How setting up the equivalent of a Managed Service Provider in-house, supported by a public to public, joint venture partnership, enables councils to strengthen their workforce, and take ownership of savings to reinvest in public services.
First, because a public-to-public partner shares the same commitment to public service values, savings are returned to the council to reinvest in community wealth-building projects or to further develop workforce capability. Typically, the in-house model, with the right partner, can deliver up to 46% savings on fees previously paid to outsourced providers. Last year alone, this model has returned £3 million cashable savings to the public purse.
Further benefit can be derived from significantly reduced off-contract spend. Temporary staff have full sight of all casual and bank work meaning they can request to work more hours and in a variety of different roles. This provides the council with a more flexible workforce and saves time and duplication of effort hiring staff.
In addition, setting up a recruitment business generates local wealth in several different ways, creating new jobs for local people. To date, over 8,000 local residents have been placed many of whom were previously unemployed residents, thereby reducing their reliance on council services. The in-house model also delivers a more inclusive and transparent procurement process enabling more SMEs to participate. To date, 66 local agencies and 733 SME sole traders have been appointed to the recruitment supply chain.
Second, the in-house recruitment model enables a council to strengthen workforce planning across the entire organisation. By bringing contingent and permanent requirements under one roof, councils are able to develop a cohesive approach to resourcing and workforce development. This enables them to identify transferable skills, groups of roles and career paths ways that map across the entire organisation. To create talent pipelines that enable staff to move between the temporary and permanent workforce. To conduct outreach work with the local community to increase candidate awareness and attraction.
Related to this is a third benefit, is the ability to strengthen the permanent workforce by developing a multi-skilled, versatile and adaptable workforce. In-house recruitment acts as a conduit between the temporary and permanent workforce, developing temp staff with a view to cross over to permanent, and retain older, experienced workers who wish to step back from a permanent role but not out of the workforce.
A dedicated in-house recruitment team also bring the experience and resources to develop an attractive EVP to counter negative public perceptions of what it is like to work for Local Government. They develop flexible and clear career pathways to attract young blood and optimise retention. Actively promote the boundless job opportunities available in local government and work closely together to reduce candidate wastage.
At a time when off-contract spend is increasing and retention and recruitment is getting harder, councils need an alternative approach that enables them to not just control spend on essential services but develop a flexible, future-focused workforce.
If you would like to know more about partnering with CSG to establish your own in-house recruitment service please contact me at stephen.wilson@csltd.org.uk, mobile – 07885 823393.
Steve Wilson, Commercial Director, Commercial Services Group
