1. Retention, Recruitment, Skills
Developing the social services workforce
Retention, Recruitment, Skills
Edinburgh 28/3/18
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2. Recruitment and retention in the voluntary sector
Retention in the social services workforce
Recruitment and retention in the voluntary sector
Alison Christie
Michelle Nairn

3. What we will talk about today:
HR Voluntary Sector/ CCPS Benchmarking 2017/18- recruitment and retention key findings and comparisons with Scottish Government research
What the findings mean for voluntary sector providers of social services
What the sector is doing to address recruitment and retention challenges

4. Benchmarking in the Voluntary Sector
10 years Analysed by University of Strathclyde 3rd year of qualitative interviews
24, 500 staff employed across participating organisations
Organisations vary in size but most are social care providers achieving consistently high grades from the Care Inspectorate
Diversity is above sector average for gender, ethnicity and disability
85% undertake staff engagement surveys
74% dependent on local authority funding (an increasing trend)
Includem
Key Supports
Turning Point
SAMH
Richmond Fellowship
Carr Gomm
Children 1st
Loretto
ARK Housing
Queen's Cross Housing Association
Hansel
Barony Housing Association
Beild Housing Association
CHSS
Sense Scotland
Community Integrated Care
Kibble
Enable
Scottish Autism
Capability Scotland
Ayrshire Hospice
Blackwood
Camphill Tiphereth
Link Housing Association
Cornerstone
Crossreach
Quarriers
Aberlour
The Action Group
Gamh
St Columbus Hospice
Simon Community Scotland

5. Recruitment qualitative stuff here!
“… we were almost just recruiting to stand still in terms of head count. […] all the management folk out at services involved in recruitment process is…all that money, all that time, all that training, all that…you know, and we’re not even standing still”
“…attracting people into the care sector in the first place, absolutely is difficult. It’s been helped obviously by the increase in living wage, but it is becoming an ever more competitive place to recruit I would say”
“And we maybe end up getting something we don’t want and…we might end up doing well in a particular framework tender and then although it’s like incremental stuff which is the best way to get it, all of a sudden that…in that area, work’s coming out our ears. You can’t predict. You know, it’s just… it’s the unpredictability”

6. Recruitment and retention is like a ‘trying to fill a leaky bucket’
2016/ /18

7. Recruitment
93% report recruitment of frontline staff very or quite difficult
69% indicated recruitment needs being higher than the previous year
Too few applicants, lack of skills/ quality and low pay were cited as the main reasons posts are hard to fill

8. Retention Turnover averages 19.3%
Half of participants have higher turnover with two above 30%
Average length of service for leavers is over one year; 31% showing over five years service
New job, career prospects and pay and conditions the most common reasons for leaving
46% stayed in health and social care sector
9% leaving sector

9. What does this mean for providers?
Over 50% had to increase budget for recruitment
48% reported an increase in training needs
Over 50% stated their training budget had stayed the same or decreased
84% used agency support staff
36% of part time staff work beyond contracted hours
Impact for people using services

10. What we are doing about it
Retention working group
Retention pilot project- year long Exit Interview study – 12 organisations taking part
Strathclyde University – Supporting the wider Analysis – ensure anonymity
Exploring other Retention Strategies which have been adopted in other industries
Recruitment working group
Employability pilot with Workers Education Association and Lloyds Banking Group
Case Studies of Careers in Social Care to capture the diversity and range of options
Looking at how we Market Jobs in the Sector
How we recruit – recognise that the application process is onerous as we have so many checks and balances

11. Conclusion
Taking a pro- active approach and working collaboratively with other providers in direct competition for staff and services
Profiling staff career journeys
Innovation in recruitment processes
Supporting recommendations of NHSCWP - Part 2
Continuing to contribute to recruitment/ retention evidence base
Service sustainability

12. Thank You
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