Oxford: Allen Associates grows with new staff and more office space

Oxfordshire recruitment consultancy Allen Associates has appointed three new staff and almost doubled its office premises.

Lora Fisher and Rebecca Havard have joined as recruitment administrators while Elly Fisher is the new office manager, bringing the total number of employees to 17.

The consultancy has also expanded the space it occupies at Clarendon Business Centre, Oxford, from 1,900 sq ft to 3,300 sq ft, creating a large open-plan working environment for its consultants who specialise in placing temporary and permanent staff in HR, marketing, finance and administration roles at all levels within Oxfordshire-based businesses, colleges, universities and charitable organisations.

Founder and managing director Kate Allen, who established Allen Associates with her husband Rob in 1998, said: “This is a time of unprecedented growth for Allen Associates and we are delighted to welcome Lora, Rebecca and Elly to our team. Their appointments have coincided with our expansion into larger offices within Clarendon Business Centre, which we have refurbished and decorated in our vibrant corporate colours.

“We have also acquired additional interview rooms so we now have six in total, allowing us to meet more people in a day. We conduct face-to-face interviews with every candidate we register so it’s important that we can deal effectively with the increasing number of applicants responding to the wide range of roles available.

“The employment market in Oxfordshire is booming, and demand is high for the business support roles we specialise in. The strongest job candidates have their pick of any number of opportunities so employers are having to adapt their recruitment practices to make sure they can respond quickly and decisively when the right person comes along.

"Clients are also having to invest in salaries and think creatively about their benefits packages to give them a competitive edge. This is an exciting time to be in business in Oxfordshire but we believe our success is as much a reflection of the strength of our relationships with our clients and candidates as the buoyancy of the market in which we operate.”