Insights · Notes from the desk
Notes from the desk.
What happening in the markets.
See below what we see happening in the market, trends, changes, challenges and what's “next”!
Showing 5 of 24 pieces · Hiring PlaybookClear
For clientsYour first data contractor will decide the next two years. Choose accordingly.
Most Series A founders hire the wrong shape first — and spend year two unwinding it. A working framework, with current European rates.
For clientsInterim directors aren't a recession trade — they're a permanent shift
European scale-ups are buying senior judgement on 6–12 month contracts. When it works, when it doesn't, and what the rates really are.
For clientsSOW or T&M? Stop picking on preference and start picking on scope.
Both models have their moment. Pick the wrong one and you overpay by 20% or ship six months late. Here's how we actually decide.
For clientsThe volume-recruitment model is losing the senior contract market. Here's the data.
CV blasts and pyramid teams still work at the junior end. At the senior end of the European contract market, they cost you time, credibility and the shortlist.
For clientsThe first 30 days of a contractor decide the next twelve. Here's how good clients run it.
CXC's 2026 research is blunt: onboarding decides productivity for the rest of the engagement. What the best European clients do differently in the first four weeks.