According to a new survey the number of board-level appointments with packages in excess of 200,000 made by employers using retained headhunters rose by 4.5% over the past 12 months. The study also highlighted that the amount of money employers paid for filling such positions increased by 21.7%, as employers looked to fill top positions ahead of an economic recovery.

Employers in healthcare, financial services, consumer and media sectors faced the biggest increases, while those in the industrial, telecoms and technology, and professional services sectors also contributed to the increased spend at this level. However, the cost of hiring in the 100,000 to 200,000 bracket fell by 2%, despite a 5% growth in the number of assignments. At this level, fees only rose in the industrial market, healthcare and consumer sectors, with financial and professional services down, according to the study, says Novo Executive Search and Selection, experts in executive search and executive recruitment.

The strong growth rates at board and leadership level contrast starkly with low or negative growth below 200,000 in all other sectors except industrial. This suggests that the salary level of assignments at which executive search is most valuable to clients is moving to a new, higher base level. Fees derived by retained headhunters for public sector and government placements worth between 100,000 and 200,000 fell, those worth more than 200,000 also decreased. Overall, the number of executive search assignments rose by 5.3% over the last 12 months and the net fee income for retained headhunters grew by an average of 17.7%, or 15% on a like-for-like basis. This took the sector into positive territory for the first time since 2008. Losing top talent is executives' greatest concern, cited by 59% of those surveyed, with 21% of those in the private sector planning to offer pay rises to retain staff. Novo is a leading executive search and selection company, with offices in Bristol, London, Manchester & Glasgow, Novo is well placed to assist with your national and international executive search requirements. We provide our clients with the most innovative executive search and selection methodologies, industry expertise and networking capabilities.