Using a collaborative approach to address a common issue THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR RECRUITMENT WORKING GROUP Katherine Wainwright- Head of Human Resources- Turning Point Scotland CCPS

STATISTICS- reCRUITMENT 28% Scottish Social Services workforce 2017 58% increased their expenditure allocated to recruitment in the last year 89% found it very or quite difficult to recruit for frontline support staff   68% highlighted problems recruiting staff in specific local authority areas (Highlands, followed by Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow). 99% of HR Managers are utterly exhausted by the endless pressure of frontline recruitment

IMPACT Current provision Future provision Growth Hidden costs People

We took a decision to address it THROUGH Macro thinking- root causes, connecting dots, longer term, disruptive trends Getting rid of assumptions Recognising ‘the usual way of doing it’ & our best practice models Seeing change as possible & us as owners of the issue Common exploration- concepts- example ‘consumer focus’ Looking at possible solutions and ideas before the barriers Genuinely collaboration 29 organisations estimated joint turnover of c.£600 million and c.24,000 employees

ProjectS Pilot- employability with mentor Evidence base, evidence gathering and recording Recruitment brief- joint sector Learning from other sectors- 3 workshops Confident and leading change- optimistic, challenging dialogue Building relationships strategically and identifying opportunities Make recommendations- new sector plan drafted, resources

Reported reasons for difficulties 74% the issue of pay Applicants lacking skills Quality of applications ‘Too few applicants’ Local competitors “Pay and the shortage in applicants are likely related as the offered wages may prevent people from applying”

UNDERLYING Reasons for difficulties Communication and influence Knowledge of the sector- confusion Job opportunities Career pathways and advice Personally challenging Celebrating human qualities versus skills Gender and age segregation Pride and belonging Value Cars Shifts Flexibility/family commitments

Big picture Inequality in statutory service provision Assumption that roles are ‘basic’ unskilled jobs and that unemployed poorly qualified people will take the posts Lack of understanding of the role and relationships (Skills-Based Immigration System white paper 2018)

Plan- Actions Governance & funding Stimulate change- processes and approach Working Groups to progress problem areas: application forms and references Challenge barriers that do not add true value Communicate and influence the image of the work and sector More notice of children, young people and their parents/families Identify career pathways, role models and examples De-gender our communications and provide an active invitation to under represented groups Create a mechanism for bringing young people in Use digital solutions to enable collaborative strategic actions such as website and social media

Outcomes measured Increasing the number of applications being received by the participating organisations Widen the range of applications being received by organisations Reducing the number of hard to fill vacancies in organisations

#BecauseScotlandCares #ScotlandCaresTogether “Care changes lives” “Be an inspiration and make a difference”