Published terms of business, tenders, rate cards and court rulings — 1,513 individually checked claims, each carrying its verbatim quote and link. If we couldn't source it, it isn't in here.
Verified permanent-placement fee rates, market by market. A lone average invites "that's not us" — a band with n gives you somewhere to stand. Hover any dot: each one is a single verified firm.
Of 224 verified salary-base definitions, all but one are broader than base salary. A 24% on a narrow base can out-earn a 30% on a loaded one — the base and the clauses decide who really charged more.
We hold 60 verified fixed fees in their native currency next to the percentage models — finally comparable. Here's one finding we'll give away, because the documents back it.
Each of the 39 flat fees was measured against what the role actually pays — city managers, university presidents, healthcare executives (ICMA and Chronicle of Higher Ed pay benchmarks, per mandate). Median effective rate: ~11% of the package (p25–p75: 8–17%) — roughly a third of what percentage-model firms charge at comparable seniority.
Every claimed figure was re-fetched from its source and had to appear literally on the page — no inference, no midpoints, no currency conversions. What failed the check was corrected or honestly nulled, never patched.
Published terms of business, AGBs, procurement rate cards, bid tabulations, court rulings — documents firms are bound by, not what they tell surveys.
1,513 field-level checks. A figure passes only if it appears verbatim on the fetched page — the exact quote and link are stored next to the number.
Cohorts render p25 / median / p75 with n shown. Below n=5 we label it indicative — never a bare number. Every datapoint carries its document date. Reviewed quarterly.
Your benchmark report places every fee and clause against the verified band for your market — "your guarantee sits at the 22nd percentile" beats any gut feel. You keep the report either way.