XenHirely
Software engineering ROI view for Your Company

ROI Calculator

This version reframes XenHirely for software engineering organizations. It uses a portfolio questionnaire to generate an auto band mix, estimate traditional search spend, model XenHirely effort-based spend, and quantify engineering velocity protected when harder roles move faster.

Recommendation summary

This summary keeps software engineering hiring economics, delivery promises, and the XenHirely band story in one visual language so Sales can walk Your Company through cost savings, velocity protection, and why an effort-based hiring engine works better than salary-linked agency fees.

Traditional Search Spend
$0

Modeled from software engineering compensation benchmarks and salary-linked search fees.

Salary-based model
XenHirely Spend
$0

Band-based pricing tied to execution effort and defined delivery windows.

Effort-based model
Direct Recruiting Savings
$0

Savings from replacing percentage-based software engineering search fees with fixed hiring-capacity bands.

Direct value
Velocity Value Protected
$0

Directional value protected when higher-complexity software engineering roles move faster through a defined process.

Protected velocity
Total annual economic impact and ROI profileClosed by default ▾
Total annual economic impact
$0

Combined impact from direct recruiting savings plus modeled engineering velocity protected on Band 3 roles.

ROI profile

What drives the ROI

How savings are created

XenHirely prices the execution effort required to deliver interview-ready software engineering candidates rather than charging a percentage of compensation. That means rising salaries for harder-to-hire engineers do not automatically inflate the recruiting fee.

Committed pricing reserves hiring capacity and includes guaranteed windows. Optionality remains available, but carries a 30% premium because the full compensation risk sits on XenHirely and the delivery window is not guaranteed.
Modeled company profilePortfolio benchmark defaults ▾

Company benchmark assumptions

Portfolio questionnaire output

Executive summary

Value comparisonVisual economics view ▾

Modeled economics

What this means for the buyer

Role-level economicsBand-level detail ▾
Role band Modeled hires Avg comp Traditional fee Traditional spend XenHirely fee XenHirely spend
How XenHirely differs from traditional recruitingModel comparison ▾

Traditional contingency recruiting

Pricing basis
Usually 20–30% of salary, so the fee increases as software engineering compensation rises even when effort does not.
Payment timing
Pay on hire.
Delivery promise
No defined interview-ready delivery-window guarantee.
Buyer risk
The company still absorbs timeline uncertainty, process drag, and variable screening quality.

Retained search

Pricing basis
Still commonly linked to compensation and milestone activity.
Payment timing
Milestone payments across the search.
Delivery promise
More structure than contingency, but cost still expands as software engineering salaries inflate.
Buyer issue
Higher control, but salary-linked economics remain hard to standardize across a diverse engineering role portfolio.

XenHirely effort-based model

Pricing basis
Execution effort required to deliver interview-ready software engineering candidates.
Payment timing
Committed or optionality commercial structure, based on risk-sharing.
Delivery promise
Committed model includes guaranteed windows and a 25% future-search credit if delivery is missed.
Buyer advantage
Clearer economics, stronger accountability, and a more scalable pricing story across many engineering role types.
Issue with today’s search agenciesStructural story ▾
Market issue 1

Resume speed over validated technical fit

Engineering teams often receive volume rather than candidates calibrated for architecture, system design, and ownership requirements.

Market issue 2

No defined delivery accountability

When the fee depends on success alone, there is usually no guaranteed interview-ready timeline tied to the search.

Market issue 3

High fees with weak portfolio consistency

Software engineering teams pay premium percentages across very different roles without a standardized effort framework that reflects actual hiring complexity.

Delivery windows and commitment structureProduct structure ▾

Committed model

What is included in both models

Benchmark footnotes and source attributionReading the assumptions ▾

Benchmark assumptions and reference points

Traditional software engineering recruiting fees commonly range from 20–25% of salary for standard IC roles, 22–28% for more complex backend, platform, data, and infrastructure roles, and 28–33% for staff-plus and engineering leadership roles.
This calculator models a software engineering hiring portfolio rather than a single role. The portfolio questionnaire estimates the likely mix of Band 1, Band 2, and Band 3 work across the annual hiring plan.
Velocity value is shown separately because delayed hiring in software engineering often affects roadmap execution, platform work, and leadership leverage beyond the recruiting fee itself.
Velocity impact is directional and uses stage-based default assumptions for delay cost per day and days saved on Band 3 roles. It is intended to help Sales tell the economics story, not to replace company-specific planning.
This model is best used as a directional comparison. Final hiring mix, compensation, timelines, and SLAs should be validated for each company before a formal proposal.
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XenHirely
Software Engineering ROI Snapshot
Directional economics view for your software engineering hiring portfolio.
CompanyYour Company
StageGrowth-stage SaaS / Product Company
Engineering team40
Planned hires12
Total annual economic impact
$0
Combined impact from direct recruiting savings plus modeled engineering velocity protected on Band 3 roles.
ROI profile
Traditional spend
$0
XenHirely spend
$0
Direct savings
$0
Velocity value
$0
Value comparison — modeled economics
Traditional agency
XenHirely spend
Velocity value
What this means for the buyer
Portfolio mix snapshot
How XenHirely compares
Delivery windows & commitment structure
Band 1
4 weeks
Committed $12,500
Execution-oriented software engineering roles with broader market access.
Optionality option: $16,250 with no guaranteed window.
Band 2
6 weeks
Committed $20,000
Platform, backend, data, and more coordination-heavy software engineering roles.
Optionality option: $26,000 with no guaranteed window.
Band 3
8 weeks
Committed $50,000
Staff+, leadership, or high-consequence software engineering roles.
Optionality option: $65,000 with no guaranteed window.
Committed model
Payment timingMilestone payments
Delivery windowGuaranteed by band
Delivery credit25% toward next search
ConditionsScope, comp & SLAs unchanged
Included in both models
Interview-ready candidatesIncluded
Dedicated search podIncluded
Market mappingIncluded
Replacement protectionStandard included
Issues with today's search agencies
Market Issue 1
Resume speed over validated technical fit
Engineering teams often receive volume rather than candidates calibrated for architecture, system design, and ownership requirements.
Market Issue 2
No defined delivery accountability
When the fee depends on success alone, there is usually no guaranteed interview-ready timeline tied to the search.
Market Issue 3
High fees with weak portfolio consistency
Engineering teams pay premium percentages across different roles without a standardized effort framework that reflects actual hiring complexity.
How XenHirely differs from traditional recruiting
Traditional
Retained
XenHirely
% of salary pricing
Salary-linked milestones
Effort-based flat fee
Reactive sourcing
More structure, same cost basis
Structured portfolio model
No timeline guarantee
Partial activity milestones
Guaranteed delivery windows
Interview-heavy loops
Variable screening quality
Pre-validated candidates
Salary inflation = fee inflation
Cost rises with comp
Salaries don't inflate fees
Committed model: Missed delivery window = 25% credit toward next search. Delivery accountability is built in.
Directional software engineering portfolio model. Final hiring mix, compensation, and delivery SLAs should be validated before proposal use. Traditional fee benchmarks reflect market-standard ranges of 20–33% of salary depending on role complexity and are used for comparison purposes only.
Built for XenHirely software engineering hiring ROI conversations. Validate actual hiring mix, compensation, and SLAs before use in a final commercial proposal.