Local government urgently needs to update its recruitment processes to cope with a future where retiring ‘baby boomers’ and declining numbers of skilled young people will put talent in short supply, says Richard Tyrie, co-founder of JGP.co.uk.

As the Gershon screw tightens on council budgets nation-wide, the pressure is on to account for every penny, ensuring that recruitment campaigns are justifed: that they prove a return on investment and that they can attract the best talent into the future.

It’s time to strategically defuse the recruitment time bomb and look to what the savings online methodologies can bring to attract, retain and nurture talent.

For many public sector organisations, JGP delivers the sort of departmental process improvements that the government’s ongoing efficiency agenda demands.

Richard goes on to say:
“With increasing pressure to focus time and budgetary resources on providing the very best service, time saved using online recruitment solutions to find, nurture and retain talent can be channelled back into supporting the local community at large.

We are pleased that our solutions enable many local authorities, boroughs and councils such as Birmingham, Bury and Walsall to benefit from transferring recruiting processes online to make a significant reduction in cost and time to hire.”

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council has been using Internet-based advertising to recruit social workers since 2003, but has upped its game to keep ahead of its rivals. The authority’s Strategic Recruitment Team is attracting the best talent using dynamic, online recruitment channels, designed and delivered by JGP talent management specialists.

For Walsall, JGP’s Talent Management solution was implemented to address a shortfall in social care staff, resulting in a reduced cost per hire to just £316 and 44 posts filled in just 2 years.

“We can respond so much faster now, so job seekers don’t lose interest. We can continue to communicate with them in case other jobs come up. It’s a managed process and we know we’re getting better candidates with reduced expenditure per recruit.”
Cordell Lane, recruitment consultant at Walsall.

FOCUS: E-RECRUITMENT & SKILLS PORTALS
Walsall now celebrates a zero vacancy status for adult social care staff and a solution that is fully integrated into their website, local advertising and recruiting fairs.

For Birmingham City Council JGP’s Talent Management solution increases the effciency and quality of personnel development. Birmingham utilises JGP’s web based skills assessment tools to provide an internal placement and job move service, enabling individuals and their managers to plan career pathways, facilitate better team performance and, at the same time, enabling succession planning.

According to Cordell Lane, recruitment consultant at Walsall:
“The microsite automates the application and combs out candidates who aren’t appropriately qualifed. e can respond so much faster now, so job seekers don’t lose interest. We can continue to communicate with them in case other jobs come up. It’s a managed process and we know we’re getting better candidates with reduced expenditure per recruit.”

Today Walsall’s ever growing talent pool helps it to identify talent and streamline departmental processes whilst maintaining an ongoing presence in the recruitment marketplace through which to uild relationships with potential candidates.

Harnessing the latest technology and social media initiatives is the key to delivering effectiveness and effciency in recruitment and staff development processes.

“The scramble to get the best candidates isn’t going to go away, but we know we have a very well targeted and cost-effective formula that we can now build on”, says Cordell Lane.