Business Details
25 Years
experience
Your Trusted Partner for Custom Recruitment Solutions
Founded in 2001, Locke and KEY has established itself as a flexible, value-driven alternative to traditional retained and contingency recruitment firms. Our founder, Lisa Locke, brings extensive industry experience from roles at Korn Ferry International, a San Francisco boutique executive search firm, and an incubator/private equity firm. We specialize in providing customized recruiting solutions tailored to clients across diverse sectors, including technology, food and beverage, nonprofits, and professional services. Our unbundled service model allows clients to select specific recruitment components on an hourly basis, ensuring cost control and adaptability.We serve organizations nationwide and globally, offering expertise in roles ranging from CEO to administrative positions. Our process emphasizes deep candidate evaluation, real-time communication, and post-placement follow-up to ensure long-term success. With a focus on transparency and client collaboration, we act as trusted advisors, combining the quality of retained firms with the flexibility of la carte services. Our proprietary interview transcription service provides unparalleled insight into candidate assessments. Headquartered in Alameda, California, we maintain a client-centric approach that prioritizes cultural fit and strategic alignment.
Services
Executive Search
Contract Recruiting
Candidate Screening
Position Description Development
Market Research
Details
- Year established: 2001
Highlights and features
- We offer 24 years of executive search expertise since 2001
- Our hourly billing model provides complete cost transparency
- We customize services for each client's specific hiring needs
- We provide real-time candidate interview transcriptions
- We serve diverse industries from tech to nonprofit sectors
What people say
Excellent communication
Professional approach
Successful placements
Detailed updates
Market intelligence
Services
Executive Search
Our executive search service identifies top-tier leadership talent through targeted market research and networking. We conduct comprehensive candidate evaluations, including in-depth interviews and reference checks, to ensure alignment with organizational culture and strategic goals. Our process includes real-time transcription services for complete transparency during candidate assessments.
Contract Recruiting
We provide flexible contract recruiting solutions to supplement internal HR teams during peak hiring periods or specialized projects. Our services include candidate screening, interview coordination, and market analysis to efficiently fill temporary or project-based roles across various industries.
Candidate Screening
Our candidate screening process combines behavioral interviews, skills assessments, and reference verification to identify the most qualified applicants. We provide detailed evaluation reports and verbatim interview transcriptions to support informed hiring decisions while maintaining candidate confidentiality.
Position Description Development
We create customized position descriptions that accurately reflect job requirements and attract qualified candidates. Our process includes market analysis to ensure competitive positioning and alignment with industry standards for effective talent acquisition.
Market Research
Our market research service identifies emerging talent trends and competitive landscape insights. We analyze industry-specific candidate availability, compensation benchmarks, and recruitment challenges to develop data-driven hiring strategies that improve placement success rates.
People
Lisa Locke
President and Founder
Lisa Locke founded Locke and KEY in 2001 after gaining extensive recruitment experience at Korn Ferry International and a San Francisco boutique executive search firm. She specializes in customized hiring solutions and has placed executives across diverse industries including technology, healthcare, and professional services.
Questions
What recruitment services do you offer?
We provide executive search, contract recruiting, candidate screening, position description development, and market research services.
How is your firm different from traditional recruiters?
Our unbundled hourly model lets clients choose specific services while maintaining retained-firm quality standards.
Which industries do you specialize in?
We work across technology, food and beverage, nonprofit, professional services, and manufacturing sectors.
What is your candidate evaluation process?
We conduct thorough interviews, reference checks, and provide real-time transcription services for complete transparency.
How do you ensure cultural fit for placements?
We analyze company culture and match candidates based on both skills and organizational compatibility.
