Retained search across the UK, Europe and North America
The hires that are too expensive to get wrong
Search is the method we use when the appointment sets direction rather than delivering against it - mapped to the whole market, not the part of it that happens to be looking.
What search is
A mapped market, not a filtered database
Contingent recruitment answers one question - who is available right now. Search answers a different one: of everyone who could do this job well, who are the ten or twelve people worth your time, and what would it take to move them.
That means building the map before making the approach. We define the shape of the role with you, agree what good actually looks like in your context, and then work the market systematically - including the people who are settled, well paid and not answering recruiters.
You see the reasoning, not just the shortlist. Every name that reaches you comes with why they are on the list, and every category we ruled out comes with why we ruled it out. If the brief is wrong, that shows up in the mapping rather than three months later in a resignation.
Where search fits
Search is the right method for some hires and the wrong one for others
Use search when
- The appointment sets direction rather than delivering against it
- The people you want are employed, performing and not on the market
- Getting it wrong costs you a year and a reputation, not a probation period
- The role is new, ambiguous, or has changed shape since it was last filled
- Confidentiality matters - the incumbent is still in post, or the mandate is sensitive
- You need to know what the market looks like, not only who says yes
Use something else when
- You need cover in weeks rather than months - that is an interim brief
- You are testing a hypothesis about a market before committing to a hire - start with research
- You are building out a layer at pace rather than making one appointment - see team moves
- The role is well defined, well supplied, and speed matters more than reach
- Budget is the binding constraint and you would rather trade certainty for cost
How a search runs
Five stages, and you see the work at every one
Brief and calibrate
[CONFIRM: typical duration]We work through the role with the people it affects - not only the hiring manager. What the appointment has to change, what the first year looks like, where the internal friction sits. If the brief will not survive contact with the market, we say so before the search starts rather than after.
Map the market
[CONFIRM: typical duration]We build the full universe of relevant organisations and people, then narrow it with you. You get the map itself, including who we excluded and on what basis. This is often the point where a brief changes - seeing the real supply tends to sharpen what you are actually looking for.
Approach and assess
[CONFIRM: typical duration]Direct, confidential approaches made by the person running your search. Every candidate is assessed against the agreed criteria and against each other, and you get an honest read on motivation - what would genuinely move them, and what would make them stay put.
Shortlist and interview
[CONFIRM: typical duration]A shortlist you can defend, with written reasoning behind every inclusion. We run the process alongside you - scheduling, feedback, managing expectations on both sides - so momentum does not leak between stages. Referencing is structured, not a formality at the end.
Offer and land
[CONFIRM: typical duration]Senior offers fall over at the counter-offer, not at the interview. We handle the negotiation, stay close through notice periods, and check in after the start date. The mandate is not finished when the contract is signed - it is finished when the person is in and working.
What you are left with
What you have at the end, beyond the hire
The market map
A documented view of every organisation and person considered, with the reasoning behind inclusion and exclusion. Yours to keep and use.
Written assessments
Structured evaluation of every shortlisted candidate against the agreed criteria, including the risks - not only the case for.
Market intelligence
What the market thinks of your proposition, what people are actually being paid, and what stopped good people from engaging.
A defined process
Agreed stages, agreed timings, and one point of contact throughout. You always know where the search is and what happens next.
Referencing
Structured references taken against the specific demands of the role, run before the offer rather than as a rubber stamp after it.
Post-appointment cover
[CONFIRM: guarantee period and terms - do not publish this card until Nick confirms the exact commitment]
Roles
See the appointments we make this way
Search is the method. The roles page is where you find out whether we know your market well enough to run it for you.
Roles we placeNext step
Tell us about the appointment
A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If search is the wrong method for what you are trying to do, we will tell you that and point you at the right one.
Start a conversation