All local authorities recognise that their greatest asset is their diverse and talented workforce. Yet with this comes some of the toughest challenges facing councils across the UK today. Tight budgets, rising service demand and increasing competition for skilled professionals mean that every hire needs to count and it needs to be achieved without inflated fees.
However focused councils are on the stability that permanent staff provide there will always be times when temporary staff fulfil a vital role. They allow councils to cover leave or permanent recruitment processes and they help provide a buffer of workers giving flexibility to permanent teams.
As part of this process, agencies play a vital role in helping to fill critical gaps but how local authorities choose to engage agency staff can make all the difference to talent quality, budget management and long-term retention.
Consistency and compliance
Agencies are heavily vetted through each local authority's contract provider, ensuring recruitment processes meet strict public sector procurement and safeguarding standards. They are also audited throughout the year to maintain compliance with regulations such as IR35, qualifications, right-to-work and rigorous reference checks.
The risks in using off-contract suppliers are they may bypass checks or audits exposing councils to compliance failures, potential safeguarding risks and negative audit outcomes.
Access to quality talent pools
One question to ask – who is thinking about your talent pipeline and promoting your employee value proposition? This is a key consideration when working with agencies. A managed service provider will access a comprehensive supply chain and promote fair competition, giving access to a wider pool of pre-screened professionals who understand public sector environments and can fill vacancies quickly.
Engaging multiple agencies simultaneously also means local authorities can consider a broader range of talent whilst off-contract arrangements may limit access to CVs from a single agency which can result in inconsistent vetting and lower-quality candidates.
Cost transparency and value for money
UK local authorities continue to spend significant sums on agency staff, at least £2.1bn in 2022-23 (according to analysis by the 4 Day Week Campaign). With local government budgets tighter than ever, ensuring value for money and cost transparency is critical in all recruitment. Investing in a managed service approach provides transparent, benchmarked margins across multiple role categories. Off-contract agencies determine their own mark-ups and can frequently adjust them depending on the urgency of a role. This makes it difficult for local authorities to track spending and over time can place significant pressure on budgets.
Overspend could even limit recruitment in other key areas.
Improved retention through candidate care
Local authorities that invest in a managed service approach will benefit from their agency's expertise combined with their knowledge of the council's requirements allowing proactivity across both passive and active candidate markets. This closer understanding of needs and culture positions the agency to find the best match to help candidates remain in roles for the duration of their contracts and support career aspirations.
In contrast off-contract agencies, not part of the authority's standard supply chain, will generally only have visibility of a small proportion of roles. This limited access may lead to a focus on quick placements, with less consideration to the authority's culture and potentially may lead to higher fees.
Trusted long-term partnerships
While a hiring manager might be tempted to rush to off-contract options based on individual relationships, HR teams must consider the broader impact on compliance, cost and workforce stability. Developing strategic partnerships ensures access to the right talent, aligned with the council's challenges, especially important when navigating the change local government reform is likely to bring.
Some local authorities have gone further and insourced their agency giving them greater control over the quality of their agency staff and true transparency of costs. Working with our joint venture model has enabled our council partners to invest in their employee value proposition, developing relationships with hiring managers and supporting council workforce development. They have benefited from better community engagement including SMEs and voluntary organisations to deliver local jobs for local people.
Working in partnership with your agency, whoever that may be, should deliver consistency, improved candidate attraction leading to the best quality agency staff you deserve.
As the sector faces ongoing change, strategic agency partnerships will be essential to building a resilient, high-performing workforce.
Cieran Donnelly is head of qualified social care at Commercial Services Group
