A Recruitment Agency That Starts With Understanding Your Business
When somebody leaves, a team grows or a new role is created, it can be tempting to move quickly. Write the job description. Advertise the role. Start looking at CVs.
At Parke Lane People, we believe good recruitment starts a little earlier.
It starts with understanding why you’re recruiting, what the business actually needs and what success in the role should look like.
Founded by Andy Parke in 2018, Parke Lane People is a specialist recruitment consultancy supporting businesses mainly across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as clients nationally.
Andy brings more than 20 years’ recruitment experience, including long periods with Hays and Oxby & Parke, and works directly with clients throughout the recruitment process.
That means no unnecessary handovers and no volume-driven approach.
Just a personal recruitment service built around listening, honest advice and finding the right long-term fit.
Specialist recruitment across Finance, HR and Marketing
Our core recruitment disciplines are:
HR Recruitment
Supporting organisations with HR professionals from advisory and generalist roles through to HR management and leadership.
Finance Recruitment
From transactional and part-qualified roles through to Financial Controllers, Heads of Finance and senior leadership appointments.
Marketing Recruitment
From Marketing Executives and specialists through to Marketing Managers, Heads of Marketing and senior commercial appointments.
Admin & Operations Recruitment
Supporting businesses with experienced professionals across administration, office management, operations, project support, customer service, procurement and wider business support roles, from coordinator level through to senior operational appointments.
We also recruit across wider professional and operational roles where we have the right experience and network to add genuine value.
Why businesses work with Parke Lane People
Recruitment is easy to make transactional.
A vacancy arrives. CVs are sent. Interviews are arranged.
We prefer to understand the bigger picture first.
That means discussing:
- why the role exists
- how the team is structured
- what has and hasn’t worked previously
- the culture of the organisation
- salary and market expectations
- the type of person who will thrive
- where the business is heading next
Sometimes that confirms the original brief.
Sometimes it changes it.
Either way, the search begins from a much stronger position.
As Chris Denton, Partner at The MGroup, put it:
“Andy listens a lot more than others.”
That simple comment captures a large part of how Parke Lane People works.
A personal service from first conversation to placement
Andy remains involved throughout.
The process can include:
- detailed role and business briefing
- salary and market guidance
- targeted candidate sourcing
- proactive search and headhunting
- candidate screening
- interview coordination and preparation
- offer management
- post-placement follow-up
The aim isn’t to send the largest number of CVs.
It’s to introduce people who have a genuine reason to be in the process.
Contingency, retained and confidential recruitment
Different appointments need different approaches.
For some roles, an ad hoc contingency search is entirely appropriate.
For others, particularly senior, specialist or business-critical appointments, a retained or proactive search can provide greater focus and access to candidates who may not be actively looking.
Parke Lane People can also support confidential searches, where discretion is important and the identity of the hiring organisation needs to be managed carefully during the early stages of the process.
The approach is agreed around the needs of the assignment rather than forcing every vacancy through the same recruitment model.
Search & Selection / Headhunting
The right person isn’t always looking for a job.
For specialist and senior appointments, Andy can proactively identify and approach individuals whose experience and background fit the brief.
This gives clients access to a wider talent pool than simply advertising a vacancy and waiting for applications.
Relationships that continue beyond one vacancy
Some of the strongest PLP relationships have developed over years.
Neil Hornsby, HR Manager at CSafe, described the value of that continuity:
“Andy already knew the business. Now that we work closely together he understands it even better.”
That accumulated knowledge matters.
The better we understand an organisation, the easier it becomes to recognise candidates who are likely to fit both the immediate role and the wider business.
Recruitment should strengthen the business
A successful placement isn’t simply somebody accepting an offer.
It’s somebody still adding value months and years later.
That’s why Parke Lane People looks beyond technical skills to consider the individual, the team and the direction of the organisation.
If you have a vacancy to fill, are planning a future appointment or simply want a second opinion before going to market, speak to Andy.