Answers

How much does an executive search firm cost?

Executive search is usually priced as a percentage of the hire's first-year cash compensation. Search firms have traditionally been paid a third of it; Korn Ferry's annual report puts its search fees at generally one-third. Contingency recruiters usually charge less, and only on a hire. The Quantum Club charges 25% of first-year salary, only on a signed hire: no retainer.

Published July 12, 2026 Updated October 20, 2026

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 search itself is at the club's risk, 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.

What the percentage is calculated on

The rate is only half of the price; the base is the other half. Ask each firm what its percentage is applied to: base salary alone, or bonus and other cash as well, since the same rate on a wider base is a larger fee. The Quantum Club's general terms are specific. Unless the agreement says otherwise, the base is the agreed gross annual salary including holiday pay, and excluding variable bonuses, one-off payments and other secondary benefits. For a fixed-term contract shorter than twelve months the fee is pro rata, and if that contract is extended or made permanent within twelve months of the start, the balance of the full fee follows. All amounts are exclusive of VAT.

When the money falls due

The timing of payment matters as much as the total. A retained firm bills in stages on a contract timetable, starting before the search has produced anyone, so part of the fee is paid whatever the outcome. A contingency firm bills on a hire. At The Quantum Club nothing is billed until an employment contract is signed, and the invoice is then payable within fourteen days unless the agreement sets another term. Fees are reviewed once a year, changes are announced in writing at least a month before they take effect, and a search already running is finished at the rate that applied when it started.

Questions to ask before you sign

What is the fee calculated on, and is VAT on top? When is each part due, and what is owed if the search is stopped? Is the mandate exclusive? What does the guarantee provide, and in what form: a replacement search, a credit against the next hire, or money back? How long does the firm's claim on a candidate it introduced last, and what happens if you hire that person later, directly? What is billed on top of the fee, such as external assessments or candidate travel? A firm that answers each of these in writing has priced itself honestly, and one that hesitates has told you where the surprises are.

Weighing the fee against the exposure

The honest way to judge a fee is against what it protects. Take the seat's annual salary and set the fee beside Gallup's estimate that replacing an individual employee can cost from one-half to two times their annual salary, a figure Gallup calls conservative and does not break out for senior roles, before the costs that never reach a spreadsheet. The Quantum Club's rule is to claim no more than that: the only return a success-only fee may honestly point to is the exposure it stands against, worked out from the company's own numbers, never a promised multiple on a hire that has not yet been made.

Frequently asked

Is executive search worth the fee?

For senior and hard-to-reach roles, usually. A mis-hire generally has to be replaced, and Gallup estimates that replacing an individual employee can cost from one-half to two times their annual salary, against a fee that is a fraction of one year's pay. 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.

Is VAT charged on top of a search fee?

At The Quantum Club, yes: every amount in the club's general terms is exclusive of VAT, which is charged separately. When comparing firms, check whether each quote is before or after VAT and what the percentage is applied to, since both change the real figure.

Is there a lower rate for companies that hire repeatedly?

Partner rates are agreed per engagement. The club's Elite Partner tier, which is by invitation only, carries a reduced fee and continuous coverage for companies hiring across several seats at once. Each person the club introduces and the company hires is a separate placement with its own fee, including a second hire for a different role.

Sources

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