For recruitment agencies placing EAs, PAs and Chiefs of Staff
Our founder, Lily Shippen, has run a specialist EA recruitment agency for thirteen years and still does. In that time the hardest conversation was rarely about finding candidates. It was a client looking at a shortlist and saying they all look the same on paper, then interviewing them and finding out she was right. The Core Standard is what Lily wanted to send out with every shortlist: a scenario-based assessment, scored against a published rubric and checked by a specialist reviewer, with the report back inside 48 hours. Partner agencies commission it at partner rates, present it to clients under their own name and keep the relationship.
What it does for an agency
Win the pitch
The EA market is crowded, and most agencies pitch on judgement and relationships. A reviewer-signed competency report on every shortlisted candidate gives the client something they can read and compare. In a competitive market it is a straightforward way to stand out and win the business, and it is hard for another agency to match.
Protect the placement
Rebates get paid on the hires that fall apart in the second month, and those are usually the candidates who interviewed well. A report on how someone handled a working day shows the gap between presenting well and performing well before the offer goes out.
Sell the shortlist
The client sees the pillar scores side by side, reads the reviewer’s note on each candidate and walks into the final interview knowing where to dig. It is a different conversation from three CVs and a covering email.
Keep the margin
Pass the cost through to the client, build it into a retained fee, or absorb it as part of what you offer. Partner rates are 20% below list from the first assessment. Whichever you choose, the client stays yours.
How it works for you
1. You commission. Choose the level, enter the candidate’s name and email, and pay by card with your partner code. You receive the invoice. If you would rather pass the cost through, send the client the public link and they pay list price directly.
2. The candidate sits it. They receive a single-use link from hello@thecorestandard.co.uk, valid for 14 days, and work through a realistic day of 60 to 90 minutes depending on level. It is written, completed in their own time, with no interviewer on the other end. It is designed to reflect the real job and the value of it, so a strong candidate takes it seriously rather than taking offence. A test that patronises a good EA costs you the EA.
3. We score and review. Every submission is scored against the five pillars and read by Lily before it goes out. Reviewer-signed within 48 hours, or 24 with priority turnaround.
4. You receive the report. It comes to you as the commissioner, with a co-branded cover at retainer tier. Forward it with the shortlist, or walk the client through it.
Partner pricing
Verified agencies pay the partner rate on every assessment. No minimum, no contract, no volume to hit first. Prices are +VAT.
| Level | Seat | List | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Operational EA | Single-principal support | £495 | £395 |
| 2 · EA to Senior Leadership | Multi-principal or C-suite support | £695 | £555 |
| 3 · Executive Business Partner | Second-brain support to a C-suite executive | £995 | £795 |
| Priority turnaround | Report in 24 hours | £150 | £150 |
Credit packs
Paid up front and valid for twelve months. Level 1 uses one credit, Level 2 one and a half, Level 3 two, so a pack covers whatever mix your desk produces. That works out at 25% below list.
Retainers
A named reviewer slot, co-branded report covers, a quarterly calibration call on what the reports are showing across your placements, and a rate below the partner rate. Apply below and we will come back with a figure.
Referrals
Introduce a client who then commissions directly and you receive 10% of what they spend for twelve months. Tell us who you introduced and we do the rest.
In front of the client
The competency report. Pillar scores on a 0 to 100 benchmark, the reviewer’s narrative, red flags and standouts quoted from the simulation, and a hire recommendation calibrated to the level. See a page-by-page walk-through.
A co-branded cover. Your agency’s name alongside The Core Standard on the front page, at retainer tier.
The Recruiter Summary. Candidates who have sat TCS Certified on their own initiative carry a one-page Recruiter Summary of their result. Ask for it at registration. It tells you the level they demonstrated before you have spent an hour with them.
Rules of engagement
Our founder started Lily Shippen Recruitment and still runs it, so we know the first thing another agency will ask: why put my candidates through an assessment that belongs to a recruiter? The short answer is that The Core Standard is not the agency. It sits inside eavolve, a separate business with its own team and its own data, and its job is to become the recognised benchmark for EAs rather than to feed anyone’s recruitment desk. Lily Shippen Recruitment uses it on the same partner terms as any other agency.
The rules are simple. We will put them in writing for any client of yours who asks.
Questions agencies ask
Yes. Commission at the partner rate and invoice the client at whatever you choose, or send them the public link and let them pay list price directly. Either way you receive the report if you commissioned it.
The invitation comes from hello@thecorestandard.co.uk and names you as the commissioning agency. The candidate never sees your client’s name unless you choose to tell them.
A short confirmation that their submission has been received. The report goes to you. Candidates who want their own report can sit TCS Certified independently.
You decide what to do with the result. Most agencies use it to choose which three of five go forward, and to brief the client on where to probe. A weak result on one pillar is often a coaching conversation, not a rejection.
Yes. Level 1 runs in 60 minutes and the report is back in 48 hours, or 24 on priority turnaround, which fits most interim timelines.
Apply below with your work email and agency name. We approve applications within one working day and send your partner code with the first invoice details.
Apply
We reply within one working day with your partner code. Agencies we already know are approved the same day. For anything quicker, email hello@thecorestandard.co.uk.