This
award recognises effective approaches to selection, recruitment and retention
of employees. The judge looked for successful examples of developing and
motivating staff and for innovative ways of attracting the right applicants to
the organisation. Relevant to this category were new methods of recruiting,
measuring and assessing capability and performance, career management,
succession planning and competency testing. The judge looked for evidence of
organisations gaining competitive advantage from their strategies.
Category
judge
Janet
Rubin runs her own HR consultancy and has sought to bring fresh ideas to
clients such as the Hays Group, the Association of British Insurers, Abbey
National, Coutts/NatWest, Harrods, Anglian Water, the DTI, the Home Office and
the Lord Chancellor’s Department. She
frequently acts as an interim HR director and her consultancy work specialises
in diversity issues and change management. She is passionate about the
importance of finding new ways to meet the needs of internal and external
customers, but also stresses how important it is to ground any changes firmly
in an organisation’s culture.
Hertfordshire
County Council
The
team
No.
in HR team 12, with 200 working in personnel across the council
Staff responsible for 25,000
Alan
Warner, People & property director
David Beatty, Executive member, resources committee
Paula Mayes, Recruitment centre manager
Mandy Trenchard, Head of business support, corporate services
Richard Timms, Assistant personnel officer, adult care services
Vicky Alvedo, Personnel manager, community information
Carole Grimwood, Assistant director, county personnel
Verity Oatham, Assistant personnel assistant, environment
Elaine Hart, Personnel manager, county supplies and contract services
Mary Lowten, Personnel manager, recruitment and information
Denise Porter, Personnel officer, recruitment
Becky Brown Senior personnel officer, children, schools and families
County
Personnel
About
the company
Hertfordshire
County Council (HCC) is the biggest employer in Hertfordshire with 25,000
staff, and aims to provide the best possible local services at the lowest cost
to the taxpayer
The
challenge
To
be the first public sector body to fully outsource its entire recruitment
resourcing to a contractor, leaving the council to concentrate on providing
community services
What
the company did
Created
a recruitment centre, delivered in partnership with Manpower plc, which
provides a fully integrated recruitment service, from advertising and the
provision of temporary staff to the management and administration of permanent
recruitment and redeployment
Benefits
and Improvements
–
Major savings, projected to be £3m by year five
–
24/7 service for temporary staff
–
Better response to recruitment campaigns
–
Improved quality of temps
–
E-recruitment is in place via a state-of-the-art website
–
Growing candidate database
Janet
Rubin says: "A well-presented entry that scored well across all
criteria. It is the first fully outsourced recruitment solution in the public
sector. The visual material was very good and effectively sold the benefits of
working for the county council and the
county. This initiative has shown demonstrable organisational benefits for the
county council."
Surrey
Partners
The
team
No.
in HR team 5, with a total of 7 in HR
Staff responsible for All staff across 20 public sector bodies and one private
sector body, Jobsgopublic
David
Thomas, Head of personnel, Runnymede BC
David Clooke, Head of personnel, Mole Valley DC,
Jan Hunt, Head of HR, Borough of Spelthorne Council,
Janet Melbourne, Director of personnel, Guildford College,
Andy Gardiner, Head of law, Runnymede BC
Trevor Lines, Technology project manager
Steve Batley, Project manager and steering group chairman
Richard Tyrie & David Marshal, Joint managing directors of Jobsgopublic
Surrey
Partners e-Recruitment Pathfinder Project
About
the company
Surrey
Partners e-Recruitment Pathfinder Project (SPeRPP) is a group of 20 public
sector organisations and one private sector partner
The
challenge
To
pool the resources, needs and aspirations of a disparate group of public sector
employers in Surrey; to deliver major efficiencies in recruitment processes; to
realise significant cost savings and improved staff retention
What
the company did
Created
a shared web-based recruiting system and ‘live’ talent pool. SPeRPP provides
live access to all partner job vacancies (10,000 a year) via a once-only
application process that allows multiple job applications whenever the site is
visited. Through the electronic talent pool, partners can positively manage
succession planning and retention, as well as plan work placements, career
development, job sharing and training needs
Benefits
and Improvements
–
‘Pathfinder’ status for the project granted by the Strategic Partnering
Taskforce, established by the office of the deputy prime minister in
recognition of the innovative partnership. Of all pathfinder initiatives, this
one is unique in actually being operational
–
A reduction in average job application times
–
Will generate significant cost savings over the next three years
–
Releases HR staff from menial administrative tasks and allows them to focus on
more effective HR strategies
Janet
Rubin says: "SPeRPP is a unique project designed to pool the
resources, needs and aspirations of a disparate group of public sector
employers in Surrey, to deliver major efficiencies in recruitment processes,
significant cost savings and improved retention. It scored well under all of
the criteria and is due to produce significant benefits to the partners."
North
Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust
The
team
No.
in HR safety team 5, with a total of 7 in HR
Staff responsible for 3,200
Shirley
Chipperfield, Director of shared HR and training services
Phillippa Hardy, Senior HR officer
Suzanne Hussain & Sharon Moon, Recruitment and retention
co-ordinators
Dinal George, Administrative support
Shared
HR and Training
About
the company
The
North Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust provides the
majority of statutory mental health services across North Cumbria. It employs a
total of 3,200 staff
The
challenge
To
combat shortages of available staff in a 2,000 square mile catchment area which
largely consists of a static, rural population
What
the company did
Created
‘Stepping Stones’, a 10-week evening programme to allow prospective employees
to have a taste of an NHS career without giving up their current employment or
altering their daily life. The aim was to allow an informed decision about
their future career and therefore make it more likely the trust would retain
them as employees if they decided to take up the opportunity
Benefits
and Improvements
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Stepping
Stones has provided the trust with a continual supply of homegrown healthcare
assistants for the future from the local community. These recruits have an
awareness and knowledge of the mental health and learning disabilities services
prior to entering the organisation. So far, 95 people have applied to the
scheme and 20 have ‘graduated’ from the course. A number of those are looking
to commence nursing training in the next year
Janet
Rubin says: "With these extra individuals, the organisation has been
able to cover gaps within the rota system and alleviate the pressures on
existing staff. This has aided motivation throughout the organisation. Â This entry scored well on all criteria and
excellent material was supplied with the entry."
