Agenda item

At the meeting of the Committee held on 16 June 2016, discussion took place on possible review topics for the Committee to consider this Municipal Year. A proposal was for the Committee to examine the recruitment processes used by the Council.

For this meeting, Members were presented with a draft scoping report which provided details of the current practises which the Council used for recruitment. The review would aim to consider whether there were any improvements which could be made to the process of recruitment which would help the Council continue to attract high calibre staff, as well as improving the Council's attractiveness as an employer.

The Council's Workforce & Organisational Development Manager attended the meeting to provide the Committee with the background to the review topic.

The Committee was informed that it was proposed that the review be considered in four themes:

·         Advertising roles and reaching appropriate candidates

·         Interview methods and helping officers to assess candidates

·         Staff Induction

·         Equalities

Advertising

The Committee was provided with a summary of the process. The Council used E-Recruitment as a tool for recruiting staff and the recruitment system known as I-Grasp.  

There was an authorisation process whereby the Chief Executive consulted with the Leader Council on whether the post to be advertised was required, balancing the financial constraints the Council was operating under, against the requirement of the post of the service affected.

The Council had an advertising contract with Penna who advertised jobs in the national media, professional publications, and websites. In addition jobs were also advertised on the Council's website.

Reference was made to the increasing role which social media had in relation to recruitment, and Members were informed of the work which was taking place with LinkedIn, where the Council could link jobs to professionals on LinkedIn.

Several years ago, the Council's advertising budget was £850,000 per annum, but this was now around £150,000 per annum.

Particular reference was made to the work which had been carried out in relation to Social Worker recruitment and the introduction of an improved portal of information for potential candidates.

Members were informed that the role descriptions for Social Worker jobs were enhanced by portraits of existing Social Workers and discussions of their job, hosted on a bespoke website. The website provided dedicated pages describing the Council, social care roles and careers and also provided details on the benefits of working for the Borough. Members were informed that the first recruitment campaign for managers was considered a success, and a second campaign was currently being planned.

The Committee noted that the Council had achieved success in terms of Social Worker recruitment with 80% of posts now full, with less reliance on the more expensive agency staff.

Work took place on corporate branding, with key messages given to attract the best candidates. Members were informed that Hillingdon were one of the biggest payers of social workers in London.

Discussion took place on the successful recruitment for Social Workers and reference was made to the importance of overseas recruited social workers. Although the costs involved in recruiting overseas social workers was more expensive, there was a financial return in investment, because the Council was receiving very experienced social workers, to replace the more expensive agency staff.

Discussion took place on the impact that apprenticeships would have on employment within the Council, and Members were informed that from next year the Council would have appointed 30 apprentices internally.

Interview methods and helping officers to assess candidates

In relation to interviewing methods and assessing candidates, Members were informed that a one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment was unsuitable given the wide variety of functions undertaken by the Council, and the requisite skills necessary.

The Committee would give consideration to the methods in place to help Managers in deciding a framework for appointing staff.

The Committee would seek a greater understanding within recruiting officers of how different tests, questions and best practices could help to ensure that candidates were given the opportunity to demonstrate the necessary capability, and also to enable an appropriate level of differentiation between candidates emerges.

It was noted that external witnesses would be asked for alternative, innovative interview and assessment techniques, which could help the review in this area.

Staff Induction

The Committee noted the importance of induction of new staff, to enable new staff to understand what was expected of them in their role in their day-to-day job. The importance of ensuring that the induction introduced new staff to the key policies, benefits and opportunities of the Council was key to the induction.

In Social Care for example, the Director was involved at an early stage in terms of meeting new staff.

Equalities

The Committee was informed that it was Council policy that candidates applying for Council jobs, and who had declared a disability and met the person specification in full, were guaranteed an interview. Additional appropriate arrangements were made to accommodate applicants who considered themselves disabled.

The Committee, as part of their review, would give consideration to whether these structures were sufficient, and whether the Council had a good record in assisting disabled applicants as well as meeting other equality requirements.

For the next meeting, Members asked that consideration be given to targeted recruitment such as Universities and Further and Higher Education.

In addition, Members asked that information be provided on the total number of employees in the Council, a breakdown of numbers by Directorates, and comparative data with other London Boroughs. Also Members asked for details on the "turnover" of staff to enable any trends to be highlighted.

Members also asked for an updated structure chart for Adults, Children & Young Peoples Services.

It was agreed that possible witnesses for the review should include providers of apprentices, representatives from Brunel University and Uxbridge College, private sector recruiters and organisation which had been involved in national recruitment campaigns.

RESOLVED –

1.    That the draft scoping report be noted and officers be asked to progress the actions outlined above for the next meeting.