Background
Learning disabilities charity Mencap operates within a highly competitive sector, where attracting and retaining employees, whose attributes align with the organisation’s values, is a primary challenge. The cost of making the wrong hire is substantial for a notfor- profit, at between £8.2k - £12k per person.
"Delivering a unique person-centred and values-based framework"
The Resourcing Team therefore sought to deliver a unique person centred and values-based framework to influence all elements of the recruitment process; specifically, attraction and selection. This ‘Inclusive Recruitment Model’ also placed those with learning disabilities at the forefront.
Approach
Introducing a major culture shift was challenging when many managers were set in their old recruitment habits, and without any extra funding for the project. This was mitigated by ensuring that managers were included in the focus groups and at each development stage, and that the project was wholly delivered in-house.
Championing the framework and reinforcing its benefits was vital to ensure its scope across 600 service delivery locations and 900 hiring managers, and the Resourcing Team produced and delivered an interactive video for managers to engage them with the new recruitment model.
Outcome
The impact has been extensive, with adoption of the framework enabling more focused and cost-effective marketing of roles, particularly in matching the skills of the support worker to the needs of those cared for.
As a result, from 2014 to 2016, cost per hire has halved, average attraction rate per role has increased by 112% and reliance on Job Boards has fallen from 70% to 45%. In addition, overall candidate satisfaction scores have risen from 54% to 83%. Better selection techniques have led to greatly improved retention, with turnover of new hires in the first 12 months dropping from 37% to 14% in 2 years.