Our Team at Talk Staff

Whether you’re speaking to our consultants about your next great hire, developing your team & leaders or seeking UK payroll services and HR advice we know it’s nice putting names to faces.

Everything we do is built around the fact that people are at the centre of business success. So, as we continue to inspire people and deliver results we want to celebrate the team at Talk Staff behind it all.

As you can imagine, as a people consultancy, including our organisational development team at Designed4Success, our wider team is significantly larger than the list below where we’ve highlighted the people you are most likely to speak to directly.

Search our team from first name A-Z.

Please note that all contact links in this email will go through to our central email for the attention of the person you’re contacting so please bear this in mind for any confidential matters. Feel free to request a direct email from our team once you are in contact with them.

Angela Harris – Legal Recruitment Resourcer

Contact Angela if you’re looking for your next position at a law firm.

Our latest new starter Angela Harris joined us in March 2024 and is already making waves having only recently won Employee of the Month.

Our Talk Staff team have been growing a hugely successful legal recruitment offering, resulting in exceptional placements in top law firms in the Midlands and beyond.

To build on our great reputation Angela joined the team to help match talented candidates and ambitious clients and is focusing on building and nurturing both Qualified and Support Level talent.

Angela has extensive experience in the professional services sector with a strong background in both Recruitment and HR.

David Orange says “I’m delighted to welcome Angela, with her experience and our extensive knowledge and connections in the legal sector, this will give our clients even greater access to some of the best talent available.”

In her spare time she knits baby clothes for neo-natal units, has two Chihuahua’s and has even sung at The Royal Albert Hall!

Follow Angela on LinkedIn for the most recent roles.

David Orange – Managing Director and HoD – Legal Recruitment

Contact David if you’re looking for information on support across any of our People Consultancy Services including Recruitment, Payroll, HR or People Development.

David’s extensive knowledge in hiring strategy, business transformation and People Development has helped leaders and teams from start-ups to multi-nationals to build successful and powerful future-proof hiring processes, underpinned by sustainable working methodologies.

A lot has happened since David co-founded Talk Staff nearly 15 years ago, where he has been instrumental in helping turn us into a multi-award-winning people consultancy.

Over the last 15 years, David’s devotion to Talent Acquisition and desire to help businesses enhance their company culture and hire strong teams in an agile way, has allowed David to encounter a whole host of complex hiring situations and recruitment challenges, giving him plenty of commercial experience on how to overcome these for long term success, often by utilising the expertise of our wider team of people consultancy and organisational development specialists.

He works closely with our Organisational Development team who design new ways for organisations to improve their company culture and develop their teams and leaders.

Legal Recruitment

David has also built a formidable reputation in the legal recruitment world (as shown in our recent legal recruitment case study!)

“I recently asked David to find me my ‘forever firm.’ Within days he had secured me an interview which turned into a job offer which I gladly accepted. He definitely knows the industry and I would heartily recommend him to anyone looking for their new position.” Craig, Family Solicitor

Read our Legal recruitment case study

Debbie Rodgers – Payroll Officer

Contact Debbie if you’re already a payroll customer and need support

Debbie helps us support businesses with Payroll, keeping your teams paid on time and dealing with queries.

Over the past three years, Debbie has proven to be an indispensable asset, contributing immensely to our client base. Debbie contributes so much to the Talk Staff Family from keeping us entertained with the ‘great payroll quiz’ for National Payroll Week through to helping clients with a 5 star payroll service.

You’ll always find her with a cup of tea in hand.

“Debbie, your specialised skills and unwavering commitment are the backbone of our Payroll department’s success. Thank you for your outstanding contributions and here’s to many more years of collaboration and achievements together!” Richard Stokes

Here’s what one customer says about our payroll:

“With Talk Staff it’s all about relationships and that makes working with them a joy.”

National Payroll week was a real success this year, with Debbie playing a big part, hosting everything from payroll quizzes to teaching us payroll fun facts

Payroll Case Study from Derbyshire

Ellie Rowley – Principal Consultant – Key Accounts

Contact Ellie if you’re looking for a great recruitment partner to support you in building a great team.

Ellie has been a huge support to the Recruitment Services Team in her time here and last September she was promoted to Principal Consultant.

She matches ambitious companies in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas with great candidates in sectors and disciplines including customer support, Marketing, HR & finance.

Here’s what our candidates say: “I feel very lucky to have Ellie’s support and it has been brilliant to find an agency that genuinely wants you to progress and succeed in the career you have chosen.”

Gary Parsons – Non-Executive Director

Founded in 2009, in the clutches of a global recession, Talk Staff began its journey as a recruitment agency. But it wasn’t long before Gary, fellow co-founder David Orange, and the team started laying the groundwork for something much grander and impactful.

Just a year into its operation, Talk Staff began morphing into the renowned People Consultancy it is today. This transformation wasn’t just about expanding services; it was about redefining what it means to support businesses and their people strategically.

For Gary, stepping down as CEO is far from stepping back. It’s about stepping differently—into roles that promise not just personal growth but the chance to contribute on a larger scale.

His passion for breaking the stigma of leadership mental health and wellbeing will see him take to stages across the UK to share his wealth of experience, insights, and lessons learned with a broader audience. His commitment to the topic underscores a deep-seated belief that business founders and their directors should be heard, especially when leading companies through difficult and exciting growth periods that benefit their employees and the broader economy. Including a new podcast Leaders in Disguise.

Read Gary’s Story

Hannah Ingram – Marketing Manager

Contact Hannah about Espresso sessions or how to get regular insights from our team

Hannah Ingram has been working so hard over the last 12 months, keeping in touch with clients to inform them about upcoming development sessions and helping us continue growing our client base, keeping us entertained with her marketing updates. She is also behind much of the planning for our Learning at Work Week sessions available all year round.

Hannah has worked in several sectors from start-ups to multi-national organisations in industries from manufacturing to healthcare.

“My passion is weaving incredible stories into blogs, especially delving deep into the psychology of people or even better, interviewing teams that have changed lives, then watching the SEO magic happen.” Hannah Ingram

“Attended a few of the espresso sessions provided by the Designed4Success team. They are really engaging and informative sessions and Hannah provides a really personal service and touch 🙂 Thanks!” Shelley McBride – Connected Perinatal Support

Explore Development Session Takeaways

Jordan Bernard – Psychologist and Programme Coordinator

Contact Jordan to understand more about how Blended Learning can enhance leadership development and team development in organisations

Jordan combines her research and psychology expertise with her passion for effective communication to establish meaningful connections and foster an environment that encourages open dialogue and mutual understanding.

Having built an incisive understanding of diversity, Jordan has established herself as one of the leading experts on topics such as intersectionality and cognitive diversity, where she most recently developed a psychometric for cognitive styles. Jordan has further applied her background to coaching, mentoring, data analysis and project management as well as the training and leading of teams.

Through her empathetic and client-centred approach, Jordan strives to facilitate positive change and empower individuals, while her strong critical and adaptive thinking allows her to create clear, actionable steps that equip clients with the tools and strategies needed to achieve success.

Here’s 5 ways Jordan has made us smile these past 2 years:

😎 Hosting an amazing Espresso session on reawakening passion in our job roles.

📚 She authors many of the well-researched blogs on the Designed4Success website on topics from work communication for difficult conversations to adaptability

💻 Being one of the lead architects on the D4S new blended learning platform

🍰 Surprising us on Macmillan Cancer Support cake sale day recently, great to see you at our Belper office Jordan!

❤ The unique style and motivation she brings to the team

Development Blogs 

Keeley Stevens – Recruitment Consultant

Contact Keeley if you’re looking for your next big career step and after a more seamless approach

Keeley helps employers find the best office support talent across Derbyshire and Staffordshire including Administrators, Receptionists and Customer Service Advisors and is a regular winner of our team-voted Employee of the Month award!

And she is always going out of her way to help candidates…like this great candidate shares :

“My experience with Talk Staff through Keeley has been amazing, I honestly don’t know how I would have handled the application process without her. She not only helped me to find a position, but she coached me and checked in with me along the way”

Read more about recruitment challenges in 2024

Richard Stokes – Operations Director and HoD – Outsourced HR & Payroll

Contact Rich if you have any operational enquiries about Talk Staff. You can also reach out to him directly if you’re an existing payroll or HR customer or want to explore our people consultancy services do get in touch.

Richard, a pivotal member of our Senior Leadership Team, oversees our processes and operations.

He has a vast amount of experience in leadership and efficiency and in previous roles he’s helped organisational with acquisition integration for new systems, and improved efficiencies within businesses and teams. He plays an integral part in our business strategy and ongoing operations within Talk Staff.

Outside of work his dedication extends to maintaining a healthy lifestyle through frequent visits to the gym and even plans to compete in Tough Mudder Infinity.

HoD of Payroll and HR

His support as HoD spans from the meticulous management of client projects in Payroll and HR domains to the strategic enhancement of operational processes and overall business.

He supports our wider teams from supporting with employee relations and people-related scenarios through our HR support & support services and helping growing companies to adapt their payroll as they grow.

Here’s a useful resources where you’ll find 20+ payroll and HR legislation updates

Explore UK Payroll Services

Shay Deeny – Programme Manager, Organisational Psychologist and Consultant

Contact Shay for an initial conversation about how we could support you in organisational or people development.

To explore what D4S is all about and how they can support you and your organisation, contact Shay.

Shay is part of our core team and specialises in:

🎨 Creativity and Innovation
💡 Cognitive Diversity
❤ Emotional Intelligence

😊 Motivation and Engagement
😎 Psychometrics

Shay is the Programme Manager in D4S and an organisational psychologist with a strong research background, giving him a deep understanding of human behaviour. His aim is to bring the most recent and exciting research from psychology and apply it to the workplace in a practical way, giving his clients the newest and most impactful tools to succeed in their roles.

Shay doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach; he believes individuals have specific, unique requirements and this is reflected in his adaptable approach. Shay is the go-to person for all things creativity and innovation, helping individuals, teams and organisations to unlock their hidden potential and generate powerful, profitable solutions. He’s also specialised in psychometric design and administration, employee engagement and culture programmes, and spearheading the new and exciting psychological research projects in D4S. An innovative, transparent, refreshing and sometimes challenging approach is characteristic of Shay’s work with clients and organisations.

He often helps with our monthly Espresso sessions.

“Shay highlighted that creativity happens more than we acknowledge. You don’t just have to be a problem-solver or a creative person; they can be intertwined. A change in mindset for me” source

Favourite resource for your team:

E-Metrixx Creativity Assessment; helps you understand your ‘creative’ profile and how to generate more creative solutions based on your strengths, potential and unique problem-solving styles. Ask us more about this.

Speak to us

Please reach out to us at any stage if you’d like to explore our people consultancy services. We’d love to hear from you.

At Talk Staff people consultancy, we’re actively helping leaders and teams with:

Wishing you a great week.

Speak to Our Team

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      Last Updated on 4 months by Hannah Ingram

      Last Updated on 4 months by Hannah Ingram