Six data engineering hires from one sourcing project, at one fixed fee.
A scale-up needed six senior data engineers in Manchester. Direct sourcing on a project fee produced the hires and revealed that the office-attendance policy was the real constraint.
Sector: Technology. Market: Manchester & the North West. Services used: Talent sourcing, Talent mapping Manchester.
A scale-up needed six senior data engineers in Manchester. Direct sourcing on a project fee produced the hires and revealed that the office-attendance policy was the real constraint.
The situation
A venture-backed technology business needed six senior and lead data engineers in Manchester within twelve months. Its two in-house recruiters were already covering thirty open requisitions. Agency quotes for the six roles, at 20% of salary, came to a figure the board had not budgeted for and did not want to set as a precedent for future growth.
What we did
We scoped a single sourcing project covering all six roles: one population, one fee. Identification across Greater Manchester and the wider North West, deliberately including adjacent sectors — retail, gaming and utilities — where the capability genuinely transfers. Approaches went out under the client's own employer brand from their domain, so candidates engaged with the company rather than with an unfamiliar third party.
What the research found
Four findings that changed the decision.
Adjacent sectors supplied a meaningful share of the pool
Roughly a quarter of the identified population sat outside technology companies. A competitor-only search would have reported a materially thinner market.
Office attendance was the largest single cause of decline
A three-day requirement accounted for the plurality of refusals, concentrated among candidates who had relocated outside the radius during the remote-working period.
The lead-level band sat below the local upper quartile
Senior-level pay was competitive. At lead level the client's band was below where the regional market had moved, which explained why the two most senior roles were the hardest.
The London differential was narrower than the client believed
The assumed regional discount had compressed significantly in this specialism, which changed the internal argument about what the Manchester band should be.
The outcome
The client reduced the office requirement to two days for these roles and revised the lead band upward on the evidence. All six roles were filled from the single sourcing project at one fixed fee — a fraction of the six separate placement fees originally quoted. The full longlist transferred to the client and was used for two further hires the following year without any additional research charge.
The point of it
The decline reasons were worth more than the shortlist. Without them the client would have concluded that Manchester lacked data engineers, rather than that its own policy and band were doing the excluding.
A note on confidentiality. Clients are never named without written consent, and we do not publish project values, candidate records or commercially sensitive figures. These accounts describe real engagement patterns with identifying detail removed. Where a specific number is not stated here, it is not a number we have published — please do not infer one.
How this engagement was structured
The commercial and methodological shape of the project, for readers assessing whether a similar approach would suit their own situation.
| Service | Talent sourcing |
|---|---|
| Scope | Direct sourcing against live vacancies that had previously been handled through contingency agency supply. |
| Commercial model | Fixed project fee in pounds, agreed against a written scope before work began. No commission and no percentage of salary. |
| Data ownership | Every record produced transferred to the client permanently at the close of the project. |
| Lawful basis | Legitimate interest under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, documented for the project with an agreed retention period. |
Method
What we actually did
The decisions that determined whether this project produced something usable.
Briefed with the hiring manager
The written specification and the actual requirement were different documents, which is the most common reason a UK search stalls. Reconciling them changed the target population before research began.
Whole-of-market research
Candidates identified across the full relevant market rather than the fraction currently applying or on a job board.
Qualification against UK realities
Right to Work position, realistic commute, hybrid expectation against actual policy, salary expectation in pounds and contractual notice — established before any profile was sent.
Progressive delivery
Profiles released as they were ready rather than batched, which against three-month notice periods removed several weeks from the elapsed timeline.
What this engagement demonstrates
The market feedback was worth as much as the shortlist. What candidates said about the package, the working pattern and the process explained the previous hiring difficulty better than any candidate volume figure.
A note on how we present client work
Client identities and commercially sensitive details are withheld unless we hold explicit written permission to name them. Where figures are quoted they come from the engagement itself. Where an example is constructed to illustrate a method rather than describe a specific client, we label it as illustrative rather than presenting it as a case study. We would rather publish a less impressive page than an unverifiable one.
Questions we are asked about this work
Can we speak to a reference client?
In many cases yes, subject to the client’s agreement. Some engagements are confidential and will stay that way — which is itself a reasonable indication of how we would treat yours.
Would this approach work for our situation?
That is exactly what a scoping call establishes. Thirty minutes is usually enough to tell you whether the method transfers to your market and what the right scope and fee would be — including telling you if it does not transfer.
How much would a comparable project cost?
It is quoted as a fixed fee against a written scope, driven by market breadth, seniority and the depth of validation required. Because scope drives the fee, a meaningful figure needs a short conversation about what you actually need.
Recognise the problem?
Most of these engagements began with a client describing a symptom. Thirty minutes on a call is usually enough to work out what is actually causing it.