Sourcing high-calibre public-sector professionals for an NHS Foundation Trust
How Morgan Law found great candidates in a traditionally difficult to staff geographic location
In healthcare, some areas in the UK are harder to staff than others, however the standard of care needs to remain the same. This can make finding the right candidate challenging without a broad existing network and efficient recruitment process in place. When an NHS Foundation Trust were struggling to find the right candidate on their own, they engaged Morgan Law to support them – with exceptional results.
The Challenge
This NHS Foundation Trust offered acute and community healthcare services and had tried to recruit a lead operational Manager for their Outpatients division on three occasions unsuccessfully. They advertised through the normal NHS channels but received less than 20 applications on each occasion and were unable to find the right candidate.
Morgan Law were invited to meet the client and discuss how we could assist their recruitment process. We identified the following during our briefing meeting:
- The location of the client meant that the pool of existing NHS candidates to draw from would be limited, given the distance they were located from other acute NHS Trusts.
- The recruitment channels and messaging were too narrow to attract the right calibre of talent, skills and experience they were looking for.
The Interview Process
We placed the advertisement and undertook a candidate search and digital engagement strategy. After the Closing Date, we had received 86 applications. To avoid any candidate dropouts prior to the interview stage, we managed the entire application process, sifted CVs, screened candidates and arranged interviews.
Rather than inviting a small shortlist to a one-off, intensive interview day with a number of activities, we suggested a two-step process:
-
1
A first stage, light-touch, 40-minute interview
Longlisting a greater number of candidates for an initial meeting a smaller interview panel. There was nothing for candidates to prepare in advance and it was designed as a two-way process, for both sides to explore fit given that candidates were from out of sector.
-
2
A second, more typical NHS assessment day with a formal panel
Requiring a presentation, psychometrics, and discussion group for a final shortlist of candidates. At this stage, candidates shortlisted would have already met the hiring managers, and been boosted in the knowledge that they had been deemed a good applicant and shortlisted.
The Outcome
Together, Morgan Law’s recommendations achieved:
Candidates
Shortlisted for
the first stage
Candidates
Shortlisted for
the second stage
Job offer accepted
The trust found 3 appointable candidates from our selection. The first-choice candidate was offered the post and accepted. Despite no previous experience within the NHS, the candidate was able to get up to speed quickly and perform well, to the extent that they went on to be promoted during their first year of employment. Both the Trust and the candidate remain pleased with the appointment.
How can Morgan Law help you with your recruitment strategy?
With such a complicated recruitment climate for public and non-profit organisations, leaders need to find the right recruiting partner to navigate a potential high-level skills shortage.
At Morgan Law we take the time to develop a full understanding of your requirements, meeting with you to discuss challenges and offer advice on the availability of talent in the market. 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. Bespoke headhunting, targeted social media and online advertising, and networking events are used to attract further candidates.