Four stages, and you always know which one you're in

Most frustration with agencies and consultants comes from not knowing what is happening. Our process is deliberately visible: written briefs, weekly updates, documented outputs and commercial terms agreed before work starts.

Understand

Week 0

A working session with whoever owns the outcome — the hiring manager, the business head, the placement officer. Not a form emailed to you.
We establish what needs to happen, what success looks like, and which requirements are genuinely non-negotiable.
You get a written brief to sign off. If we think the mandate is unachievable at the stated budget or timeline, this is where we say so — with market data, not opinion.

Plan

Week 1

A scoped plan with milestones, owners and the numbers we will report against.
For recruitment that means a sourcing plan and compensation benchmark. For branding and PR, a story or campaign calendar. For institutions, a drive and training calendar.
Commercial terms are confirmed in writing before delivery starts. No scope creep conversations halfway through.

Execute

Weeks 2 onward

Delivery against the plan, with a written weekly update whether or not there is good news. Silence is not a status report.
Every candidate is screened before they reach you. Every campaign asset is reviewed before it goes out. Every drive is confirmed before students are told.
When something slips, you hear it from us in that week's update, along with what we are changing.

Review

At close and each cycle

Results measured against the metrics agreed at the start — time to shortlist, offer acceptance, placement conversion, coverage, reach, cost per hire.
An honest read on what worked, what did not, and what we would change next cycle.
For recruitment, follow-through continues during notice period, because the risk of a counter-offer is highest in the two weeks after resignation.

What we commit to

Written, not verbal

Everything material about an engagement exists in a document you can refer back to.

Signed brief

Agreed scope, must-haves, budget band and timeline. Signed before delivery begins.

Weekly written update

Progress against plan and a plain-language note on what moved and what did not.

Documented output

Shortlist notes, campaign reports, placement data — written, with the concerns included.

Guarantee terms

Replacement period and conditions written into the mandate upfront, not discussed after a problem.

Commercial terms

Fee, payment trigger and invoicing schedule agreed in writing before we start work.

Confidentiality

Candidate and student details shared only with consent. Client mandates disclosed only with approval.

Where engagements actually stall

Three things that slow a mandate

None of them are sourcing or effort problems. Knowing this early saves everyone weeks.

Decision-maker availability

The most common cause of a slow close is interview or review slots, not supply. Good candidates in a live market have two or three other processes running. A ten-day gap between rounds is where you lose them.

Budget set too long ago

If a salary band or campaign budget was set eighteen months ago and never revised, delivery will stall regardless of effort. We benchmark at the briefing stage so this surfaces in week zero rather than week six.

Unwritten requirements

When output gets rejected for reasons that were not in the brief, the brief was incomplete. We push hard at the briefing stage to surface the criteria people hold implicitly but never write down.

FAQ

Process questions

What do you need from us to start?

A conversation with whoever owns the outcome, and sign-off on the written brief. Mandates briefed second-hand without the decision-maker in the room take about twice as long, so we push for that session.

How often will we hear from you?

Weekly, in writing, whether or not there is progress. If a week goes badly you will know why and what we are changing.

What if the shortlist or output is not right?

We recalibrate in a conversation about what specifically missed. For hiring it is usually one of three things: the brief was optimistic, the compensation is below market, or a stated must-have is actually a nice-to-have. We name which one.

Do you work exclusively?

Not necessarily for permanent roles, though exclusive mandates get faster attention because the economics justify deeper research. Executive search is always exclusive.

What happens if you deliver nothing?

For success-based permanent recruitment, you owe nothing. That is the point of the model. For fixed-fee consulting and PR work, deliverables are defined upfront and you can stop after a phase if the findings do not justify continuing.

Tell us what you're trying to solve

Send a brief, or just describe the situation. We will come back with a view on what it will take, how long, and whether we are the right people for it.

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