The Search

The Search is a specialist HR/people & talent executive search firm founded by Penny Daniels in 2021. Having worked in HR search for nearly a decade, she wanted to create a market-leading brand focused on partnering with truly innovative, people-focused, forward-thinking HR and talent leaders.

• The company prioritises people over profit with a culture-driven organisation, and it believes in values of ownership, authenticity and growth. It also has committed to donate at least 1% of profits every year to Children With Cancer UK and Women’s Aid and intend for this percentage to grow with each financial milestone.
• Its specialisation in people and talent leadership profiles within innovative, growing businesses means it can better support companies finding leaders in this space. The Search has made 52 hires across 42 clients and supported CEOs and founders in making business critical decisions in under two years. It also tracks diversity; for example, 74% of their placements identify as female, 35% identify as people of colour and 11% identify as LGBTQIA+.
• To stand out in a crowded market, the business created a 5-to-10 minute video – think MTV Cribs for Search – for each role that tells people what it is like to work at a particular company. It focuses on selling the role, discusses what it is like to work there, brings the culture to life and any quirks the business might have that sets them aside from their competitors.

Judges’ comments

“From an HR perspective, The Search is great, trendy and market-leading, and is a stand-out entry for Best New Agency. The Search has rebuilt trust and confidence among those who know it in the recruitment sector. We were particularly impressed by how it talked about itself and presented itself. The Search provided clear evidence of how it lives its values with an outstanding testimonial that was used as a case study in the entry. Gender pay equality, diversity & inclusion measures, and innovation with the use of video used in a dramatically positive way made The Search stand out in this category. From a commercial perspective, its productivity was best in class.”