This case study explores how Understanding Recruitment NFP provided a tailored and strategic recruitment solution to address the unique challenges faced by Anthem Schools Trust, a leading educational trust managing schools in diverse locations. The trust sought assistance due to difficulties in recruiting IT professionals, driven by remote school locations, budget constraints, and prior in-house recruitment challenges.
Anthem Schools Trust is an educational trust dedicated to nurturing and managing a diverse portfolio of schools across multiple locations, including Oxfordshire, London, and Peterborough. Their mission is to provide exceptional education and support for students, ensuring they have access to high-quality learning experiences.
To fulfil this mission, the trust required two IT Technicians and a Service Desk Analyst to support the educational infrastructure effectively. However, they faced significant recruitment challenges due to their unique geographical locations, budget constraints, and previous in-house recruitment difficulties. To address these challenges, Anthem Schools Trust turned to Understanding Recruitment NFP and another recruitment agency for assistance.
Location Difficulty: The trust's schools were situated in remote areas and the trust required their IT team to be onsite five days a week, making it challenging to attract IT candidates with the required skill sets.
Low Salaries: The salary offerings for IT positions were below the market average, making it difficult to compete for top-tier talent.
In-House Recruitment Struggles: Anthem Schools Trust had previously attempted to fill these roles internally but faced difficulties attracting qualified candidates due to the challenges mentioned above.
Understanding Recruitment NFP delivered a comprehensive and tailored recruitment strategy to address the unique challenges faced by Anthem Schools Trust:
Talent Reports: Leveraging data-driven talent reports, we analysed the availability of IT professionals in the specific geographic locations of interest. This analytical approach uncovered the limited pool of local candidates and prompted us to recommend a broader search while advocating for more flexible working arrangements.
Consultative Guidance: We engaged in a consultative approach with the client, providing expert advice on adjusting candidate seniority levels and salary offerings to better align with market standards. This adjustment enhanced the trust's competitiveness in the talent market.
Ongoing Collaboration: To maintain transparency and alignment throughout the recruitment process, we established a cadence of weekly client meetings. These meetings allowed us to respond promptly to evolving needs and ensure a seamless partnership.
Diversity and Inclusion Focus: Understanding Recruitment NFP actively supported the client's commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). To uphold these principles, we redacted personal details from CVs to ensure a diverse shortlist of candidates that reflected the client's EDI objectives.
Tailored Marketing: Our team created customised advertisements tailored specifically to the client's job openings. These targeted marketing efforts were strategically shared on our social channels to enhance the visibility of the roles among potential candidates.
Understanding Recruitment NFP delivered concrete results for Anthem Schools Trust.
We secured two IT Technicians and a Service Desk Analyst for the trust, successfully fulfilling all their hiring requirements. The recruitment process was completed swiftly, with a two-week timeline for the IT Technician roles and a three-week timeline for the Service Desk Analyst role.
IT Technicians – 6 CVs per vacancy – 4 interviews per vacancy – x2 offers made – x2 placements – 2-week timeline
Service Desk Analyst – 6 CVs – 2 interviews – x1 offer – x1 placement – 3-week timeline
By rapidly filling critical IT roles, we minimised disruptions and ensured uninterrupted support for staff and students. This, in turn, improved the trust's operational efficiency and maintained the quality of education provided.
Anthem Schools Trust expressed satisfaction with our services and intends to continue collaborating with Understanding Recruitment NFP. They anticipate more IT roles opening up in the near future and have identified us as their trusted recruitment partner for ongoing recruitment initiatives.
Understanding Recruitment NFP collaborated with Anthem Schools Trust, offering data-driven talent reports, consultative guidance, weekly client meetings, a diversity and inclusion focus, and tailored marketing efforts. This comprehensive approach resulted in the successful placement of two IT Technicians and one Service Desk Analyst, reducing recruitment timelines and ensuring uninterrupted support for the trust's staff and students. The partnership with Understanding Recruitment NFP continues, with Anthem Schools Trust recognising us as their trusted recruitment partner for future initiatives.
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