How we work and pricing
The price is on the page, where it belongs.
Most executive search firms make you schedule a call before they will tell you what anything costs. Here is every model, every fee, every guarantee, and which seats each one is actually built for.
The model is chosen by the seat, not by preference.
CHRO and VP HR searches run on Engaged Search or Classic Retained Premium. They do not run on contingency. The leaders those seats require are running functions that depend on them right now, and nobody reaches that person on a speculative basis. A contingency firm cannot afford six weeks on a search that might pay nothing, so it sends you whoever was already available. Which is precisely the candidate you were trying to avoid.
Contingency Search
Pay only when your person starts.
- Cost to start: zero. Review candidates and interview at no cost, and pay only when you hire.
- Guarantee: 60-day replacement
- Payment: 30 days after start date
Engaged Search
Priority search. Shared commitment.
- Guarantee: 6-month replacement
- Payment: an engagement fee at signing, credited in full against the search fee. Not an additional charge.
- Commitment: a written slate commitment, with a number and a date agreed before work begins
Classic Retained Premium
Full-year protection on the hires that matter most.
- Guarantee: 365-day full replacement
- Payment: three stages across the search
- Priority: the full system, front of the line, start to close
Multiple Placement Package
Building an entire HR function at once.
- One retained engagement covers your first search
- Subsequent roles billed at the standard contingency rate
- Same candidate pipeline, so every additional hire comes faster and stronger
Contract and Interim
Bridge the gap without compromising quality.
- Billing: weekly, after hours are approved
- Your interim leader works directly for you, never through an account manager
- Contractors recruited the same way permanent hires are recruited. Most convert to permanent.
What that comes to, in dollars.
| The seat | Total cash comp | Model | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortune 500 CHRO | $600,000 | Classic Retained Premium | $210,000 |
| Enterprise CHRO | $450,000 | Classic Retained Premium | $157,500 |
| CHRO | $300,000 | Classic Retained Premium | $105,000 |
| CHRO | $300,000 | Engaged Search | $90,000 |
| VP HR | $250,000 | Engaged Search | $75,000 |
| HR Director | $180,000 | Engaged Search | $54,000 |
| HR Director | $180,000 | Contingency | $45,000 |
| HR Manager | $140,000 | Contingency | $35,000 |
What the percentage is calculated on.
Fee basis: all search fees are calculated on first-year total cash compensation, defined as base salary plus target annual bonus.
Excluded: equity and long-term incentive awards, sign-on bonuses, relocation assistance, benefits, and car or expense allowances.
No true-up in either direction: the fee is set on target bonus at the time of hire. If your leader overperforms and earns above target, your fee does not move. If the year comes in under target, it does not move either.
Scoped in writing before work begins, including the fee, the fee basis, the guarantee window, and the slate commitment with its number and its date.
Unsure which model fits? That is the thirty-minute conversation.
Most clients start there. Tell me the role and the situation, and you will get an honest read on which approach fits, including the times a cheaper model is the right answer.
Book a Strategic Talent Call Or read the guarantees in plain languageZach Nold, Chief Talent Officer, Crucial Hire. 1165 N Clark Street, Chicago. 312-612-1981
