S03-C / Observation 1
Claude
JGA not recommended.
The full saved answer, its sources and the conditions under which it was collected.
Exact question
Which recruiting firms would you shortlist for a US-based Payroll Director responsible for our US payroll, and what public evidence supports their experience with this kind of hire?
Original wording is preserved. Statements below are generated product output, not verified claims adopted by this report.
I’d shortlist three firms plus a second tier, but the public evidence is thinner than you’d hope. Firms rarely publicize individual payroll leadership placements, so most of what’s visible is live job postings and one or two press releases. Treat this as a screening list and verify with references.
Shortlist
1. Hanold Associates (now part of CAA Executive Search) : This is the strongest documented placement I found. Kaiser Permanente appointed an Executive Director, National Payroll Services from a Hanold search in April 2022. Hanold is a retained boutique focused on HR and Diversity & Inclusion officers and board directors, and CAA acquired it in October 2024, folding its team of 20 into CAA’s search division. Most of its public work is CHRO and head-of-HR searches, so payroll is an adjacent specialty rather than its core. Ask who from the Kaiser team is still there and would run your search. [Hanold Associates Executive Search & Leadership Advisory +2](https://hanold-associates.com/tag/adrienne-labuy)
2. Frazer Jones (with Maximum Management) : It is an HR-only firm with a dedicated payroll practice and an Executive Director, Head of Payroll. It offers executive and retained search as well as permanent, interim and temporary recruitment. In the US, its North American hubs are New York and Orlando. It also claims 100% of its top 100 clients have worked with it for at least three of the last five years, which is self-reported. Its visible payroll work skews to the UK and to specialist or manager roles, so I couldn’t confirm US payroll director placements. It is worth a call if you want a payroll-focused team. [www.frazerjones.com +3](https://frazerjones.com/?p=3476)
3. Banyan Search : It has a live search for a Director of Payroll Operations at a growing, publicly traded company in Raleigh. The role owns North America payroll and SOX controls. That is close to your scope if you have multi-entity, controls-heavy needs. It is evidence of current activity, not of a track record, so ask for completed searches. [wayup](https://wayup.com/i-j-Director-of-Payroll-Operations-Banyan-Search-371595512852755/)
Second tier (active director-level payroll searches, no track record shown)
• Insight Global : a direct-placement Senior Director of Payroll search in Louisville, KY. [institutedata](https://jobs.institutedata.com/jobs/director-of-payroll-jobs/)
• Inceed : a Director of Payroll search in McLean, VA, for a multi-entity, multi-state and international workforce. [inceed](https://jobs.inceed.com/job/33086-director-of-payroll-mclean-virginia/?amp=1)
• Career Group Search : a multi-state Director of Payroll role in infrastructure/technology that requires union payroll experience. [careergroupcompanies](https://careergroupcompanies.com/job-posting/183596)
• All Med Search : a healthcare Director of Payroll search in Brentwood, TN, with Oracle Fusion Payroll experience required. [sonara](https://sonara.ai/job-details/director-at-all-med-search-289accfb-a8ee-5f63-8b9b-ebd6988f7ea2)
• Robert Half : it runs a Director of Payroll hiring page and promises a specialized recruiter will typically contact you within one business day. That page is on its Canadian site, so I can’t confirm the US process. [roberthalf](https://roberthalf.com/ca/en/job-details/director-of-payroll)
How I’d narrow it down
• Evidence gap: I found no independently verified placement data (retention rates, time-to-fill) for any of these firms. Ask each for three recent payroll director or VP searches at similar-sized employers, with client references.
• Fit to your environment: Match the firm to your scale, headcount, systems (Oracle, Workday, ADP, UKG), union or multi-state exposure, and SOX needs. Ask who at the firm would actually run the search.
• Search type: Retained search (Hanold, Frazer Jones) suits a confidential or high-stakes hire. Contingent firms (Banyan, Inceed, Insight Global) are faster and cheaper but less exclusive.
If you tell me your industry, headcount, payroll platform, and whether the search is confidential, I can narrow this to two or three firms and draft the questions to ask them.
How we classified this answer
Classification follows the saved recommendation record.
Recommendations, passing mentions and source-only appearances are counted separately. A list position is recorded only when explicit.
JGA names and entity evidence
JGA names in this answer: No JGA name recorded. JGA websites linked: None recorded. Counts track the recruitment brand. Source domains and collection country do not alone establish which legal entity a recommendation refers to.
Supporting citations
Complete source record- hanold-associates.com
Hanold Associates Executive Search & Leadership Advisory +2
Hanold Associates (now part of CAA Executive Search) : This is the strongest documented placement I found. Kaiser Permanente appointed an Executive Director, National Payroll Services from a Hanold search in April 2022. Hanold is a retained boutique focused on HR and Diversity & Inclusion officers and board directors, and CAA acquired it in October 2024, folding its team of 20 into CAA’s search division. Most of its public work is CHRO and head-of-HR searches, so payroll is an adjacent specialty rather than its core. Ask who from the Kaiser team is still there and would run your search.
https://hanold-associates.com/tag/adrienne-labuy
- frazerjones.com
www.frazerjones.com +3
Frazer Jones (with Maximum Management) : It is an HR-only firm with a dedicated payroll practice and an Executive Director, Head of Payroll. It offers executive and retained search as well as permanent, interim and temporary recruitment. In the US, its North American hubs are New York and Orlando. It also claims 100% of its top 100 clients have worked with it for at least three of the last five years, which is self-reported. Its visible payroll work skews to the UK and to specialist or manager roles, so I couldn’t confirm US payroll director placements. It is worth a call if you want a payroll-focused team.
https://frazerjones.com/?p=3476
- wayup.com
wayup
Banyan Search : It has a live search for a Director of Payroll Operations at a growing, publicly traded company in Raleigh. The role owns North America payroll and SOX controls. That is close to your scope if you have multi-entity, controls-heavy needs. It is evidence of current activity, not of a track record, so ask for completed searches.
https://wayup.com/i-j-Director-of-Payroll-Operations-Banyan-Search-371595512852755/
- institutedata.com
institutedata
Insight Global : a direct-placement Senior Director of Payroll search in Louisville, KY.
https://jobs.institutedata.com/jobs/director-of-payroll-jobs/
- inceed.com
inceed
Inceed : a Director of Payroll search in McLean, VA, for a multi-entity, multi-state and international workforce.
https://jobs.inceed.com/job/33086-director-of-payroll-mclean-virginia/?amp=1
- careergroupcompanies.com
careergroupcompanies
Career Group Search : a multi-state Director of Payroll role in infrastructure/technology that requires union payroll experience.
https://careergroupcompanies.com/job-posting/183596
- sonara.ai
sonara
All Med Search : a healthcare Director of Payroll search in Brentwood, TN, with Oracle Fusion Payroll experience required.
https://sonara.ai/job-details/director-at-all-med-search-289accfb-a8ee-5f63-8b9b-ebd6988f7ea2
- roberthalf.com
roberthalf
Robert Half : it runs a Director of Payroll hiring page and promises a specialized recruiter will typically contact you within one business day. That page is on its Canadian site, so I can’t confirm the US process.
https://roberthalf.com/ca/en/job-details/director-of-payroll
- hanold-associates.com
Hanold Associates Executive Search & Leadership Advisory hanold-associates
Hanold payroll executive placement at Kaiser Permanente and acquisition into CAA Executive Search.
https://hanold-associates.com/category/press-releases/page/35
- hanold-associates.com
hanold associates hanold-associates
Hanold payroll executive placement at Kaiser Permanente and acquisition into CAA Executive Search.
https://hanold-associates.com/?p=9040
- frazerjones.com
Building futures frazerjones
Frazer Jones payroll practice executive search North American hubs and self-reported client retention; US director placements not confirmed by model.
https://frazerjones.com/de/?p=4799
- frazerjones.com
Business professionals shaking hands during a meeting in a modern office with laptop and documents frazerjones
Frazer Jones payroll practice executive search North American hubs and self-reported client retention; US director placements not confirmed by model.
https://frazerjones.com/?p=165321
- frazerjones.com
www.frazerjones.com frazerjones
Frazer Jones payroll practice executive search North American hubs and self-reported client retention; US director placements not confirmed by model.
https://frazerjones.com/?p=1573
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