Engagements
What a search costs, explained before you ask.
Most firms will not put this in writing until you are on a call. The mechanics below are how the market generally works, so you can plan a budget before you speak to anyone, including us.
Two ways to work together.
Retained Search
A dedicated, exclusive engagement for the roles your company cannot afford to get wrong. Full market mapping, partner-led outreach, structured assessment and the written 12-month guarantee.
- Exclusive, priority engagement
- Original market research and mapping
- First shortlist in 21 days
- 12-month replacement guarantee
Contingent Search
A success-fee engagement for well-defined leadership and senior management roles where speed matters and the market is known. Same standards, same candidate care, paid only on placement.
- Fee due only on a completed hire
- Draws on our existing market knowledge
- Same structured assessment discipline
- Replacement protection included
All eight are in every retained engagement. None of them is an upgrade, a phase two, or a line item added later.
Plan the budget before the first conversation.
These are common market mechanics, published so you can plan. They are not a Steward Well fee schedule. Every fee basis, expense policy and guarantee is defined in the engagement letter you sign before the first call is made.
Plan the budget
Enter the first-year cash compensation you expect the seat to carry. The range updates as you type.
Clarity before commitment.
How quickly will we see candidates?
A first calibrated shortlist within 21 days of launch. A signed offer takes longer and depends on notice periods, interview availability and how the market responds to the mandate. If the profile is wrong, you hear that in week one rather than month three.
What does a retained search cost?
Market guides commonly describe retained fees as 25% to 33% of first-year cash compensation, usually billed in milestones. That is educational context rather than a published Steward Well fee schedule. Every proposal defines the fee basis, the expense policy and the guarantee in writing before the search begins.
Can a replacement search stay confidential?
Yes. The strategy, the target universe and the outreach narrative are agreed before any contact is made, and disclosure is limited to what a candidate genuinely needs at each stage. This is one of the more common reasons companies come to us.
When does contingent search make sense?
For well-defined Controller, VP Finance and senior management mandates where confidentiality matters less, the market is already known and paying on placement is preferred. For a seat the company cannot afford to get wrong, retained is the honest recommendation.
What exactly is guaranteed?
If a retained placement does not last twelve months, we run the search again on the same standards at no additional professional fee. Not a credit, not a partial refund. The terms sit in the engagement letter you sign at the start.
What do you need from us?
Access to the stakeholders during discovery, a decision on compensation authority, and reserved interview capacity. Searches slow down for one of those three far more often than they slow down for the market.