Luton Borough Council created its own, in house, recruitment service, Connect2Luton, to generate additional savings, take back control of those saving to reinvest in council services, and to strengthen the permanent workforce.
In turn, C2L has delivered outstanding results, generating a159% increase on target savings in year one, rising to 182% in year two, which the Council reinvested in community wealth building projects. During the same timeframe it converted 560% more temp to permanent roles, increased the direct recruitment of permanent staff by 400%, saving agency placement fees, and achieved a 35% increase in fulfilment rate, from 90% to 97%.
In the face of government funding cuts, Luton has further stretched C2L targets to find more savings and deliver increased demand for services with less budget. C2L Business Manager, Jane Stredder, explains how her team continues to sustain impressive results.
“First our team is committed to deliver commercial results through public values. From day one we invested time and energy creating an inclusive culture in which every team member feels they belong, understands how their work contributes to improving life for residents and is committed to uphold high standards of service delivery. We focus on recruiting team members from our local community which gives them a personal investment in driving results.
Second, our team of highly experienced consultants sit with Luton’s HR team enabling us to work as one team to understand client requirements. Time invested developing partnerships with hiring managers, attending board meetings and weekly service line meetings provides us with the insight to understand how best to meet specific service line requirements and build talent pools in anticipation of future workforce requirements. From advertisement to appointment, we ensure candidate experience reflects Luton’s Employee Value Proposition.
Third, we extend Luton’s EVP to local businesses to create a strong recruitment supply chain. Smaller business’, previously excluded from the Managed Service Provider supply chain, now contribute their expert knowledge and drive to deliver high calibre candidates. Together, we listen carefully to other local businesses to understand skills gaps and feed this knowledge back to local schools and colleges.
Fourth, we are tenacious about recruiting from our local community and challenging negative public perceptions about working in Local Government. We reach previously hard to reach members of the community through a combination of attendance at local career events hosted by schools, charities and Luton airport and using modern channels and media to reach a younger audience. Our one-council approach means that if a candidate isn’t right for a specific role we consider where they would be a good fit and hand them over to the appropriate recruitment manager.
Fifth, whether we need advice on business development, compliance, or marketing we have open access to a team of trusted advisors at CSG, expert at running in-house recruitment services. CSG also share best practice and learning across the Connect2 family.
If I could sum up the secret of our ongoing success in one sentence, it would be a shared commitment to creating better lives for Luton residents.”
If you would like to know more about how to create an in-house recruitment service that delivers sustainable results, please get in touch at stephen.wilson@csltd.org.uk