How Subscription-Based TA Leadership Works (And Why Growing Companies Are Making The Switch)

You need to hire 15 people in the next six months. Your HR person is overwhelmed. Your founders are spending 20 hours a week interviewing. Half your job offers get turned down.

Something needs to change.

The usual options all have problems. Hire a full-time Head of Talent Acquisition for over £75,000 before you know if you'll need them long-term? Pay a consultant to write a strategy document then leave you to figure out how to actually use it? Share a fractional executive with three other companies?

There's a fourth option that we've built: subscription-based talent acquisition leadership.

Think of it like having a Head of Talent Acquisition available when you need them, but without putting them on payroll. You pay a fixed monthly fee for ongoing access to senior expertise, practical support, and quick answers to urgent questions.

Here's how it works and whether it's right for you.

What You're Actually Getting

Instead of hiring a person or buying a project, you're subscribing to ongoing support that changes as your needs change.

You pay a fixed monthly fee (typically £900 to £1,600 depending on how much support you need) for structured consultation time, help building your processes, and responsive guidance between your scheduled sessions.​

The focus isn't on counting hours. It's on making real progress on your hiring capability month by month.

How It Actually Works

Weeks 1-2: Quick Assessment

Unlike consultants who spend weeks gathering information before making recommendations, subscription models start fast. You'll have an initial session covering where you are now, what's urgent, and where you're heading. By week two, you're already implementing improvements to your biggest challenges.​

Months 1-2: Building Foundations

This is where subscription support differs most from other options. Instead of getting a document and being left to implement it yourself, you're building your hiring capability with expert help throughout.

You'll have regular sessions (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly depending on your tier) focused on your priorities. Together you'll create the tools you need: interview scorecards, process guides, training for hiring managers. Between sessions, you get email support for urgent questions.​

If your priorities shift (market changes, funding round, unexpected departures), your next session simply addresses the new priority. No paperwork. No "that's outside our agreement" conversations.

Month 3 Onwards: Getting Better

Your hiring capability improves month by month because you have consistent expertise helping you learn from results and adapt. You'll review what's working, refine approaches, scale successful processes, and plan for upcoming hiring phases.

Why This Is Different From Other Options

Compared to a Full-Time Head of TA:

• Cost: Subscription at the highest level costs around £19,000 annually. A full-time hire costs over £100,000 in the first year (salary, National Insurance, recruitment fees, benefits, overheads)

• Commitment: Subscription is month-to-month. Full-time requires at least a 12-month commitment

• Speed: Subscription delivers value within two weeks. Full-time takes 10-12 weeks to recruit, onboard, and reach productivity​

• Risk: Subscription risk is one month's fee. Full-time risk is a six-figure commitment

  
  

Compared to Project Consultants:

• Continuity: Subscription provides ongoing partnership. Projects end and create gaps​

• Flexibility: Subscription adapts weekly. Projects lock you into defined scope

• Implementation: Subscription supports you through doing the work. Projects can typically stop at recommendations

  
  

Compared to Fractional Executives:

• Availability: Subscription gives you responsive access between sessions. Fractional executives typically work on scheduled sessions only

• Focus: Subscription is dedicated to your context. Fractional executives split attention across 3-5 clients

• Support: Subscription includes hands-on implementation work. Fractional executives usually provide guidance but expect you to execute

  
  

The Real Cost Comparison

Let's look at a realistic scenario: Tech scale-up hiring 20 people over six months, needing to build proper processes and train hiring managers.

Full-Time Head of TA: £62,000 (Includes salary, National Insurance, recruitment fees, onboarding, tools) plus 10-12 weeks before meaningful impact

Project Consultant: £17,900 (Initial strategy, implementation support, follow-up) plus gaps between project phases

Fractional Executive: £12,000 (20 hours monthly) Limited availability during busy periods, split focus

Subscription TA Leadership: £7,682 (Accelerator tier including setup)Continuous support, immediate value, responsive availability, flexible scaling.

Subscription delivers expert support at a fraction of the cost, with none of the commitment.​

Who This Works For

Good fit if you:

• Have 10-50 employees planning to hire 10-30 people in the next year

• Don't have dedicated TA expertise (hiring falls to founders, HR generalists, or managers)

• Need to build proper processes but lack the time or expertise

• Want flexibility without long-term commitments

• Need ongoing support, not just recommendations

• Have limited budget for a full-time TA leader but recognise you need strategic focus

  
  

Not the right fit if you:

• Hire fewer than 10 people annually (probably don't need continuous TA support)

• Already have an experienced TA leader

• Need on-site, full-time presence for very high-volume hiring (100+ hires annually)

• Want someone to own everything rather than build your team's capability

  
  

The model works well for companies in the middle of growth: too much hiring complexity for generalists to handle well, but not enough volume yet to justify a full-time specialist.

Building Capability, Not Creating Dependency

Here's what's often missed: subscription-based TA leadership isn't about outsourcing your hiring. It's about building your organisation's capability.​

Every process created, every manager trained, every tool built becomes yours. When the engagement ends (because you've grown enough to need a full-time leader, or hiring has stabilised), you're left with real capability, not a gap.

Compare this to full-time hires who take their expertise with them when they leave, project consultants whose documents sit unused because no one knows how to implement them, or fractional executives whose guidance disappears when contracts end.

Is This Right For You?

Signs that now is the right time:

• Your hiring volume is increasing but processes are still informal

• Your offer acceptance rate is below 70%

• Time to hire is over 60 days

• Founders or leadership spend over 15 hours weekly on hiring

• Recent bad hires are causing concern

• You're planning growth that needs hiring acceleration

  
  

If your hiring is constraining growth, your internal capability is stretched, and the usual solutions feel like choosing between expensive and impractical, subscription-based TA leadership might be what you need.

Want to see if this approach fits your situation? Book a 30-minute consultation to discuss your specific challenges and whether this model works for you. No sales pitch, just an honest conversation.