HR professionals are clear about the need to transform. With an overall talent shortage across the public sector, an ever-increasing need to find cashable savings, a lack of management information leaving councils vulnerable to staff shortages and distress purchases, and fewer internal HR staff to manage recruitment and back office functions, Local Government is finding it harder to recruit in line with demand for its services.  

Northern Ireland Has A Significant Advantage

After seven years of cuts there is little fat to trim in local government and it’s getting harder to find savings. For those councils that have yet to review their approach to hiring, recruitment presents a rich seam of savings to mine. The benefits that await councils that transform are well documented in the UK, and the technology that enables transformation is mature. In short, it will be easy to make a big impact by rethinking your approach to recruitment.

Take The Whole Organisation With You

Inevitably, as an HR expert you have invested time to understand why transformation is necessary and the opportunity it will bring. The rest of your organisation may not have the same level of understanding, or be in the same place. This is the bigger challenge for HR, getting the entire organisation to work together, to identify what its current and future recruitment needs are, and how best to configure hiring processes, IT and payroll systems to meet those needs.

Put In The Hard Yards Upfront

Councils that have successfully transformed their approach to recruitment say there is a significant amount of preparation that must be done well ahead of the decision to buy a particular solution. This includes the need to, consult widely with internal experts to scope current and future recruitment needs. Identify which functions you need to work in partnership with to harness internal and external expertise. Map out the procurement process. Work out which processes and systems need to change, and check the capacity of IT and other functions to integrate. Not forgetting the need to devise a communication plan to ensure you are communicating with the right stakeholders, covering all issues and bringing expertise and advice from them.

Workshop To Prepare Your Buyers  

To this end we are hosting a facilitated workshop in Belfast at which HR professionals will have the opportunity to plan preparation work in more detail. It will also be an opportunity to consult with other councils to find out how they are tackling common issues, and to identify opportunities to collaborate. More information about this event will be shared in the upcoming weeks.