John Morley, Director of Employer Services at Ingeus UK Ltd discusses easing the load of large-scale recruitment and offers the experiences of one of the UK’s leading single-priced retailers, Poundworld.

As any HR professional will acknowledge, large-scale recruitment can be an onerous and expensive task. Advertising, sifting through countless CVs and interviewing applicants are pressures faced by many HR teams often at a time when operational colleagues are clamouring for recruits for new projects or the opening of new facilities.

But filling many roles quickly and efficiently needn’t be a headache, as national retailer Poundworld has discovered.

Poundworld is one of thousands of employers partnering with Work Programme providers like Ingeus to recruit work-ready, motivated staff for vacancies. The Work Programme, introduced in 2011, is the government initiative tasked to support unemployed jobseekers into work, while providing a tailored, free-of-charge recruitment service for employers.

Poundworld has recruited more than 1,100 previously unemployed people through this partnership, including 36 at one of its newest stores in Norwich.

“The applicants put forward are well briefed, confident and ready for the job at hand,” said Andrew Jeffrey, who as Poundworld’s regional HR Champion oversees staffing at 13 Poundworld stores.

“It saves us massive amounts of time because we don’t need to advertise roles, sift through CVs or shortlist applicants. This is especially important in the busy run up to a new store opening.”

All Work Programme clients receive tailored support to assess their job goals, understand the practicalities of returning to work, and develop the confidence to promote their skills to employers, while providers take time to understand employers’ requirements to ensure the perfect fit. Many providers also offer local premises from which interviews can be held, a valuable resource for an employer opening in a new location.

For successful Poundworld recruit Andrew Wells, this resulted in a Supervisor job at the new Norwich store:

“I really struggled with job applications on my own but I was given help with my CV, covering letters and interview technique,” explained Andrew, 45, who was out of work for 18 months.

“During the Poundworld recruitment process, I was asked if I’d like to apply for a Supervisor’s position, so I jumped at the chance.”

To ensure a seamless transition into long-serving, experienced staff, Work Programme providers will also support employers and their new recruits for up to two years, lowering attrition and increasing succession rates.

Further information on Ingeus, a leading UK provider of the Work Programme can be found here:  www.ingeus.co.ukemployers