Meet the REC’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 winner: Kate Allen

Shift happens: but the fundamentals of good recruitment remain key

Legislative reform, an uncertain market and transformative technological change. The recruitment industry is navigating all three at once. It would be easy to think recruitment needs reinventing. But for the REC Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 winner, Kate Allen (Founder and Executive Chair of Allen Associates)  the message is simple. When everything shifts, relationships and insight matter more than ever.

Celebrating excellence in a demanding year

We surprised Kate in November with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the REC Awards 2025, an evening that showcased the very best of recruitment during a demanding year for the sector.

The awards highlighted resilience, innovation and professionalism across the industry – a reminder that recruitment continues to play a critical role in the UK economy, even in tougher conditions. As we open the REC Awards 2026 for entries, we're revisiting a conversation REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry OBE had with Kate on an episode of the Talking Recruitment podcast.

From transactional to trusted

Kate has been part of the recruitment world since the early 1980s, starting out on a fast-paced London temps desk before co-founding Allen Associates in Oxfordshire in 1998 with her husband, Rob, now Finance Director. From day one, the aim was clear: build a relationship-led consultancy, not a transactional agency.

Rather than relying on cold calling, the business grew through service, repeat work and referrals. In a regional market where “candidates become clients and clients become candidates”, trust isn’t optional, it’s the model.

For Kate, the most rewarding part of the job is still the human side: conversations with clients and candidates, understanding what they need, and helping them thrive. As she puts it, recruitment should offer more than just “a bum on a seat."

Insight as added value

In a crowded, noisy market, insight is a differentiator. Allen Associates has invested heavily in market transparency – publishing recruitment overviews, pay and benefits reports, and hosting HR forums that now bring together hundreds of professionals to discuss the changing world of work. For Kate, this isn’t a marketing extra. It’s part of being a professional service.

As Neil notes in the episode, success for recruitment businesses is increasingly about offering insight as well as delivery – being a trusted partner, not just a supplier.

Technology is the ticket – professionalism is the difference

Kate is genuinely excited about AI and automation – but only where they enhance productivity while retaining the human touch. The firm has invested in AI tools and automation to strengthen delivery and improve outcomes. But technology alone isn’t enough. As Neil reflects in the podcast, tech may be “your ticket to the dance”, but what sets you apart is professionalism.

Entries for the REC Awards 2026 are now open