We sell annual partnerships, so it is worth being clear about when they are the wrong answer.
Do not start one if
You expect fewer than three senior searches in the year. The economics do not work and we will say so. You want a firm on retainer as insurance rather than for defined work; that is paying for availability, and a standalone search is cheaper. Or the organisation is about to change hands, restructure or change CEO in a way that makes the year's plan unknowable; wait until it is knowable.
End one if
The hiring pattern has changed. A business that has finished building its leadership team does not need a search partner on a monthly fee; it needs one on call. We would rather convert a partnership to standalone terms than keep invoicing for work that is not there.
The relationship has stopped being candid. If we find ourselves telling a client what it wants to hear, or a client finds itself managing what it tells us, the partnership has lost the thing that made it worth paying for.
The numbers no longer work. At each quarterly review we compare the fee against the cost of the same searches bought separately, plus the advisory work delivered. If it is not cheaper, the scope is reset or the partnership ends.
How to end one well
With notice, a closing report on the market as it stands, and the market maps and candidate reports handed over in full. Everything the client paid for stays with the client. A partnership that is difficult to leave was never a partnership.
What usually happens
Most of our partnerships have changed shape rather than ended. The defence business we have worked with since 2019 has rewritten its scope more than once as it grew. That is the review rhythm doing its job.