Locating diverse talent to reinforce growth and renewal in one of London’s biggest borough councils
How Morgan Law successfully recruited for all 12 procurement roles in a 4-month period for Croydon Council
With a workforce of over 6,121, Croydon Council is one of the largest employers in the borough and makes a significant contribution to the local economy. Providing services for residents, businesses, and visitors across the borough including environmental, cultural, sports, housing, planning and benefits services, Croydon Council serves the largest population in Greater London, approximately 390,800 people as of 2021.
The Challenge
Following a restructure and transformation of the Procurement Team at Croydon Council as part of the Croydon Renewal and Procurement Improvement Plans, Morgan Law and Joanne Till were awarded the recruitment campaign with a brief to recruit 10 vacancies which was then expanded to 12 vacancies following internal changes during the initial recruitment process.
The 12 permanent vacancies covered Grade 17 to Grade 8 with salary ranges from £30,000 to £60,000. Some roles were retained from the previous structure and others were newly created within the team.
In addition to this high volume of roles, there were further challenges concerning Croydon Council’s public image due to their recent financial difficulties. Croydon Council were also looking to support Equality, Diversity & Inclusion practices through the recruitment process to ensure they best represented the community they serve.
The Solution
Due to the high volume of vacancies, Morgan Law proposed a candidate generate programme comprised of targeted job advertisement and headhunting.
Overhauling Croydon Council’s employer brand required us to work closely in conjunction with the council to produce a compelling narrative that was both upfront about Croydon’s situation as well as addressing the reasons behind the high number of current vacancies.
This honest approach, alongside supporting documents that included information around the team structure, job and person descriptions and team overview, was welcomed wholeheartedly by all candidates.
• Candidates screened through a 20-minute discovery call to ensure they had the right experience and knowledge for the role
• “Wild card” candidates were supplied, who, on paper, may not seem to fit the brief, but who had high levels of cultural fit.
• Those submitted to the council were entered into a further two-stage process.
Talent Pool Analysis
To expand Croydon Council’s talent pool reach to minority candidates, Morgan Law monitored and analysed their 236 direct applications and responses to LinkedIn approaches, of these the following was recorded: 63.2% identified as male and 36.8% identified as female.
Of all the applications 2.3% identified as having a disability. Of all the applications 1.2% identified as being from the LGBTQ+ community. Of the 12 candidates successfully recruited the following stats were recorded: 82% identified as male and 18% identified as female.
The Outcome
Morgan Law successfully recruited for all 12 procurement roles in a 4-month period (Jan to May 2022). Croydon Council were particularly impressed with our quick and efficient strategy that identified several highly qualified candidates and well suited “wild cards” options. Our focus on candidate experience as well as openness and honesty as part of the Council’s employer brand meant that all 12 successful candidates completed the recruitment process with no one accepting a counteroffer or withdrawing.
When navigating a potential high-level skills shortage, we’re here to help
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Our established database of over 30,000 senior-level, highly skilled professionals with significant experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors available on a permanent and contract basis enable us to deliver the highest quality recruitment solutions.