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The most effective specialist businesses don't rely solely on experience. They create knowledge that benefits their clients and helps shape the industries they serve.
Tempting Talent’s Executive Search Compensation & Market Insights Report is an annual research study with data procured, presented and distributed by Meritaas Group's specialist executive search brand.
Published each year, the report has become far more than a compensation guide. It provides a comprehensive view of the executive search market, helping firms benchmark themselves against competitors and make more informed decisions around hiring, retention, and growth.
For Tempting Talent, the report is equally valuable. It keeps the business closely connected to the market, reinforces its position as a leading voice within executive search, gives added value to existing clients to reduce churn, and acts as lead magnet for new prospective clients.
The report is built on the belief that meaningful insight starts anonymously. It’s one thing to read a search firms company values but another to receive anonymous facts from their top billers.
Each edition is developed through an industry-wide survey of executive search professionals, capturing data across compensation, commission structures, hiring activity, career mobility, learning and development, benefits, and workplace trends. The 2026 report draws on insights from more than 400 professionals representing a broad cross section of the executive search industry.
Responses are analyzed using percentile-based compensation benchmarking alongside broader market trends, allowing Tempting Talent to present findings that go well beyond salary figures. The result is a practical resource that reflects how firms are operating today and where the market is heading tomorrow.
This process delivers value in two directions. It gives clients access to independent market intelligence while ensuring Tempting Talent maintains an up-to-date understanding of the challenges facing executive search firms across multiple sectors.
The 2026 report highlights an executive search market that has entered a new phase of maturity.
One of the most significant findings is a clear shift toward high-performance operating models. Firms are investing in technology, leaner structures, and operational efficiency while rewarding top performers with increasingly competitive commission structures. Average take-home earnings have increased, with higher-performing consultants benefiting from stronger payout percentages than in previous years.
The research also revealed an interesting contrast between hiring demand and candidate movement. While only 40% of executive search professionals reported actively considering a move, down from 63% the previous year, nearly two-thirds of firms planned to hire more than 11 people during the coming year.
For clients, that creates a clear message. Competition for experienced talent is intensifying, making well-informed compensation strategies and compelling employee value propositions more important than ever.
The report also identified continued demand for leaders capable of driving technology adoption and AI transformation, reflecting the increasing influence of digital capability across the executive search profession.
For executive search firms, access to independent market data has become an increasingly valuable strategic resource.
The report enables business leaders to benchmark salaries, commission structures, benefits, and hiring practices against their peers while identifying where they remain competitive and where adjustments may be needed.
It also provides context behind the numbers. Rather than presenting compensation data in isolation, Tempting Talent analyzes the commercial factors influencing the market, helping firms understand why trends are emerging and how they may affect future hiring decisions.
This advisory approach reflects the way Tempting Talent works with clients every day. The report is not simply a piece of research. It becomes an extension of the firm's consultative service, supporting workforce planning, leadership hiring, and long-term business growth.
Producing annual market research also creates value for Tempting Talent itself.
Every survey expands the firm's understanding of the executive search landscape while strengthening relationships across the industry. The report provides a reason to engage with senior leaders, gather fresh perspectives, and contribute meaningful insight back to the market.
That continuous cycle of research and analysis helps establish Tempting Talent as more than a recruitment specialist. It reinforces the firm's position as a trusted advisor with a genuine understanding of the commercial challenges facing executive search businesses.
For prospective clients, the report often becomes the first introduction to the business. By sharing valuable market intelligence before any commercial conversation begins, Tempting Talent demonstrates the depth of its expertise and the value it brings as a long-term talent partner.
Across the Meritaas Group, specialist knowledge is viewed as something to be shared as well as applied.
Tempting Talent's annual Executive Search Compensation & Market Insights Report demonstrates how proprietary research can strengthen client relationships and elevate industry standards at the same time.
By investing in research that educates the market and drives meaningful conversations, Tempting Talent continues to demonstrate the consultative approach that defines the Meritaas portfolio.
For executive search firms looking to benchmark performance, understand emerging market trends, or prepare for future growth, the latest Executive Search Compensation & Market Insights Report provides an invaluable perspective on one of the industry's most dynamic markets.