New force in executive search opens office in Glasgow

A demand specifically from smaller to medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the Glasgow area has led Coleman Parker, the specialist executive search firm, to open a dedicated office in the city. This is a sector that has traditionally been neglected by the search industry and Coleman Parker is finding a strong need for its specialist services, including bespoke HR and recruitment advisory services, talent management and assessment.

Coleman Parker was founded last year by Vanessa Coleman, former Head of Financial Services for KPMG Search & Selection. The Glasgow office opens next week and, in addition to servicing the SME market, is also advising larger international companies based out of Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland. The firm has its roots in financial and professional services, but its knowledge and expertise includes technology, manufacturing and engineering, food processing, retailing and sports. Coleman Parker already has offices in London and Edinburgh.

Richard Arnold, based in the Glasgow office, says Coleman Parker has a lot to offer Scottish businesses. ìIncreasingly Scottish firms are having to expand their search for the right candidate outside of Scotland. We have the genuine capacity to work globally and offer Scottish businesses access to a wider talent pool.î

To coincide with its Glasgow office opening Coleman Parker has also announced its sponsorship of local school, St Aloysiusí Collegeís 1st XV rugby team. The school is five time winners of the prestigious Scottish Schools Cup, and the team is going to Australia next year to compete in the Southern Skies tournament, which attracts entries from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. Coleman Parker sees this as an opportunity to strengthen local ties with the only unsponsored Glasgow private school and as demonstration of its commitment to local interests.

Coach Ed Flitters of St Aloysiusí went on to say, ìThis much-welcomed sponsorship from Coleman Parker will ensure we maintain our competitive edge and put us in a commanding position in our preparations for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Although working with some of the biggest global brands, such as AEGON and UBS, Coleman Parker is also focussing on the often neglected SME market. Again the demand from Scottish companies falling into this category has been encouraging. Richard Arnold supports this: ìWe have received enquiries from SMEs requiring specialist services, such as top level interviewing techniques. Smaller and mid sized companies often do not have dedicated HR resources to provide these services and we can step in as a hired gun.î

Coleman Parker offers a flexible approach to recruitment. It is not simply a one size fits all package, but is very consultative, adapting each offering to the very specific requirements of each client. Richard Arnold continues: ìScotland can no longer be considered a low salary region. Companies here, both large and small, have to offer globally competitive salaries. We can help these companies prepare the right package and facilitate people to move to Scotland.î

Richard Arnold is responsible for Coleman Parkerís activities in Scotland and the North. Richard has worked in executive search and selection since moving from a career in sales and marketing in the automotive industry 18 years ago. He began his recruitment career in Birmingham and has worked extensively in Manchester, Newcastle and Scotland, where he has lived for the last 15 years.

Principal and founder Vanessa Coleman says: ìWith Richard we have an expert in top-level recruitment and he has the extensive technical and business knowledge that goes with this experience. He has worked with a huge variety of clients, large and small, in both the UK and overseas. Perhaps most importantly for our clients, he is well tuned as to what is going on in Scotland and the North and is particularly adept at identifying candidates who might have been thought unobtainable.î

Coleman Parker is, and will remain, a boutique-sized firm. Intentionally deliberate about the relationships it seeks to build, Coleman Parker aims to reduce the off-limits problems that traditionally plague clients of the larger search and selection firms. This allows Coleman Parker the freedom to work across a broad sector and functional spectrum and most importantly, provides its clients with uninhibited access to top-flight talent for key appointments. Principal and founder Vanessa Coleman says: ìWith combined experience of over thirty five years and extensive networks, Coleman Parker offers a tailor-made service to its clients.

A prime element of this is our capacity to navigate around the conflicts of interest upon which so many larger and well-known search firms founder. Although we have excellent relationships with many prestigious firms such as UBS, Doubleclick, AEGON and subsidiary Origen, we want to include the SME market in our client base. Traditionally, this fertile area has been neglected by the search sector, but we intend to rectify that and our size and flexibility will enable us to forge important links with this sector.î

The firmís capability spans multinational organisations in the worldís major cities, from Continental Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region, to the SME sector throughout Scotland and the English regions. Its wide expertise stems from the teamís cumulative experience in industry, Top 4 professional services environments and previous employment in market-leading search and selection companies. Coleman believes that her firmís genuine global reach is a major strength. She continues: ìWe have demonstrated successfully that we can manage technically demanding assignments across locations as diverse as the USA, Switzerland and Singapore.

On top of that the technology in which we have invested heavily, plus our research facilities, give us an outstanding edge that, at the very least, matches the best-known names in our industry.î She adds: ìCoupled with our local knowledge, it is an impressive combination that can only benefit our clients, particularly as we offer the flexibility to tailor each assignment to their specific needs, thus creating a genuine business partnership.î

Coleman also cites the firmís creation of a proprietary tool, Global Select, a bespoke micro site that optimises internet and traditional paper advertising, as an example of Coleman Parkerís innovative use of technology. ìGlobal Select is a major initiative in recruitment; it enables us to reach out on our clientsí behalf with absolute flexibility and responsiveness. Sophisticated visitor tracking enables us to show our clients exactly what is happening and to modify our approach to achieve results without the constraints of cost or time usually associated with major campaigns.

Global Select is not only a tool for large companies; it is particularly helpful in our work with SMEs who need specific skills to break into areas such as export markets. Global Select enables us to search, for example on behalf of a Scottish SME, for skills that we know to exist in certain countries but which traditional search methods would prove prohibitive in terms of cost and time.î