There isn't one standard price for executive search in the UK.

Traditional retained search firms often calculate fees as a percentage of the successful candidate's first-year remuneration, while other firms use a fixed project fee. There may also be research, advertising, assessment or expenses charged separately.

My view is fairly simple: clients should know the total fee before the search starts.

Percentage fees

Percentage-of-salary pricing has been around for years. The logic is that more senior or highly paid appointments require more work and therefore command a higher fee.

Sometimes that's true. Often it isn't.

A £200,000 role isn't automatically twice as difficult to search as a £100,000 role. In some markets the opposite can be true.

It also creates an odd relationship between the candidate's eventual package and the supplier's fee.

Fixed-fee executive search

A fixed fee prices the assignment rather than the candidate's salary.

The search firm agrees the scope, deliverables, timetable and total cost at the outset. For clients, that makes budgeting easier and removes uncertainty if the eventual package changes.

At re:find, this is the model we prefer.

What should the fee include?

This is where comparisons become more useful than headline percentages.

Ask what you are actually getting:

  • Who leads the search?
  • Is original market research included?
  • How broad is the market mapping?
  • Are candidates interviewed and assessed before presentation?
  • Is psychometric assessment included or additional?
  • Are there separate advertising or research charges?
  • What reporting will you receive?
  • What happens if the search doesn't appoint?
  • Is there a replacement guarantee?

Two firms quoting similar fees can be offering very different services.

When is executive search worth paying for?

I think search earns its fee when the appointment matters enough that simply advertising and waiting isn't a sensible strategy.

That can be because the talent pool is small, the best people are unlikely to apply, confidentiality matters, the role is difficult to define or the organisation needs independent assessment alongside identification.

For a straightforward role with a strong active candidate market, retained executive search may be unnecessary.

Ask whether you need a search at all

This is the question I'd put before price.

If you have a credible internal successor, aren't clear on the role or want to understand the market first, a smaller advisory or benchmarking exercise may be better value than immediately commissioning a full search.

Price matters. But buying the wrong process cheaply is still expensive.