Transformingrecruitmentthroughtechnology:A short guide forlocal government

A unique challenge

Essential requirements in local government

Working at scale

Keeping it cost-effective

Great user experience

Avoid red tape

Equality and diversity

Actionable reporting

Big on branding

Case study

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils

What you get with an applicant tracking system

Finding the right candidates

Managing the process

Mobile-first design

Flexible vacancy creation

User-focused careers pages

Video interviewing

Marketing at scale

Speedy sign up through social media

Advanced, searchable database

First-class user-experience

Integrate with other systems

Contents

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What you get with an applicant tracking system (cont)

Hit those KPIs through smart analytics and reporting

Automation in action

Candidate selection

Questionnaires

Talent ready to go

Offer management

Great onboarding experience

Security and accessibility

Latest technology

Security standards

Uptime

GDPR compliance

Accessibility

Anti-discrimination

Checklist - your next steps

1. Start with your needs

2. Do your research

3. Know your budget

4. Compare features

5. Get some support

6. Final checks

your guide

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“We need to drive efficienciesthrough increased transactionalstandardisation, automation andremoval of duplication.This frees up the recruitmentteam’s time to focus on ‘value add’aspects of recruitment as wellas continuous improvement.”

some of our partners

How to solve the recruitmentproblem in local government.

Local government organisations faceunique and specific challenges. They areunder pressure to improve operations, bemore commercially focused and respondto increasing demand for services, all while balancing the books to meet austerity measures imposed by central government.

In a recent study, the Office for National Statistics found that there are 1.1 millionfewer public sector workers in 2018 thanthere were in 2009. That’s a drop of 17%,which means recruitment teams faceboth a shrinking talent pool and fiercecompetition for quality candidates.

We’ve worked with some leading local government organisations to produce this guide:

A unique challenge

Tom Holmwood, Recruitment & Resourcing Manager,Surrey County Council

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“Ministers and officials face tough decisions in Spending Review 2019,and not least to balance public expectation with limited resources.However, the public sector leaders we interviewed pointed to ways forgovernment and the public services to maximise the impact of theirspending, in some cases building on innovations that were promptedby austerity.

They included greater regional devolution, ongoing digital transformation,more deliberate talent management, fresh progress on the industrialstrategy and a clearer connection between budgets and outcomes.”

Government beyond Brexit - The State of the State 2018-19, Deloitte

65,000peopledown

5,000peopledown

and down 3.1%compared withJune 2017

It is down 0.2%compared withMarch 2018

Office forNational Statistics:

Public sector employment,UK: June 2018

2.05millionpeople

The number ofpeople employedin local governmentcontinues to fall toreach a new recordlow in June 2018

Essential requirementsin local government

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Modern recruitment software is typically designedto make the hiring process quicker, more effectiveand, ultimately, save money. In particular, an ATSis well-suited to local government, where theseessential needs must be met:

If you’re involved in talent acquisition within local government, you willalready understand the kind of issues that come up time and again.

Working at scale

In the UK, local government and other public sectorbodies are amongst the largest employers. Not onlydoes a recruitment system need to be effective, it hasto work at scale. That means processing thousandsof applications, roles and candidates over the courseof a year. It’s a significant operation.

Keeping it cost-effective

Public sector organisations are always subjectto great levels of scrutiny and that’s only beenamplified in recent years. With budgets beingconstantly cut and money tighter than ever,it’s vital that you are able to show return oninvestment. That means any recruitment systemneeds to show that it’s worth its salt by savingyour organisation time and resources.

Great user experience

In any big organisation, staff will have varyinglevels of savviness when it comes to tech.No one enjoys using a complicated recruitmentsystem and that’s why it’s so important that yoursoffers a great user experience. The quicker yourteam can learn the ropes, the more time they haveto focus on hiring top talent.

“For September 2018, of all people in paid work,

16.5% were employedin the public sector.”

Office for National Statistics: Public sectoremployment, UK: September 2018

“Hiring managers liked the look and feel ofTribePad’s ATS a lot more’especially in comparisonto other suppliers.”

Jason Wisniewski,Strategic Resourcing & Talent AcquisitionManager at Richmond& Wandsworth Councils

“Almost two-thirds (63%) of council workersare concerned about the financial situationof their council.”

Unison survey of 21,000 council workers

need to know

Avoid red tape

Understandably, local government has an obligation to meet the highest standardsin recruitment. That can often lead to drawn-out processes as recruiters get caughtup in red tape. A quality recruitment system must make it easy for staff to complywith necessary rules and regulations.

Equality and diversity

Public sector organisations should be leading the way when it comes to makingsure there is a fair and consistent application process for all applicants. The rightrecruitment system must help limit unconscious bias where possible, and offera clear picture of who is applying for roles.

Actionable reporting

An ageing recruitment process may still eventually get those positions filled, but thereis often no way of assessing how it happened. Modern recruitment systems come withbuilt-in reporting features. You should be able to assess key metrics against KPIs andmake informed decisions based on real-time data. This also allows you to measure whatis working so you can focus on the highest performing areas.

Big on branding

Public sector organisations are often in direct competition with the private sectorwhen trying to attract the best talent. Talent pools are shrinking and everyone wantsto find and recruit the ideal candidate. A well-branded and intuitive recruitmentsystem, that stands out from the crowd, can really make a difference in getting thebest candidates.

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need to know

Richmond and Wandsworth councils werestruggling to compete in a challenging recruitmentmarket, with two specific issues:

• Poor candidate experience. The system was notmobile responsive and could not integrate with social media. This was having an impact on candidateattraction. Candidate drop off was also a problem.

• Internally, managers who recruited infrequentlyfound it hard to use the system.

Since implementing TribePad ATS, they have seen almostimmediate improvements to their recruitment process.

Jason Wisniewski, Strategic Resourcing & TalentAcquisition Manager at Richmond and WandsworthCouncils, said the following:

Case study

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“I would say that our candidateexperience is now excellent.We have had a huge increase inapplications, so that is definitelyworking well, particularly in someroles where previously we havenever even had people completeapplications. This time we aregetting more first time round.”

features

What you getwith an applicanttracking system

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An applicant tracking system (ATS) allows you to manage the entirerecruitment process electronically. They are designed to make theprocess of finding, hiring and managing candidates quicker, easierand cheaper. If you’ve been using email and spreadsheets, outdatedsoftware or even paper, an ATS can transform the way you work.

features

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Finding the right candidates

In local government, with tight budgets and limited resources, an ATScan give you that little bit extra to help attract, nurture, recruit and retainthe very best talent.

Managing the process

Where an ATS truly shines is in the day-to-day managing of candidates,especially in volume. It is faster, easier to use and far more reliable than manual processing. You can automate tasks, communication and focuson finding the best talent.

Rec and the Smith Institute

“85% of agencies supplyinginto the public sector ratedfilling vacancies as moderatelydifficult to very difficult.”

Mobile-first design

A modern ATS works perfectly on all screen sizes, so that hiring managers,recruiters and candidates can access their data any time and anywhere.

“A key objective was to improve accessibility of recruitmentservices to council staff, encouraging self-sufficiency.”

Tom Holmwood,Recruitment & Resourcing Manager,Surrey County Council

Features of TribePad’s ATS include:

Flexible vacancy creation

Tailor the application process for each vacancy and create smart job templatesfor those roles that come up frequently.

“It has improved the applicationprocess significantly.”

Jason Wisniewski, Strategic Resourcing& Talent Acquisition Manager,Richmond and Wandsworth Councils

Video interviewing

Interview candidates any time andfrom anywhere for a quicker, morecost-effective process that retainsthe human touch.

Marketing at scale

Easily post to hundreds of job boardsvia an aggregator and integrate withsocial media platforms to attract themost candidates.

“92% of companies are usingsocial media for hiring - andwe’re not only talking about LinkedIn.”

The Muse

User-focused careers pages

Integrate with an existing careerssite or use built-in page templates thatgive candidates a more streamlined,seamless experience.

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Speedy sign up through social media

Candidates can register with their Twitteror Facebook profile and even populate keyinformation using their LinkedIn account.

Advanced, searchabledatabase

Candidate information is securelystored in one database that comeswith powerful search tools, so youcan find the right talent in seconds.

First-class user-experience

An intuitive user interface with clear labelling forhiring managers, recruiters and candidates meanseven the least tech-savvy can get to grips with it quickly.

“It is essential for us to provide a simple, clean, accessibleand user friendly interface for candidates and hiring managers”

Tom Holmwood,Recruitment & Resourcing Manager,Surrey County Council

Integrate with other systems

By integrating best-in-class specialistrecruitment software, HR and IT teamsdon’t have to compromise on candidateexperience, end-to-end reportingor ease-of-use for recruiters.

features

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Hit those KPIs through smart analytics and reporting

Many local governments simply don’t have standardised metricsthat allow them to evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs).

That makes it difficult to understand cost-per-hire, time-to-hire, and which advertisingmethods and job boards are providing the best return on investment.

This kind of data is essential and a top-quality ATS will have detailed analyticsand reporting as standard. That means HR directors and talent leaders will beable to see and understand exactly how the recruitment process is performing,then make strategic decisions based on real-time, accurate information.

Automation in action

One of the most significant advantages of using an ATS is its ability to automatethose repetitive manual tasks. Features might include automated:

• email communications to keep candidates well informed

• reminders to people going through the recruitment process

• document delivery, such as contracts or policies

• scoring mechanisms to help identify and shortlist the best candidates

Automating these processes is not about replacing skilled recruiters - it’s providingtools that remove the admin burden from your team. Once automation is set up,it can save so much time and energy that can be put elsewhere, making even moredifference to your overall recruitment process.

“We needed access to comprehensive and real-timereporting, including equalities data, to help us deliveran efficient and effective service.”

Tom Holmwood,Recruitment & Resourcing Manager,Surrey County Council

“Almost three quarters of councils (74%) saidtheir council was currently experiencing recruitmentand retention difficulties.”

Local Government Workforce Survey, 2016/17

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features

Candidate selection

Built-in screening tools allow recruitersto assess candidates and includea scoring matrix to identify the verybest candidates.

Questionnaires

Create questionnaires and mandatory‘killer questions’ for filtering candidates,automatically removing some fromthe process whilst moving the bestones forward.

Talent ready to go

Access your talent pool and identifygreat candidates at any time once they areon your database, which means you avoidstarting from scratch each time.

Offer management

Complete view of the offer pipeline tosee where candidates are in the process,then set them up on payroll and HRsystems directly or via integrations.

Great onboarding experience

Issue contracts, collect key informationand give a great first impression as youwelcome and prepare new team membersfor their first day.

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Security & accessibilityWhile data security is important to everyone, local government in particularhas tighter compliance rules that must be met, including the recent GDPRregulations. With a significant amount of public data to manage, any securitybreach would cause a huge problem. An ATS is designed to tackle these issues and provide the safest, most secure recruitment system available.

Latest technology

Security starts with using the latest technology and a cloud-based ATS thatcan be kept up-to-date by its developers. Where some off-the-shelf solutionscan fall behind, most cloud based ATSplatforms are in constant development.

Uptime

Recruitment can be a round-the-clockbusiness for recruiters and candidatesalike. A modern ATS can meet standardsset out in public frameworks such asG-Cloud to guarantee near 100% uptime.

Security standards

All data should be stored in securesystems which meet standards such asISO27001 and OWASP. Personal datamust be encrypted and interactionsconducted via SSL sessions.

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safe and sound

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GDPR compliance

Changes to privacy regulations havemeant data security and complianceis more important than ever, especiallyin local government. An ATS comeswith specific features designed to helpyou meet GDPR rules and the veryhighest standards.

Anti-discrimination

Local government comes under greatscrutiny when it comes to diversity inhiring. An ATS can anonymise candidatedata, remove bias and help you meetthe EOC regulations rules in the UK andECNI in Northern Ireland.

Accessibility

Most public sector platforms do notcurrently meet accessibility standards,a recent study found that 4 in 10 localcouncils’ homepages failed basic testsfor accessibility. To comply with newregulations that came into force on 23September 2018 and stand out from therest, look out for an ATS that works onall screen sizes and meets AAA compliancestandards. Failure to consider this couldresult in great candidates being lost toother organisations.

it’s time to act

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Checklist - your next stepsSo you’ve decided it’s time to replace your current recruitment systemwith a modern ATS - where do you start? Chances are, in local governmentyou’ll need to carefully assess the competition and then justify your spending.

There are many many suppliers and products out there, so it’s importantto do your research and choose carefully.

“62% of publicsector buyers saythey have a lackof understandingof their ownbusiness needs.”

iGov survey

Start with your needs

Talk to your recruitment team and departmental managers to understandyour own processes and system first. Ask them about their pain pointsand build a wishlist of ATS features that would improve the recruitmentexperience. Think about which stakeholders in your organisation shouldbe involved in the decision and who will be most affected by a change ofsystem. These typically include HR, IT, Infrastructure, Legal and Finance.

Do your research

Learn how other public sector organisations recruit, carry out onlineresearch and use sites like Capterra to see how products compare. Most ATS providers have a customer service team, so make some calls and ask for information.

Know your budget

Be clear on the budget you have to invest in an ATS and focus on valueas opposed to cost. Consider the potential return on investment andnarrow your options based on your organisation’s needs and finances.If you aren’t sure how much budget to invest, get a couple of costestimates from your preferred suppliers.

Compare features

Whether it’s automated tasks or detailed analytics, by now you shouldknow which features are most crucial to your organisation. Go back to yourcolleagues, get the IT team involved and do a detailed product comparison,as well as viewing demos of the various options.

Get some support

As with all software, it’s hard to overstate the importance of reliable support.Before you make a decision, check your ATS options come with theresponsive customer support you need to get started and keep going.

Final checks

Can you see how an ATS will help you hit all your targets using the featuresyou’ve identified? Go through your requirements, feature list and budgetone last time. Find out if the provider you like the look of has delivered thesekinds of projects before, then make your decision - you’re ready to makea change.

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good luck in your recruitment journey

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