Engagement Options
⭐ Recommended for Growing Businesses
Strategic Talent Consultancy
Ideal for businesses expecting to recruit several people over the coming months. We become an extension of your team, providing ongoing strategic talent support, hiring strategy and market insight, without the cost of employing an in-house talent function.
- Hiring Strategy Reviews
- Talent Mapping & Market Insights
- Workforce Planning
- Employer Branding
- Hiring Process Improvement
- Monthly Hiring Reviews
- Leadership Support
Every Strategic Talent Consultancy engagement runs on the same Virtual Talent Hiring Framework. What changes as you move from Flexible to Embedded is how much of your wider hiring strategy we take on.
Flexible
From £795/mo
The Framework, applied to your open roles, with Talent Mapping & Market Insights built into every search. Ideal if you're hiring occasionally and want each search handled properly, without needing an ongoing hiring strategy.
Growth
From £1,395/mo
Everything in Flexible, plus Hiring Strategy Reviews, Workforce Planning, Hiring Process Improvement and Monthly Hiring Reviews. For businesses hiring regularly, who need hiring to work as a system rather than a one-off project each time.
Embedded
From £2,195/mo
Everything in Growth, plus Employer Branding and Leadership Support. Your strategic talent function, without the cost of a full-time Head of Talent.
Minimum 3-month partnership for each engagement.
Strategic Talent Assessment
Ideal for businesses making a single important hire. We guide you through the entire hiring process from defining the role through structured interview support to offer strategy and negotiation guidance, for one transparent fixed fee.
- Role Definition
- Market Intelligence
- Hiring Process Design
- Employer Brand Review
- Interview Frameworks
- Offer Strategy
- Candidate Experience Review
From £2,500 per project
Your fixed fee is agreed upfront and reflects the complexity of the search, candidate availability and level of market mapping required.
A structured, evidence-led process
from start to finish.
Strategic Hiring Advisory
Ideal for businesses that want expert strategic hiring advice before making informed workforce and talent decisions. Whether you're planning growth, reviewing your recruitment process or need a second opinion, we'll help you make informed hiring decisions.
- Hiring Strategy & Roadmap
- Team Structure Planning
- Recruitment Process Review
- Salary Benchmarking
- Market Insight & Talent Availability
- One-off Advisory Projects
Advisory support from £125/hour
Fixed-scope projects from £495
Expert advice without a long-term commitment.
Virtual Talent is accountable for the quality of our insight, judgement, advice and delivery. We use evidence, challenge assumptions and provide a clear, structured approach to better hiring decisions. Where we're supporting a live search, we'll work hard to achieve the hiring outcome, while being transparent about the factors outside our control including market conditions, candidate decisions and decisions made by the client.
Choosing the Right Talent Strategy
Virtual Talent
Practical strategic talent support to help growing businesses make confident hiring decisions and build sustainable teams.
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Transparent Fixed Pricing
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Workforce Planning & Hiring Strategy
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Strategic Talent Advice
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Market Mapping & Talent Intelligence
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Flexible Ongoing Support
Designed for founder-led businesses and growing SMEs that want experienced strategic hiring support without building a full internal talent function.
✓ Hiring decisions have long-term commercial impact ✔ Poor hires cost 30%+ of salary ✔ SME hiring is often occasional but critical
Growing businesses often need experienced hiring support without the cost or commitment of expanding their internal team. Virtual Talent provides practical, strategic talent support with transparent pricing and a flexible approach that adapts as your business grows.
FAQ's
What happens if a hire doesn't work out?
We take real ownership of the process, but we're honest that no one can guarantee how a person or the market behaves once someone's in the role. If a placement doesn't work out, we address it directly with you, full details of how that's handled are set out in our Terms of Business, shared before any work begins.
How is this different from using a traditional recruitment agency?
Most agencies work on a percentage of salary and disappear once the role is filled. We work on fixed fees, agreed upfront, and put as much weight on the strategy behind the hire, market mapping, role design, salary benchmarking, as the search itself.
What's the difference between Embedded and hiring an in-house Head of Talent?
An in-house Head of Talent typically costs £60,000–£80,000 or more once you include salary, National Insurance and pension. Embedded gives you the same strategic function from £2,195 a month, with none of the recruitment, onboarding or notice period to manage if your needs change.
How do I know which service is right for me?
If you've got one important role to fill, Strategic Talent Assessment is built for that. If you're hiring several people over the coming months, Strategic Talent Consultancy — Flexible, Growth or Embedded, depending on how much ongoing support you need — is the better fit. If you want expert input before deciding what to do next, Strategic Hiring Advisory works on its own, with no ongoing commitment.
Is there a minimum commitment?
Strategic Talent Consultancy — Flexible, Growth and Embedded — runs on a minimum 3-month partnership. That reflects how long it genuinely takes to build a hiring strategy and see results from it, not just fill one role. Strategic Talent Assessment and Strategic Hiring Advisory don't carry this commitment, since they're structured as one-off, fixed-fee or hourly engagements.
Where are you based, and do you work with businesses outside your area?
We're based across Bristol, Somerset and Gloucestershire, and work with clients UK-wide remotely as standard.
Still deciding what's right for you?
A 20-minute discovery call is the easiest way to find out. We'll talk through what you're hiring for and what kind of support would actually help.