offer, and that the job side will not recruit the candidate for other roles outside the split.
- Duplicate submissions: what happens if the client already has the candidate from another source; usually the client's records decide.
- Candidate data: what each firm may keep, and how it is protected.
- Disputes: the network's process, or an agreed mediator or arbitrator.
How do split disputes usually start?
| Trigger | What happens | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate candidate | The client says it already had the résumé from another agency or a direct application | Confirm with the candidate that they have not applied before submission, in writing |
| Hired into a different role | The client hires the candidate months later for another job | Ownership period and scope in the agreement |
| Going around the job side | The candidate side contacts the client directly | Client contact clause; network rules |
| Refund after payout | The hire leaves; the job side has already paid its partner | Refund-sharing clause with a repayment deadline |
| Client nonpayment | The candidate side waits indefinitely | Payment-on-receipt clause plus a reporting duty |
If a placement falls apart after an offer, how to recover a lost placement covers the client and candidate side of the conversation.
When is split fee recruiting worth it?
For the job side, a split turns a job it cannot fill into half a fee instead of none, and keeps the client from calling a competitor. For the candidate side, it turns a strong candidate with no matching job into income. The costs are less control over the process, shared margin, network fees and some dispute risk. Splits work best for roles outside a firm's own niche or geography and for firms that keep clear records of who submitted whom, and when.
Questions people ask
What is split fee recruiting?
Split fee recruiting is an arrangement in which two independent recruiting firms work on one placement and share the fee. The job-side firm has the client and the fee agreement; the candidate-side firm supplies the person who is hired. The client pays the job-side firm, which pays the candidate-side firm its agreed share.
How is the fee divided in a split placement?
By written agreement between the two firms, made before the candidate is submitted. The split percentage, whether any network brokerage fee comes off first, when the candidate side is paid and how guarantee refunds are shared should all be in that agreement. Split networks publish their own membership and brokerage costs, but the division between partners is agreed per deal or set by the network's rules.
What is a split placement network?
A membership organization where independent recruiting firms share job orders and candidates with each other so they can make split placements. As of October 2026, Top Echelon's TE Network publishes a $350 start-up fee, a $150 monthly fee and a 6% brokerage fee on placements made through it, and NPAworldwide publishes a US$500 enrollment fee plus monthly dues and a brokerage fee on each split.
Is split fee recruiting the same as a split desk?
No. A split desk is inside one agency: an account manager owns the client and a recruiter fills the job, and the firm divides credit between them. Split fee recruiting is between two separate firms, each with its own business, and the fee itself is shared between the companies.