Winning EdgesCalculator
Billings come from three numbers: briefs worked, fill rate and average fee. Move each one a little and see what it's worth.
Where you are now
Today: placements and in billings a year. At that fill rate you're working about briefs .
Winning edges
Fill rate
Sharper qualifying, better candidate control, fewer offers lost
Average fee
Firmer fee conversations, better-paid roles
Briefs worked
Better BD, more of the right roles
What it's worth
Extra billings a year
placements a year
average fee
extra a month
Which edge is easiest for your team?
15 minutes, no pitch. Tell me where your numbers are and I'll give you honest feedback on which lever I'd pull first, and whether I can help.
Book a free 15-minute callWhere the UK averages come from
| Fill rate: 20 to 30% No official UK figure is published. The two figures most often used are about 20% for contingency perm recruitment, from the InsightSquared Staffing Benchmark Report (cited by Sales Talent Inc.), and 30% as the UK agency average, quoted at a UK recruitment leadership event in 2025 (Corecom Consulting). The calculator uses 20 to 30% as a working range. |
| Average perm fee: 18.6% of salary The average fee on permanent placements across all sizes of firm (Saffery UK Recruitment Index, 2023). Contingency perm generally sits between 15 and 20% (Recruitly, 2026). |
| Average fee: about £7,260 Our calculation: 18.6% of the UK median full-time salary of £39,039 (ONS, April 2025). Hays, which places more senior and specialist roles, averages about £8,600 per perm placement (derived from Hays FY2025 accounts). |
| £120k a year per consultant A working baseline for a UK perm recruiter: the minimum level a trained recruiter should reach. Below it, the fundamentals usually need work. It's The Recademy's figure, based on 26 years of developing agency recruiters. |
Perm billings only. The calculator assumes the year runs the way your numbers say. Averages hide big differences by sector, region and salary level, so treat them as a guide, not a verdict.
The Recademy Winning Edges Calculatortherecademy.com