Interview: Kate Allen, Managing Director of Allen Associates

Recruitment Matters spoke to Kate from Allen Associates in the July issue:

What areas of recruitment do you work in? 

We specialise in permanent, contract, temporary and interim roles at all levels in marketing, PA, administration, human resources and finance within Oxfordshire. Allen Associates launched an Executive Division in April 2016 dedicated to board level and senior management roles.

How has 2016 been for you so far?

We have had a phenomenal start to the year. Permanent sales are particularly strong and are exceeding the ambitious targets we set at the beginning of the year. We have also seen a sharp rise in temp to perm placements in the last two quarters.

What are you noticing about the market? 

Oxfordshire has a very buoyant employment market with two universities, strong bio, pharma and technology clusters and huge government investment into infrastructure projects. We also have a thriving community of SMEs, many of which are university spin-outs. Although there is some nervousness around the EU referendum, this is not reflected in our figures, which show exceptionally strong perm sales at a time when these have flattened in other parts of the UK (according to the latest REC Report on Jobs). Our temp figures remain steady.

What is the most important tool in a recruiter’s toolkit? 

The best CRM system you can afford.

What is one thing all recruiters should know? 

I’m increasingly interested in the use of technology and social media to improve candidate engagement. We have made a massive investment in both these areas over the past 18 months. I feel that this sets us apart from many of our competitors and enables us to engage with our clients and candidates in a way which wasn’t possible previously.

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