Recruitment Strategy
2008 – 2010
1
Index
Section Title
Page
1
Introduction
3
2
Context
4
2.1 Corporate
Context
4
2.2 External
Context
4
3
Deciding to Recruit
5
4
Who We Want to Attract
5
5
How We Want to Attract Them
6
5.1
Developing Our Employees
6
5.2
Value For Money
6
5.3
Raising Our Profile
6
5.4 Accessibility
7
6
Special Schemes
7
6.1.1 Headstart/Modern
Apprenticeships
7
6.1.2 Restart
8
6.1.3
Other Under-Represented Groups
8
7
Working in Partnership With Others
8
8
Standards/Quality Assurance
9
9
Environmental Considerations
9
10
Next Steps
10
Action Plan
11
2
link to page 3
1. Introduction
The Council’s ambition to create
‘A Better City Life’ for residents means
delivering sustained improvements to the quality of public services and
encouraging the raising of standards of service provided by others on our
behalf. Recruiting the right staff is a key part of helping the Council
achieve this aim.
1.2
This Recruitment Strategy aims to ensure that the Council has a highly
skilled, motivated workforce, which is able to respond to the diverse needs
of the community.
1.3
Assessed as ‘Excellent’ and aspiring to be the smartest in England whilst
maintaining this excellence, the Council will only be able to achieve this
aspiration by employing the best people and fully utilising skills. A clear
strategy supporting the delivery of workforce plans will also ensure that
the Council is seen as transparent, equitable and accessible to all. Just as
importantly, it will contribute to our aspiration of having a workforce that
represents the diversity of the local community and city.
1.4 The Council spends approximately £600,000 per year on recruitment
advertising. Add to this other costs associated with recruitment such as
agency staff cover, manager’s time involved in recruitment, and
selection/assessment costs, and the significant financial implications of
recruiting become apparent. This, combined with the risks of employing
staff who are not competent or unsuitable, means that the Council needs a
recruitment strategy that mitigates this risk and ensures efficiency, cost
and reputation at all times.
1.5
The strategy cannot stand alone if it is to be effective, and it has therefore
been produced so that it links with, and supports, other council strategies
and plans, in particular:
•
The Personnel Strategy and Workforce Development Plans
•
The Learning and Development Strategy
•
The Cabinet Business Plan
•
The Corporate Equalities Action Plan
•
The Borough’s Aims
•
The Community Strategy
1.6
Finally, the Council aspires to be an employer of choice for residents,
across London and throughout the United Kingdom. A robust recruitment
strategy will address our position in the employment market and indirectly
support retention of staff by ensuring that recruitment decisions are the
right ones.
1.7
The development of the strategy has included extensive consultation with
local organisations, as well as a review of the priorities of local, regional
and national bodies whose work has an impact on the council.
1
1 The following departments/organisations contributed to the strategy:
Personnel, Kensington Recruitment, Regeneration, Disability and HIV Services,
Mental Health, Job Centre Plus, NOVA, Open Age, CNWL Foundation Trust
3
2. Context
2.1
Corporate Context
A number of internal factors have had an impact on the development of
the Recruitment Strategy:
2.1.1 Our ambition to be the smartest council in England by using
technology better to reduce costs and improve convenience, being
responsible stewards of our planet, caring for our customers and
being an organisation that people are proud to work for
2.1.2 The Space Programme – reviewing the utilisation of office space
and ensuring that it meets the Council’s future requirements as well
as reducing running costs, which, combined with the Home Working
and Mobile Working Projects, will enable increased home working
and flexible working arrangements
2.1.3 The Council’s commitment to tackling worklessness within the
borough will significantly influence our aims to employ local people,
as well as the commitment in our Community Strategy to ensure
that local people have opportunities to find out about, and secure
jobs with, new and established local employers, including major
employers including the Council as the second largest in the
Borough, and the Primary Care Trust
2.1.4 The Here to Help Programme – ensuring that the customer is at the
heart of everything we do, meaning that we need robust selection
methods to ensure we recruit people who share our passion for
customer service and who can help us in our aspiration of providing
smarter services
2.1.5 Our usage of temporary agency staff and how we might keep these
costs to a minimum by reducing the time taken to recruit to vacant
positions being covered by agency staff, whilst at the same time
recognising the contribution that temporary staff can make to
support an agile, flexible workforce
2.1.6 Business groups’ workforce development plans and our knowledge
of areas/jobs within the Council that have experienced difficulties in
recruiting suitable people
2.1.7 The current workforce profile and other workforce data including
age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and local or national targets for
addressing under representation, all of which are essential aids to
enabling the development of action plans to ensure that our
recruitment activity is responsive to changing needs and priorities
2.2
External
Context
A number of external factors have had an impact of the development of
the Recruitment Strategy:
2.2.1 External targets and inspections such as Best Value Performance
Indicators, Comprehensive Performance Assessment, Ofsted, CSCI
all link to our ability to recruit and retain the right people
4
2.2.2 Statutory changes such as anti-discriminatory employment law,
changes to immigration legislation and the creation of the
Independent Safeguarding Authority
2.2.3 A tighter recruitment market for many professions, as well as
national shortages makes attracting the right candidates harder,
resulting in the need to create a strong employer brand as well as
an emphasis on career development and “growing your own”
2.2.4 A change in career expectations, where many people no longer
desire or expect a “job for life” and there is much more movement
across organisations and sectors than ever before means that we
need to embrace this fluidity by becoming more flexible in our
requirements
2.2.5 The prevailing economic climate is a further consideration and our
ambition is to recruit more local people wherever possible in
support of our local aims to reduce worklessness and
unemployment
3. Deciding
to
Recruit
3.1
Before undertaking any specific recruitment, we will ensure that we only
recruit where there is a genuine need to do so. We will do this by:
3.1.1 Reviewing whether the job is genuinely necessary in order to run a
high quality service
3.1.2 Considering whether the tasks can be carried out in a different way,
by reconfiguring those tasks, combining with another position or by
utilising technology
3.2
If there is a genuine need to recruit, we will consider a range of options
available before undertaking recruitment, such as:
3.2.1 Whether temporary staff could be a more cost effective way of
covering the work, either on a short or long term basis, particularly
where future changes to service delivery is likely
3.2.2 Whether the job or tasks could lend themselves to any form of
social enterprise, for example, targeting under-represented groups
(see sections 6 and 7), volunteering or work trials
3.2.3 Whether the job could provide a development opportunity for an
existing employee through a secondment or acting up arrangement
(see section 5.1.2)
4.
Who We Want to Attract
4.1
In order to deliver excellent and smarter services, we need excellent and
smart thinking people. We will:
4.1.1 Appoint on merit to ensure that we get the best person for the job
4.1.2 Ensure that our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and free
from bias
5
4.1.3 Ensure that our selection decisions are only made against criteria
that are necessary and relevant in order to do the job
4.2
Additionally, we want diversity at all levels of our workforce that reflects
the local population so far as possible. We will therefore ensure that local
people and under-represented groups have the opportunity to find out
about, and secure, jobs within the Council. We will:
4.2.1 Work closely with local partners to help local people and under-
represented groups gain employment through a variety of methods
(see Section 6)
5.
How We Want to Attract Them
5.1
Developing our Employees
We aim to foster a culture of internal development, where our staff are
given the right development opportunities to ensure that they are ready
for promotion and other opportunities when necessary. To help deliver
this, we will:
5.1.1 Advertise all vacancies internally as a minimum, with external
advertising in the relevant media only where it is felt necessary.
Consideration will be given to whether there may be a number of
suitable candidates internally before advertising externally. The
exception to advertising a vacancy is where it may be suitable for a
redeployee or where a vacancy needs to be ring fenced due to
restructuring or re-organisations of teams or departments
5.1.2 Promote secondment and acting up opportunities widely with an
expectation that, unless there is specific and justifiable reason why
an opportunity is only available to a limited group of staff, it will be
open to all
5.2
Value for Money
5.2.1 Where it is necessary to advertise externally, we will select the
most appropriate medium that is likely to produce quality
applicants, gaining advice from our recruitment advertising agency
where appropriate
5.2.2 Wherever possible, we will advertise on line rather than hard copy
press to keep advertising costs to a minimum
5.2.3 We will ensure that all of our externally advertised vacancies are
placed on the council’s job pages
www.rbkc.gov.uk/jobs and that
applicants will be encouraged to apply for jobs on line wherever
possible to support our commitment to modern, streamlined and
cost effective recruitment processes
5.2.4 We will use creative methods of recruiting where we think a
different approach is required, such as open days, appointing from
a centralised pool of candidates, using recruitment agencies etc.
5.3 Raising
Our
Profile
5.3.1 We will continue to develop our employer image by ensuring that
advertisements are consistent and in line with the Council’s agreed
house style. In addition, we will work on following the design
6
link to page 7
through as many elements of the recruitment process as possible,
such as the Council’s jobs pages www.rbkc.gov.uk/jobs and other
recruitment literature
5.3.2 We will continue to attend job fairs where appropriate to increase
our profile as an employer of choice both locally and nationally
5.3.3 We will use a variety of other methods to raise our profile as an
employer such as attending specific events, holding open days
where appropriate, and sending publicity material to targeted
institutions
5.3.4 We will raise our profile with students and graduates through our
Summer Internship Programme and our participation in the
National Graduate Development Programme
5.4 Accessibility
5.4.1 Whilst we will encourage all applicants to apply for our vacancies on
line, we will ensure that alternative ways of applying are available
should they be required
5.4.2 As a ‘Positive About Disabled People’ Two Tick employer, we will
ensure that those applicants who have indicated that they have a
disability are invited to interview if they meet the minimum
requirement for the job
5.4.3 We will retain flexibility in our approach to working practices, such
as offering home working or other flexible ways of working, as well
as other initiatives such as job carving
2
6. Special
Schemes
6.1
In order to support the Community Strategy in reducing worklessness and
getting local people into local jobs, there are a number of different
schemes, each at differing stages of development:
6.1.1 Headstart/Modern Apprenticeships
We intend to support the London Task Force on Apprenticeships’
aim to deliver more apprenticeships in the public sector by 2012.
Headstart is for people aged 16 to 24 living in the Boroughs of
Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth,
Brent or Westminster, offering a one year placement to undertake
a Modern Apprenticeship and gain an NVQ Level 2 in business
administration or similar and encouraging young people to consider
a career within local government. This scheme has been
established for a number of years and we will continue to promote
it both externally and internally with the aim to retain as many
scheme participants as possible in permanent positions with the
Council
2 Job carving is a way of splitting jobs to ensure the most suitable person carries
out each task. It is a flexible way of managing a workforce, which allows
employers to utilise their staff skills in the most productive way whilst enabling
disabled people to make a valuable contribution to the world of work.
7
We will continue to develop other apprenticeship schemes across
the Council, such as Occupational Therapy, Social Work, and
Building Control
We will also encourage those that deliver a service on our behalf to
consider establishing apprenticeship schemes. As an example,
Quadron, the Council’s grounds maintenance contractor, has
established a successful apprenticeship scheme targeted at local
young people built on the success of the Headstart scheme
6.1.2 Restart
For unemployed people over fifty years of age living locally, offering
a placement of a minimum of six months in various positions across
the Council, providing relevant training and confidence in returning
to the workforce. This is a new scheme and we will continue to
work with local partners to develop this initiative
6.1.3 Other Under-Represented Groups
We will engage with local partners to develop schemes designed to
encourage and attract other groups (i.e. People with disabilities or
learning disabilities, lone parents, long term unemployed) in working
for the Royal Borough, ring fencing vacancies where it is felt necessary
7.
Working in Partnership with Others
7.1
In order to deliver this strategy, the Council will work closely with other
organisations that can help achieve our objectives. We will develop and
maintain effective working relationships with the following
departments/organisations:
• Job Centre Plus
• Kensington Recruitment
• Connexions
• Other local organisations with an interest in getting local people
into employment
• Economic and Regeneration Team – to ensure the local market has
the skills and qualities that are needed within the organisation
• Other boroughs, to pool resources and knowledge to address areas
of difficulty in recruitment and retention where appropriate and to
create possible opportunities of moving between organisations
• Our partners, such as the PCT, to collaborate and investigate
options of working together to address areas of common interest
• Contractors of the council, so that they also support our strategy
and encourage them to commit to undertake their own recruitment
in a way that supports it. This includes our arrangements for the
supply of agency staff.
• Specialist agencies, such as the Employers Forums on Age and
Disability, and charities supporting people with a disability into
employment
7.2
In addition to the above, we will continue to develop the involvement of
service users in the selection process
8
8. Standards/Quality
Assurance
8.1
In order to deliver this strategy, we need to constantly strive to ensure
that our recruitment and selection processes are streamlined, effective,
transparent and follow both current employment legislation and best
practice. In order to achieve this, we will:
8.1.1 Ensure that the selection criteria for each vacancy are justifiable,
relevant and available to all applicants. A job profile and person
specification based on the Councils Performance Development
Framework (REAL) will be available to applicants for this purpose
8.1.2 Ensure that our processes satisfy our commitment to the
organisation through our service level agreements which are
updated on a three-yearly basis with regular reviews of our
performance
8.1.3 Constantly review the recruitment processes to ensure that it is
streamlined and meets the organisational needs, as well as
providing the organisation with quality advice and support relating
to recruitment
8.1.4 Work with our Personnel colleagues to ensure that regular
management information is obtained on recruitment and that this is
used effectively to address areas of concern. In addition, these
regular reports will be published on the intranet
8.1.5 Provide regular training on recruitment and selection to our
managers to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to
conduct recruitment and selection appropriately
8.1.6 Constantly monitor our practices against our commitment to be a
“Positive About Disabled People” employer and remain aware of
other opportunities for accreditation to maintain and improve our
standards
9.
Environmental Considerations
9.1
Part of our ambition to be the smartest council means being responsible
stewards of our planet and limiting our consumption of energy, water and
cause less waste. In order for our recruitment strategy to support this, we
will:
9.1.1 Encourage applicants to apply on line wherever possible to avoid
sending paper application packs and constantly strive work towards
a paperless recruitment process
9.1.2 Raise our profile amongst our local community to encourage local
people to work for us who could walk or cycle to work rather than
by car or public transport
9.1.3 Consider the locality of a candidate as a factor on who to appoint
where two or more candidates fulfil the selection criteria within the
person specification following interview and a decision needs to be
made on who to offer the job to
9
10. Next
Steps
10.1 This strategy was produced to set out our approach to recruitment and our
commitment to high standards through all areas of recruitment and
selection. In order to deliver the strategy, an action plan has been
produced which details the precise actions that will be taken, with
timescales and responsibilities specified. This includes how the strategy
and the action plan are communicated
10
RECRUITMENT STRATEGY 2008 - 2010: ACTION PLAN
STRATEGY
REFERENCE
ACTION
TASKS
SUCCESS MEASURES
4.1
Continually review our recruitment
Ensure that our appointing managers are given
Adequate training is provided to
process so that it is fair, transparent adequate support and training in order to make fair and
enable managers to recruit and select
and free from bias
appropriate selection decisions
effectively
Recruitment audits are undertaken on a selection of
Recruitment audits demonstrate that
advertised vacancies in each business group to ensure
selection criteria is relevant and
that:
justifiable, the REAL behaviours are
•
Criteria used is relevant and justifiable to the job used appropriately and that there is
•
The REAL behaviours are used appropriately
evidence of decisionss
throughout the recruitment and selection
process
•
There is appropriate evidence of all recruitment
decisions
Any change to the recruitment process
Undertake an equality impact assessment when
has been assessed to ensure that it is
changing or developing any aspect of the recruitment
not disadvantaging any group of
process
people
5.1
Ensure that opportunities within the
Vacancies are advertised on the council’s intranet site
All vacancies over 3 months in
Council are widely advertised and
and the hard copy Careers Bulletin as a minimum
duration are advertised across the
available to all our staff
Council (except for redeployment or
restructuring situations)
Secondments and acting up opportunities are advertised
widely with an expectation that, unless there is specific
Secondments and acting up
and justifiable reason why an opportunity is only
opportunities are advertised widely
available to a limited group of staff, it will be open to all
across the Council
Assess vacancies at the point of advertising and consider There is evidence of more internal
whether there may be a number of suitable candidates
promotions and the cost of external
internally before advertising externally
advertising has reduced
Offer guidance on selection and interviews for
employees who may be looking to change positions
The REAL jobs sessions have a full
within the Council
attendance and subsequent sessions
are run on a regular basis to cater for
demand
11
STRATEGY
REFERENCE
ACTION
TASKS
SUCCESS MEASURES
5.2.1
Ensure that our external advertising
Use management information to identify successful
The percentage of appointments made
demonstrates value for money
media and other advertising methods and monitor costs
first time increases
Work closely with our advertising agency to create and
The overall spend on recruitment
develop recruitment advertising to attract quality
advertising reduces year on year
candidates at minimum cost. This will include assessing
whether advertising on line is more effective than hard
Statistics show that on line advertising
copy press
has increased year on year
5.3
Develop our profile and employer
Consider further ways to develop our image as an
The Council is seen to have a
image so that we are an employer of employer of choice within London and the UK, such as:
consistent, high impact advertising
choice
style. Research indicates that quality
Attending both national and local job fairs to either raise candidates are being attracted and
our profile generally or to attract specific professions
that the percentage of appointments
where it is considered appropriate.
made first time increases
Considering running recruitment open days where
The internship scheme attracts
appropriate
positive evaluation from both
participants and managers. Any
Utilising other publicity opportunities such as entering
suggestions for improvement are acted
awards
upon for 2009 and 2010 schemes.
Deliver the Summer Internship scheme in 2008 and
The Council recruits high quality
formally evaluate in Autumn 2008
graduates through the National
Graduate Development Programme
Continue to participate in the National Graduate
and retains them at the end of the
Development Programme
programme
12
STRATEGY
REFERENCE
ACTION
TASKS
SUCCESS MEASURES
5.4
Ensure that our vacancies are
Ensure that the jobs site is monitored and improved.
The jobs site remains fit for purpose,
accessible to everyone
Look at alternative providers or options for further
is easy to use and any improvements
developing the site. Undertake an equality impact
do not disadvantage any group of
assessment when changing or developing any aspect of
people
the recruitment process
Monitor the use of our Disability Symbol by requesting
Assessment demonstrates that our
an assessment from our Disability Employment Adviser
practices support and meet the
at Job Centre Plus to gain feedback on our practices,
requirements of organisations using
making improvements where necessary
the Disability Symbol. Actions taken
to improve or amend practices where
necessary
6.1.2
Develop the Restart Scheme
Create an action plan setting out specific actions
A minimum of six individuals are
required to develop the Restart Scheme. This will
employed through the Restart scheme
include:
in the first year
•
Working with local partners
The scheme is well received within the
•
Communicating the scheme to the organisation
organisation with commitment from
•
Marketing the scheme externally
business groups to adopt this
•
Agreeing an adapted selection process
approach
•
Providing information briefing sessions
•
Creating success stories
Retention figures demonstrate that
•
Providing regular reports
individuals on the scheme obtain
•
Evaluation
permanent employment with the
•
Budgetary monitoring
Council at the end of their placement
Evaluations are positive and
recommendations acted upon
The scheme is run within its budgetary
limits each year
13
STRATEGY
REFERENCE
ACTION
TASKS
SUCCESS MEASURES
6.1.3
Engage with Under-Represented
Develop and maintain relationships with partner
Increased opportunities for under-
Groups
organisations to identify suitable methods of attracting
represented groups are available
under-representing groups in the workforce
within the Council and that these
opportunities are filled with competent
Possible areas to develop:
individuals
•
Job carving (further development)
Any methods of attracting under-
•
Application/interview skills training
represented groups are well received
•
Work trials/work experience opportunities
within the organisation with
•
Adapting the application process
commitment from business groups to
•
Raising awareness of financial implications
vary their approach to recruitment to
•
Overcoming other barriers to work
support these methods
Communicate aims within the organisation, to ensure
that appointing managers understand and have the
knowledge, skills and support to consider adopting this
approach to recruitment
7
Work in partnership with others
Develop and maintain working relationships with partner The council engages with partner
organisations so that the actions described within this
organisations on a regular basis and
action plan are possible
works closely with them to deliver the
strategy.
Involve service users in the selection process
The value of service users are known
to each business group and they are
involved in the selection process when
deemed appropriate
14
STRATEGY
REFERENCE
ACTION
TASKS
SUCCESS MEASURES
8
Standards/Quality Assurance
Ensure that applicants are always provided with the
All advertised positions have
appropriate documentation in order for them to make an appropriate documentation available to
informed application against the criteria specified which
candidates
includes the REAL behaviours
Produce regular management information on
Areas of good or poor performance are
recruitment performance and statistics on the intranet.
identifiable and discussed with actions
Use this information to review the impact of the strategy
with business groups and develop action plans to
address any areas of concern
Business groups and schools give
positive feedback on the service
Regularly review performance against the Personnel
provided by Recruitment
Service Level Agreement for business groups and
schools
15
Document Outline
