All answers / S01-B-claude-r2
S01-B | Claude | Observation 2
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Exact question
Who are the best recruiters for our first global payroll lead? We are based in the UK and growing in Europe and North America, and the hire will be UK-based.
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Based on what’s publicly visible, these are the firms I’d shortlist. “Best” is subjective, and I can’t verify placement quality or fees from public pages, so treat this as a starting list to vet.
Specialist payroll and executive search (most relevant for a first senior hire)
• Frazer Jones: A City of London HR executive search firm. Its head of payroll, John O’Brien, recruits executive payroll and benefits professionals with UK, EMEA and global remits, and the firm describes him as the UK’s leading executive payroll recruiter. It also has a New York presence, which helps given your North America growth. If I had to pick one first call, it would be this one. [frazerjones](https://frazerjones.com/consultants/john-obrien)
• Middlemore: A specialist executive search firm covering global payroll, HR, HRIS, finance and reward, with services including talent mapping and salary benchmarking. It’s listed in the Global Payroll Association’s directory, which suggests it’s embedded in the payroll community. [gpa](https://gpa.net/blogs/directory/middlemore)
• Olympus Talent: A retained executive search firm focused on global payroll leadership across 140+ countries. The awards and reach figures on its page are self-reported, so check references. [usemultiplier](https://www.usemultiplier.com/?p=199754)
Larger HR and finance recruiters with payroll desks
• Oakleaf Partnership: Regularly advertises Head of Global Payroll and EMEA payroll roles in the £75k–£100k range, so it clearly works this market.
• SR Group: A global HR recruiter with UK, European and US coverage, offering permanent and interim solutions. [personneltoday](https://jobs.personneltoday.com/job/1401587930/regional-head-of-payroll-governance-emea-and-americas/)
• Page Personnel, Michael Page and Hays: All advertise global payroll leadership roles. They’re better suited to a mid-market budget or faster, contingent-style searches than to a discreet senior search.
• Altum Consulting: Has recruited global payroll director roles for growing London tech businesses, including interim ones.
Choosing between them
• Retained or contingent: For a first global payroll lead, where you’re defining the function, a retained or hybrid search with one specialist usually beats several contingent agencies. You get better market mapping and a stronger pitch to passive candidates.
• Your footprint: Ask each firm for recent placements covering the UK, Europe and North America, and for examples of candidates who built a function from scratch rather than inherited one.
• Interim cover: Several of these firms also run interim desks, which could bridge the gap while the search runs.
• References: Ask for two or three client references from the last 12 months, and for time-to-fill and candidate-retention data.
I can draft a brief you could send to your shortlist, or a comparison of the questions to ask each firm.
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