The fee reflects the effort the search actually requires. Improve the role, reduce the fee. That's the whole principle.
Most recruitment fees are a flat percentage of placed salary, regardless of how easy or hard the role was to fill. We think that's the wrong model. A role that takes 5 days to shortlist and a role that takes 45 days should not cost the same.
Our pricing is based on search effort — the actual work required to fill the role at the spec presented to us. A role in the green zone (high hireability score, strong candidate pool, competitive salary) requires less search effort, so it carries a lower fee. A role that is genuinely hard to fill — below-market salary, over-filtered spec, scarce candidate pool — requires more work, so the fee is higher.
This is search-effort pricing, and it creates a straightforward incentive: fix the role, pay less.
Roles with a hireability score below 60. Spec requires meaningful work to optimise before and during the search. Candidate pool is limited at the presented spec.
Roles with a hireability score of 70 or above — or where the recommended changes have been agreed before search begins. Reduced search effort, larger candidate pool, faster shortlist.
First-time clients: −2% off either option on your first placement. The green-zone search starts at just 7%.
Every role submitted through the Hireability Engine receives a score from 0–100. That score is built from five factors: base market availability, candidate supply in the specific geography, salary relative to the movement point, number of essential skills listed, and interview process length. Each factor has a stated weight and a stated deduction. Nothing is hidden.
The fee bracket is set at the start of the search, based on the agreed spec. If you agree the recommended green-zone changes before we begin, you receive the green-zone rate. If you want to proceed at the original spec, you proceed at the standard rate. There is no mid-search fee adjustment unless the spec materially changes.
The fee covers a contingency search: GRW runs the search, presents a shortlist, manages the process, and the fee is payable on placement. No upfront retainer is required for standard searches.
Specifically, the fee covers:
This is not surge pricing. This is not dynamic pricing. The fee is set transparently before the search begins, based on the objective effort required, and confirmed in writing by Bruce. It does not change with market conditions, urgency, or the number of other searches running simultaneously.
The language matters because it reflects the intent. "Dynamic pricing" implies a fee that rises when you're most desperate — that is not what this is. "Search-effort pricing" means: we estimate the work honestly, we set the fee accordingly, and we tell you exactly how to reduce it.
A role is in the green zone when its hireability score is 70 or above. At that score, the candidate pool is large enough to give us confidence we can build a quality shortlist within 7–14 days. The fee reflects that confidence.
Getting a role into the green zone typically requires some or all of the following adjustments:
These adjustments are identified automatically by the Hireability Engine and confirmed by Bruce before any search begins. None of them means lowering the bar on the engineer — they mean removing the filters that were blocking good engineers from being considered.
We use the phrase "fairer recruitment pricing" deliberately. Most recruitment fees are set as a fixed percentage of salary, agreed before anyone has analysed whether the role is actually fillable. The employer carries all the risk if the search runs long. GRW's model shifts some of that risk back to the recruiter: we are incentivised to fill the role efficiently, because an inefficient search — one caused by a spec that was never going to fill — earns us the same fee for twice the work.
The result is a straightforward alignment: GRW's interest is in filling good roles quickly. The employer's interest is in filling good roles quickly. The fee model reflects that.
A Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer role in Glasgow, presented at £42,000 with 9 essential skills, scores 43 on the Hireability Engine. At standard rate (15%), the fee on placement at £42,000 is £6,300.
The same role, presented at £46,000–£48,000 with 5 essentials and a widened sector requirement, scores 74. At green-zone rate (9%), the fee on placement at £47,000 is £4,230. The employer pays approximately £5,000 more in salary over the year — and saves £2,070 on the fee, with a faster shortlist and a reduced risk of the role going unfilled.
That is what "improve the role, reduce the fee" means in practice.
If you want to discuss a specific role before submitting it through the Engine, or if you have a retained search requirement, contact Bruce directly:
See your score, your candidate pool estimate, and your green-zone recommendations — instantly, for free.
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