Fit-First Search: your questions

No. Mosaic is a partnership search practice. We start by working out what process the appointment actually needs: a Shortlist Search, a Chemistry Search, a Targeted Capability Search or a Full Fit-First Search.

A pitch remains available when it genuinely improves the decision. It is not the automatic starting point, and it is not treated as the goal of the exercise.

Fit involves judgement, but it should not be vague. The fit criteria and required evidence are agreed before agencies are assessed. Capability, team, ways of working, culture, commercials and future fit are examined separately, each with the right evidence.

Scores structure the discussion. Comments, observed behaviour and references explain it. That is how judgement becomes a defensible decision.

Procurement remains an important part of governance and commercial evaluation. Mosaic adds specialist agency-market knowledge, senior judgement, process design and the ability to test how the partnership will actually work in practice.

The roles are complementary. Procurement protects fairness and commercial rigour; Mosaic helps ensure the process produces the right agency decision.

No. Mosaic is engaged and paid by the client. Agencies do not pay for inclusion, do not pay to participate, and do not pay Mosaic if they win.

Existing relationships help Mosaic understand the market; they never guarantee an agency a place in a process.

The search brief and fit criteria come first. Mosaic then maps the relevant market and tests capability, scale, geography, conflicts, availability, appetite and likely fit. The longlist records the options considered and the reasons for the recommended shortlist.

Only as many agencies take part as the decision genuinely needs. The shortlist stays small enough for the client to assess properly and for every participating agency to have a credible opportunity.

Most of the decision can be supported through structured conversations, named-team assessment, credentials, references, chemistry sessions and commercial information. Speculative work is used only where it materially improves the decision.

Where the client needs to see teams work together, Mosaic can use a Collaborative Challenge: a live session that reveals thinking and behaviour without asking for a finished strategy or creative answer.

When the appointment carries enough risk, investment, complexity or governance need to justify a fuller comparative process, or when a specific response would materially improve the decision.

Even then, the brief, shortlist, stages and speculative ask should remain proportionate. Pitch theatre is the problem, not the existence of a pitch.

If the incumbent is included, it should have a credible opportunity to retain the business and be assessed against the same criteria as everyone else. It should not be invited merely to make up the numbers.

Where the relationship may be fixable, Mosaic may recommend clarification, validation or a reset before a market search. Change for change's sake is expensive and rarely resolves the real issue.

Commercial fit is treated as its own decision lens. Depending on scope, this may cover resource levels, team mix, fees, rates, mark-ups, terms, transparency and overall value.

Price is not allowed to obscure capability or working fit, and non-price and commercial evaluation can be separated where Procurement requires it.

Confidentiality and visibility are agreed upfront. Mosaic protects candid stakeholder input and shares back at the level agreed with the client, so participants can speak freely.

Agencies see the brief, criteria, timetable and evaluation framework from the start, and receive timely, constructive feedback at each stage.

The route is designed around the decision and stakeholder availability. Client input is concentrated where judgement is essential: the brief and criteria, meeting agencies, evaluating evidence and making the decision. Mosaic manages the market work, communications, materials, facilitation and decision record.

A focused route typically runs four to six weeks; a fuller process eight to twelve, depending on procurement, stakeholder availability, stages and whether detailed commercial assessment is included. The timetable is agreed before the market is approached.

The exact outputs depend on the route, but typically include the search brief, fit criteria, market map, shortlist recommendation, agency briefs, evaluation materials, facilitated sessions, commercial comparison where commissioned, decision moderation and a clear appointment recommendation.

Mosaic can support final commercials, contracting, transition and the first 90 days. Fit-First Search sits inside the wider Mosaic Partnership System (Clarity, Reset, Search, Health), so the appointment feeds into a live relationship, not a filing cabinet.