Rethinking the agency retainer: How AI is reshaping long-term talent support 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is accelerating the pace of work to a point where most operating models can’t keep up and it’s prompting companies to reassess how they secure durable, ongoing support. 

In many cases retainers are the ideal alternative to full-time hires, offering durable, adaptable support that can scale with shifting priorities. Under pressure are the oversized, high-cost agency agreements that lock organisations into $20k-$100k monthly commitments without delivering proportional value. As priorities shift weekly and transformation cycles compress, businesses are moving toward right-sized, modular retainers, the kind that provide robust, long-term support without the bloat.

According to the CIPD Labour Market Outlook, cost management is by far the top priority for UK organisations with risk-averse businesses actively auditing flexible spending, while also tempering full-time employee hiring. The role a business needed six months ago may not be the role it needs today, yet FTEs lock companies into fixed costs, slow onboarding and rigid contract terms. Retainers, by contrast, offer agility and the opportunity to look further afield for appropriate talent.

Hanna Saramo, Enterprise Account Executive at Amazon Web Services, understands the benefits of a new, flexible operating model. She advocates for how organisations can integrate refugee talent programmes into businesses, having designed Amazon’s Digital Work Program with Giselle Gonzales, founder and CEO of EqualReach, a business that connects companies with refugee-led digital expertise.

“Since March 2025 when our first cohort of mostly Ukrainian refugees started, we’ve seen 100% contract extension rate, a member outperforming the UK benchmark by 42% and another whose specific designs helped a product seller increase their revenue by 400%,” says Hanna.

“We’re solving real customer and business problems because this programme has been integrated into the business teams and isn’t a charity project. From day one, we knew the best way to help our candidates was to help the business.”

EqualReach is a digital project marketplace connecting companies with vetted teams of tech-skilled refugees and its founder Giselle says AI isn’t just automating tasks – its impact is much more significant:

 “As well as reshaping entire roles, AI is forcing organisations to rethink how they access talent, especially for product development, digital transformation and creative output,” she explains. “The businesses that win this transition will be the ones that stay agile, not the ones locked into outdated models.”

Indeed, many organisations are moving from fixed job descriptions to ‘skills ecosystems’, preferring these flexible, project-driven structures that allow teams to scale up or down as priorities change.

Platforms like EqualReach offer pre-vetted digital and creative teams from displaced and marginalised global communities for short-term or flexible retainer projects. This gives organisations the ability to move fast with high-quality talent without committing to long-term overheads, and also delivers social impact.

“Large corporate agency retainers are expensive and don’t always deliver
good value compared to small, agile, and dedicated teams. Project-based teams give businesses what they actually need to maintain pace and thrive – precision, speed and measurable outcomes,” adds Giselle.

“EqualReach’s model is designed to help companies bridge the AI transition by executing critical digital projects on-demand or on a retainer basis (often at a 30% cost savings compared to a client’s local market), without adding permanent headcount. Being skill-based, not role-based, organisations can test whether this works for them, without committing to hires or restructure internally. By paying only for output, it’s clear that value is maximised and sourcing top-tier digital talent from displaced and marginalised global communities also hits ESG targets.”

CIPD’s 2026 People Profession report reinforces the trend: 54% of organisations now link talent strategy to ESG commitments, with inclusive hiring among HR leaders’ top three priorities.

Giselle added: “We’re challenging business leaders to redirect 10% of their digital service and project budgets toward vetted refugee delivery teams to drive ROI while scaling social impact.”

Bayer case study: A real-world example of the model in action

A recent EqualReach project with Bayer, the global life-sciences company, illustrates how project-based teams outperform traditional retainers in the AI era.

Bayer needed to create an AI-driven internal communications video for its 85,000 global employees. The brief required speed, technical skill and creative precision and instead of turning to a traditional agency, Bayer used EqualReach to assemble a specialist project team combining AI video expertise, motion design and narrative development.

The results were significant:

• The team delivered a high-quality AI-powered video at speed, without the long onboarding cycles typical of agencies.
• Bayer paid only for the work delivered, not for unused hours.
• The project demonstrated how modular, on-demand teams can handle complex creative and technical briefs at enterprise scale.
• The approach aligned with Bayer’s ESG commitments, tapping into overlooked diverse global talent while reducing the environmental footprint associated with traditional production workflows.

Patrick van Mulken, Atlas Business Project Lead, Radiology at Bayer, said: “I liked the fact that they were very clear in their communication about what was needed without trying to schedule a meeting for everything. I found working with them very pleasant. They are receptive to feedback and willing to adapt so from my side all positive traits. I honestly did not know what to expect as this is an uncommon area for me, so the first video actually made it tangible for me.

“We really like the innovative approach with AI generated avatars used on the final video deliverable and feel this will work well to communicate our messages to our audience.”