Situation
The client was looking for improvement at a service level for their customers but needed the right talent in place to help bring about this change.
Task
To recruit multiple Service Improvement Consultants who have a background in healthcare operations. Background: Hunter had established previous relationships with both the Director and Head of the Healthcare Improvement Solutions practice at NHS SBS.
Due to the flexibility of the roles being based anywhere in the country and their consulting nature, David needed to carefully plan what type of individual would actually be suitable and capable of delivery. The client also needed candidates in post by May/June, so we had to work to a tight timeline as most candidates were on a 1-3-month notice period.
Action
Hunter met face to face with the client and with two existing team members, who talked openly and frankly about what it was like to work for the team. We then devised a targeted headhunting campaign alongside branded advertising (Guardian Jobs) aimed at attracting NHS Graduate Scheme candidates and similarly high-performing individuals with a healthcare operations background who would be open to and capable of working in a consulting environment. There was a particular focus placed upon location – notably London and the North-West as these were the two areas where the NHS SBS consulting team had secured the most work both historically and moving forwards. All interested and suitable candidates were met in person or video interviewed before being shortlisted for the client.
Reflections
100% fill ratio with the recruitment turned around in four weeks. This is now the start of an exclusive recruitment relationship for permanent operational and service improvement recruitment with a national healthcare organisation that previously was not a client.
After struggling to find the right candidates ourselves and through other firms, NHS SBS engaged Hunter to recruit to multiple Service Improvement Consultants (8b) in March 2019. We had not previously used Hunter for recruitment, but after a swift f2f engagement process with my team to understand the requirements clearly, David was then successful in providing a strong shortlist of candidates quickly from diverse candidate backgrounds. We now have an extended team capable of delivering operational change and continuous improvement projects for our NHS clients. Having successfully managed our requirements and appointing to three posts successfully (including two ex-NHS Grad Scheme candidates), we hope to continue this relationship as our team grows and will continue to use both David and Hunter for our future requirements at this level.
Alison Kerfoot
Director of Healthcare Improvement Solutions, NHS Shared Business Services.