The issue
Before 2005, Walsall Council faced high staff turnover and a severe shortage of social workers. It was experiencing spiralling agency costs and as a result service users were receiving inconsistent standards of care. Repeated advertising for social workers and the potential impact of this on the Council’s reputation also gave cause for concern.
Facing competition from neighbouring councils, Walsall wanted to introduce a longer term approach to attracting candidates, rather than relying on offering higher salaries and better benefits.
Action taken
In 2005 the Council set up a social worker e-recruitment and talent pool microsite. This promotes Walsall as an interesting area to work and allows potential candidates to register interest and upload a CV to apply for a social worker position at any time. Candidates are no longer faced with the onerous task of filling in long application forms or having to wait for closing dates to expire or interview invite letters to be dispatched. The Council sends information packs to everyone who has expressed an interest and contacts potential applicants when vacancies arise.
External organisation, Jobsgopublic, developed the site in partnership with Walsall Council at a cost of £9,750. The microsite is publicised at corporate events and in external advertisements in 'Community Care' magazine.
Outcomes
The streamlined recruitment process has given Walsall a competitive edge over neighbouring councils. The Council has made 47 job offers since 2005 and there are now few social worker vacancies in children’s services1.
Costs have also been reduced. Before the site was introduced, the Council spent up to £10,000 on each recruitment advert. The cumulative cost of the microsite including development and maintenance is £17,000, meaning that advertising costs now equate to approximately £360 per appointment. Agency costs have also been reduced.
1 Due to some remodelling of the adults' services, some posts have deliberately been held vacant and vacancies are once again running higher than ideal. Once the outcome of the restructuring is known, the 'always on' microsite will come into its own again.
Learning
- The creation of the microsite has been very beneficial to the Council but setting up the site initially was time consuming. The Council estimates that officers now spend 30 minutes a day checking registrations and making contact with applicants.
- Time needs to be devoted to explaining and selling the new recruitment system to managers who have their part to play in talent pool work.
- It is important to have clear expectations from the outset about what is required by the external contractor: some companies charge large amounts of money to add extra features or functionality onto a website once it has been developed.
- Although the website has been successful, to maintain a competitive edge the Council recognises that it will have to continue to adapt and evolve its methods for attracting social workers and are committed to doing so.