Why spending differently could revolutionise public services 

The public finance crisis is at an apex. Recent challenges and increasing demand for services have fuelled public spending, which amounted to £1.1 trillion during the 2022-2023 financial year, while soaring inflation levels mean service delivery costs are continuing to pose severe budgetary challenges across the sector. 

This is amid pressure to deliver services to an increasing number of users across all areas, with a changing and ageing population causing the number of people with multiple or complex needs to grow exponentially as the size of the working population diminishes.

It's clear that a revision of current spending plans is needed if service levels are to continue to meet demand within current budgets, and a rethink of recruitment and resourcing approaches is critical to this. Having historically encountered challenges with attracting the skills it needs, the public sector is now in a position where a longer-term recruitment strategy is imperative if it is to both reduce costs and attract and retain the people with the skills required to successfully meet this challenge.

At a glance: the benefits of strategic engagement around recruitment spend

• Reduced temporary recruitment spend
• Enhanced outcomes through the right skills
• Improved employee engagement and retention
• A strong talent pipeline to meet future demand

Challenging yourselves and your partners to think differently about your workforce strategy will fundamentally impact on the long-term stability and performance of your organisation. This is part of an approach – spending less by spending differently – designed to both make savings and optimise and improve the outcomes of your recruitment and resourcing spend. Improving your insight into the labour market, tackling the root causes of growing temporary worker costs, reviewing your employee value proposition (EVP) and how you present opportunities to target markets, refining your recruitment process, opening doors to a wider and more diverse audience, and developing talent creation initiatives are all tactics that can be deployed to meet this challenge. Indeed, the right recruitment and resourcing partner – expert in the unique challenges you face in public services – should be engaged at a strategic workforce level to help you achieve this. 

So what are the potential outcomes of a more long-term, strategic approach to your recruitment spend?

1. Reduced temporary recruitment spend 

Permanent recruitment – against a skills-scarce landscape – has historically been a challenge in public services, with rigid salary bandings and lengthy assessment processes making it more difficult to attract and engage skilled and experienced professionals, particularly in specialist and senior areas. This has led to a surge in temporary and interim hiring, as organisations seek to secure the expertise they need – often at significant cost – to deliver on vital projects and services. 

Understanding your target candidates and the market you are recruiting in, thinking carefully about how you convey your EVP – or what you’re offering to people in exchange for the skills and experience they bring – and evaluating the ease and length of your application processes are crucial steps towards engaging and retaining the right people on a long-term basis. Working with a strategic partner that offers an in-depth understanding of these issues alongside their immersion in local specialist recruiting markets – thereby offering access to the widest possible networks of candidates – will catalyse action around this to quickly drive down the cost associated with temporary and interim hiring.

2. Enhanced outcomes through the right skills

A challenge to the successful delivery of public services over many decades has been the difficulty in acquiring in-demand, niche skillsets with challenging location requirements. This isn’t being helped by the steadily widening gap between traditional educational pathways and the skills employers in public services really need.

Recruiting for potential and creating your own talent pipelines via a flexi-job apprenticeship agency – such as Skills and Learning – can generate much-needed candidates in areas where expertise has been notoriously difficult to source, in turn helping to reduce costs towards expensive temporary resources. A range of leading organisations – including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) – have already successfully reduced their dependence on interims and consultants by directly engaging and developing the talent they need to deliver vital services with the help of our bespoke Skills and Learning Academies.

3. Improved employee engagement and retention

Securing new staff is just half the challenge. One of the biggest pain points for public services is not only attracting the people who can make a positive impact from the start, but retaining their value on a long-term basis. Employees who feel that the nature of their role has been mis-sold, find the culture of the organisation is not as expected, or can see no pathway for internal progression, are unlikely to stay with you for long. 

Ensuring that your roles and opportunities are articulated and positioned clearly throughout the application process – from the initial job advert right through to interview, offer and onboarding – is critical to combatting employee attrition. This, along with establishing a strong learning culture, offering flexibility where possible, and putting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) front and centre, are all key employee retention strategies that can be achieved with the right workforce solutions partner.

4. A strong talent pipeline to meet future demand

If your organisation is to evolve to keep pace with the changing demographics and demand for services, then it’s important to consider what talent you’ll need to deliver this change, both in the short- and long-term. Strategically, what are the skills, insights and experiences that you need in your team to deliver these plans? And which are likely to be difficult to find?

Laying the foundations for a sustainable and future-proof workforce now will put your organisation in the best possible position to weather any storms that lie ahead. This is where engaging a long-term, strategic partner, rather than allocating costs towards transactional, short-term recruitment services, can create cost savings in the long run, enabling you to identify where and how you can build the right skills into your pipeline of up-and-coming talent at the best value for money.  

Ultimately, looking beyond the immediate needs of today, and taking a more strategic view of the recruitment and resourcing landscape will bring the clarity you need to overcome the root causes of significant cost, whilst spending differently via targeted investment in some of these critical areas will drive savings and ultimately enhance the performance of your organisation in the long-term.

Need support with your recruitment strategy in public services? Submit an enquiry with us today.