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Recruitment technology business Matrix started working in partnership with Islington Council in February 2022 helping the council to understand the problems they were facing and provide them with transparency, greater control on spend (increasing overall savings), complete and full compliance and an easier and more streamlined way of reporting.
Difficulties across the board
Islington is a geographically small inner London Borough with a large and diverse ethnic minority community. The residents sit at both ends of the socio-economic spectrum, consequently the council is committed to reducing the gap between the rich and the poor to create a ‘more equal Islington’.
Their aim is to ensure hiring managers have access to high quality candidates to meet their temporary resourcing needs, bring off-contract spend on interims within a single supply contract, deliver savings and efficiencies by working collaboratively with the provider, reduce the long term reliance on temporary workers, whilst maximising value from short term engagements, provide employment opportunities for unemployed residents, young people and care leavers in the borough through their Social Value initiative, including working collaboratively with IWorks an internal service which specialises in getting local residents into work across Islington.
But the council faced a number of difficulties across the board. Off contract spend for senior roles and roles in nurseries was high and difficult to capture and report on, proving tricky to review and consolidate. The rates also needed to be reduced. There was also a necessity to reduce the risks identified with their current method of recruitment such as costs, excess spend on worker compliance and accurate reporting.
After consideration, Islington Council decided to use the YPO framework as it offered a wider variety of Managed Service Providers who had already been thoroughly vetted and were able to ensure supplier compliance, making it a safer avenue to pursue.
A tailored solution
Islington decided to tender using this framework which gave Matrix an opportunity to work in partnership with the council offering them a tailored solution its end-to-end comprehensive web-based ordering platform Matrix CR.Net, providing an expert supply chain management service including a dedicated onsite account manager and real time reporting.
The propriety, in-house developed, cloud hosted, web-based technology platform connected Islington to thousands of recruitment agents across the UK, allowing the council to define job descriptions and associated vacancies for contingent staff requirements; support rota-based role needs, care and logistics sectors; enable simple vacancy approval models, through to more complex needs of larger customers; ensure 100% compliance with “Right To Work” checks and also customer specific needs; and provide detailed real-time operational reporting along with data insights from a separate analysis tool.
The Council were heavily involved in the implementation process from inception to completion, and ongoing since. The team engaged with the council with regular meetings and quarterly business reviews took place where they discussed additional needs or requirements.
With Matrix CR.Net technology, council staff were able to tailor their experience. A simple solution that can be used by all hiring teams regardless of technical expertise, providing a system that they can flex to match their own culture and values. By communicating continuously with the council and monitoring market fluctuations, they were able to easily adapt the technology for any new requirements and enable Islington to expand to new sectors whenever they might need.
A dedicated team ensured all candidates were onboarded correctly and 100% compliant prior to commencement of the work placement, moving 19 off-contract workers onto contract through careful negotiation.
Taking the stress and confusion out of temp staff management
Since implementation, Matrix’s technology platform has alleviated many of the pain points that Islington Council faced in managing temporary staffing – resulting in cost savings, a higher fulfilment rate and 100% compliance.
Through the use of innovative technology, Islington and Matrix created 19 placements and 13 long term positions for residents within the local community. The positive impact this collaboration has had on the residents of Islington has really solidified their ethos as a “more equal Islington” through not only cost savings but also through their Social Value.
More Information:
To find out more please visit: teammatrix.com