Your recruitment function, without the headcount.
I'm Ben Holtom. I run your hiring from brief to start date: adverts under your brand, screening, interviews, offers and references. One partner who learns your firm, on a monthly retainer or a flat fee per hire.
If it isn't right for you, I'll say so on the first call.
My record at RecQuest, the South Coast legal recruitment business I founded in 2025.
- Internal recruitment at Reed and The Edwin Group, including new site openings
- Recruitment outsourcing for multi-academy trusts, from support staff at volume to finance and HR directors
- Graduate hiring at scale and retained head-of-department searches for law firms
- In-house talent acquisition for a law firm and a legal technology business
Proof
What clients and candidates say
Results and reviews from my work at RecQuest.
Brief to offer in 12 days
Private client fee earner, Winchester
Leasehold specialist found: two interviews, one offer
Conveyancer, Southsea
Early leaver replaced with a stronger hire within weeks
Law firm, Southampton
"Ben listens and is really consultative. When he first started working with GSL he took time to understand the business and who we were looking for."
"It's so refreshing to have a company that is there to make the recruitment process for employers easier!"
"Ben and his team were able to replace the candidate with a better stronger candidate within the matter of weeks to avoid further disruption to our department."
How candidates are treated reflects on your firm. Here's what they say:
"Had an initial call to see what I was looking for in my next role and within 24 hours had an interview set up for me with a company now that I've accepted an offer with."
"He was friendly, professional, and kept me informed throughout the whole process."
"He helped me secure a legal interview which turned into a graduate job offer."
Most firms don't struggle to hire. They struggle with what hiring does to the team.
The answer isn't switching agencies. Percentage-of-salary fees are the problem, and replacing them is what changes the outcome.
Partner bottlenecks
Partner time wasted on briefing cycles, slow sign-off, and vacancies left open while clients wait. Every delay costs more than just the hire.
Failed hires & reneges
Candidates who looked great on paper but leave within 3 months. Or worse, renege before they start.
Interview no-shows
Candidates ghost interviews, don't respond to offers, or accept counter-offers at the last minute.
Unpredictable fees
Every hire feels like a gamble. Agency fees of around 20% of salary land whether the hire works out or not.
The goal isn't more applicants.
It's more contenders.
An applicant fills out a form. A contender is someone I've assessed against your brief, briefed on your firm, and confirmed ready to interview. Because they know the role, the money and your firm before they meet you, fewer of them drop out, renege or leave early.
Every contender has been screened against your brief, salary band, and culture - before you see them.
Whether they answered an advert or I approached them, every contender has confirmed real interest in your role and is ready to interview.
Because they were briefed properly from day one. No last-minute counter-offer surprises.
Six-month replacement guarantee
If a hire leaves within six months, I run the search again at no extra fee.
Here's exactly how I work
A structured process with clear timelines, expectations, and accountability on both sides.
A discovery session, on site or on video, to understand your firm, role requirements, salary bands and culture.
What I need from you: Named hiring lead + salary band signed off.
Want to see how this would work for your roles?
One partner who owns the whole process
So you don't hire the wrong person again
Starting with a realistic brief
A discovery session, on site or on video, to understand your team structures, culture and what good looks like for each role.
So candidates trust the role
Branded adverts on the retainer
On the retainer, your roles go out under your own brand across CV-Library, Totaljobs, Reed and Indeed. Every search also includes direct approaches to people who are not looking at job boards.
Screening that filters for fit
Motivation, notice periods, salary alignment
Every application reviewed against your brief. I screen for genuine fit, not just CV keywords.
Not 50 CVs to wade through
3-5 strong contenders per role
You receive a tight shortlist of 3-5 candidates who've been briefed on the role and are ready to move.
Your candidates briefed. Your diary managed. Your feedback gathered.
Interview coordination, completely off your plate
All diary coordination, candidate briefing, feedback gathering, and follow-up. Hiring managers stay focused on the conversation, not the admin.
Fewer reneges. No surprises. From offer to day one.
Negotiations, contracts, references, right-to-work
I manage offers, counter-offer conversations, contracts, references and right-to-work checks through to start date.
Is this right for your business?
If it isn't, I'll tell you before you spend anything.
This works best if:
- You have a role to fill now, or regular hiring ahead
- You can give feedback within 48 hours
- You want one accountable partner, not multiple agencies
This won't work if:
- Nobody can commit time to interviews
- You want a pile of CVs rather than a shortlist
- You want several agencies racing on the same role
The retainer, explained
Your fractional in-house recruiter
On the retainer I become part of your team for a share of each week. You get the ownership and continuity of an in-house recruiter, without the salary, and you can stop on 30 days' notice after the first three months.
As embedded as you want
Pick any or all of these. Or keep it simple and I run your hiring alongside you from outside.
Your email address
Candidates hear from your firm, not an agency. Your brand stays front and centre.
Your systems
I work in your applicant tracking system, HR system and Teams or Slack, so the data stays yours.
On site when it helps
Visits by arrangement for key interviews, team days or getting to know your hiring managers.
A weekly hiring call
A standing call with your partners or hiring managers, so decisions never stall.
More than filling roles
Up to three live roles at a time, run end to end. Alongside that, the retainer covers:
A hiring plan
What you need to hire this year, when, and at what salary, benchmarked against the market.
Direct sourcing
Headhunting people who are not looking, alongside adverts. Most good fee earners are found, not applied.
Adverts and employer brand
Your employer value proposition, careers content and adverts under your brand on the main job boards. Board spend at cost, no markup.
Interview support
Interview design, scorecards and briefing your hiring managers, so every interview tests the right things.
Hiring data
A monthly report on time to hire, sources and cost per hire, plus a weekly one-page pipeline update.
All of this for
£2,750 a month
plus £1,000 per start
See pricingTwo ways to work together
Hiring regularly? Bring me into your team as your fractional in-house recruiter. Just one or two roles? Pay a flat fee per hire. Either way, no percentage-of-salary invoices.
Your fractional in-house recruiter
Embedded Talent Partner
I join your team for a share of each week, as embedded as you want: your email address, your systems, a weekly hiring call, on site when it helps. You pay for my capacity, not per placement, so every role you open is covered without another fee negotiation.
£2,750 a month
plus £1,000 per start
Three-month minimum, then rolling with 30 days' notice.
Founding rate: my first four retainer clients lock £2,750 for 12 months. After that, £3,250 a month.
The Shortlist Guarantee. If I haven't sent you a shortlist within three weeks of you signing off a brief, your next month is free.
Compare it with hiring: an in-house recruiter costs £35,000 to £50,000 a year in salary before employer costs, and you keep paying when hiring slows. The retainer is £33,000 a year plus £1,000 per start, and stops on 30 days' notice.
- Week one: hiring plan agreed and adverts live within five working days
- Up to 3 live roles at a time, run end to end
- A hiring plan and salary benchmarking
- Direct sourcing and headhunting, not just adverts
- Branded adverts on the main job boards (spend at cost)
- Your employer value proposition and careers content
- Interview design, scorecards and hiring manager support
- Shortlists of 3-5, offers, references and right-to-work checks
- Monthly hiring data and a weekly pipeline update
More than three live roles at once? Extra roles at 25% off the flat fee. I take on a maximum of four retainer clients at a time, so each one gets real time.
For one or two roles
Flat-fee hire
A lighter service for a single role: standard job board adverts, direct sourcing and screening, for a fixed fee you know before we start.
- Standard job board adverts included
- Exclusive for 8 weeks, then we review together
- Invoiced when your hire starts
- Roles from £45,000: £500 commitment fee up front, deducted from the final fee
- Six-month replacement guarantee: if your hire leaves, I search again free
- Move to the retainer within 90 days and this fee is credited, up to £2,000
For comparison, a typical agency fee of 20% on a £28,000 role is £5,600. All prices plus VAT.
EVP Creation
A discovery workshop, your employer value proposition, a messaging framework, careers page copy and a "Why join us" one-pager. Included in the retainer.
Team builds and new offices
Opening an office, launching a department or hiring a whole team at once? I run it as a project retainer for the length of the build, with a hiring plan, a launch campaign and every role in parallel. I've opened new sites this way for Reed and The Edwin Group.
What is agency hiring costing you?
Tell me how often you hire, at what salary and what your agencies charge. You'll see what that costs over a year, and which Sourcefully option works out cheapest for you. Email yourself the audit to share with your partners.
Most law firms pay 15% to 25%. Not sure? Leave it at 20%.
The retainer puts me in your team as your fractional in-house recruiter: £2,750 a month plus £1,000 per start, shown here over a full year. It covers up to three live roles at a time, with adverts under your own brand.
Saving a year with the retainer
At 10 hires a year, the retainer is your best value. You get a recruiter who knows your firm, branded adverts and a steady pipeline, for less per hire than flat fees.
All fees plus VAT.
Is Sourcefully right for your firm?
This takes 2 minutes. It tells you whether this will work for you, and which option suits how you hire.
How many roles did you fill in the last 12 months?
Frequently asked questions
The questions people ask before they sign, answered plainly.
The retainer is for firms hiring regularly: I work inside your team as your fractional in-house recruiter, and £2,750 a month covers up to three live roles at a time, plus £1,000 per start. A flat fee is for a single role: standard job board adverts rather than branded campaigns, and one fixed amount, paid when your hire starts, with a £500 commitment fee up front for roles from £45,000.
I work as part of your team for a share of each week, as closely as you want: using your email address and systems, joining a weekly hiring call and visiting on site when it helps. Or I run your hiring alongside you from outside. Either way, the retainer covers up to three live roles at a time plus a hiring plan, direct sourcing, branded adverts, interview support and monthly hiring data.
Yes. There is a three-month minimum so there is time to deliver, then it rolls monthly and you can stop with 30 days' notice.
On the retainer, if I haven't sent you a shortlist within three weeks of you signing off a brief, your next month is free, and I'll tell you plainly whether the brief, the salary or the market is the problem. On a flat fee, the role is exclusive to me for eight weeks and then we review it together, and the fee is due when someone starts.
On the retainer, just the monthly fee. On a flat fee for a role under £45,000, nothing: you pay when your hire starts. For roles from £45,000 there is a £500 commitment fee when we start, which is deducted from the final fee.
Yes, once the founding places are taken. My first four retainer clients lock £2,750 a month for 12 months. After that, the retainer will be £3,250 a month for new clients.
Yes. If you move to the retainer within 90 days of a flat-fee hire starting, I credit that flat fee against your second and third months, up to £2,000. Plenty of firms start with one role to see how I work.
On the retainer, within five working days of you signing off the first brief we will have agreed a hiring plan and your adverts will be live. Direct sourcing starts the same week.
A maximum of four retainer clients at a time, alongside a small number of flat-fee roles. I do every search myself, so capping clients is how each one gets proper time.
If someone leaves within six months I run the search again at no extra fee, provided invoices have been paid on time. That applies to flat-fee and retainer hires.
I do. Every brief, shortlist and offer is handled by me, Ben Holtom, not passed to a junior consultant.
Not on the same role. Exclusivity is what lets me invest properly in your search and keeps candidates from being submitted twice. You can always advertise on your own website.
An in-house recruiter costs £35,000 to £50,000 a year in salary alone, before employer costs, and you carry that cost when hiring slows down. The retainer gives you the same ownership of the process, can be stopped on 30 days' notice, and comes with a replacement guarantee.
Yes. If you introduce a firm that becomes a retainer client, I'll pay you £500 once their first month is paid, and their first month is £2,250 instead of £2,750. Just put us in touch.
Mostly. I also work with legal technology and professional services businesses, where the roles and candidates overlap with the legal market.
Sourcefully at a glance
- What
- Embedded recruitment and fixed-fee hiring for growing law firms and legal businesses, from legal secretaries and paralegals to solicitors and heads of department.
- Who
- Run by Ben Holtom, who has 15 years in recruitment and founded RecQuest, a South Coast legal recruitment business partnered with 45 law firms.
- Where
- Based in Hampshire, working with law firms and legal businesses across the UK, on site wherever it helps.
- Price
- Flat fees from £3,000 to £10,000 per hire by salary band, or a retainer of £2,750 a month plus £1,000 per start for regular hiring. Plus VAT. Free replacement if a hire leaves within six months.
- Contact
- info@sourcefully.co.uk or 02382 122 051. Replies within one business day.
Got roles to fill?
Book a 30-minute call. If Sourcefully isn't right for you, I'll say so.
Know a firm that needs this? I pay you £500 when your introduction becomes a retainer client, and their first month is £500 off.