Answers
How much does an executive search firm cost?
Executive search is usually priced as a percentage of the hire's first-year compensation. Contingency firms typically charge around 15–25% and are paid only on a hire; retained firms often charge 25–33%, billed in instalments whether or not they deliver. The Quantum Club uses a success-only model: a 25% fee on first-year salary, owed only when a hire signs, with no retainer.
The three pricing models
Contingency: a percentage of first-year salary, paid only if the firm places someone, but the firm is usually running several searches at once. Retained: a larger percentage, billed in stages up front regardless of outcome. Exclusive focus, but you carry the risk. No Cure, No Pay: exclusive and success-only. The firm carries the risk of the search itself.
What The Quantum Club charges
Our standard fee is 25% of first-year salary; partner rates are agreed per engagement. The fee is owed only on a signed hire: no retainer, nothing upfront. Every placement is backed by a guarantee laid down in your agreement: if a hire leaves within the agreed period, we run a replacement search at no cost or credit the fee against your next placement. The risk stays with the club, which is only sustainable when the shortlist is genuinely pre-qualified.
Cost isn't the same as price
The real cost of a search is a wrong or slow hire, not the fee. The club places for the seat's return, so this hire pays for the next, and a complimentary five-candidate trial (Club Promo) lets a company see the calibre before any fee is in play.
Frequently asked
Is executive search worth the fee?
For senior and hard-to-reach roles, usually: the cost of a mis-hire at that level far exceeds any placement fee. A success-only model like The Quantum Club's also means you pay only when the hire actually signs.
Do you pay if the search doesn't find anyone?
With retained search, yes: fees are billed regardless. With The Quantum Club's No Cure, No Pay model, no: you pay only on a successful placement.
How is the fee calculated?
As a percentage of the hire's first-year pay: 25% of first-year salary at The Quantum Club, owed only on signing, backed by a guarantee set out in your agreement.
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