Recruit Local – Swansea Council
What is the project?
Recruit Local is a Swansea Council project that aims to facilitate the recruitment of social care personal assistants from communities to support their communities.
This work focuses on:
- taking recruitment into communities
- linking in with key stakeholders
- identifying people who can join or return to the social care workforce to work in their communities and capitalise on the social value this generates
- helping people make sense of the Direct Payments system and encouraging and supporting personal assistant applications.
The project works in tandem with the Direct Payments work that has already been carried out and helps people use Direct Payments in a way that promotes voice, choice and control.
The project is aimed both at current and potential personal assistants, as well as people accessing support through the Direct Payments system.
Why is it being carried out?
One of the main benefits of the project is that it encourages a system of local people supporting local people.
This means that people work in place-based ways, using their local knowledge and building resources in the community with the team’s support.
The project offers a personal touch to local recruitment, where people can build relationships in their communities.
This project currently generates more than 100 applications for advertised personal assistant roles each month, up from virtually zero.
As a result of the work, there has also been a shift to more collaborative working, and the team currently works with a range of providers and supporters to deliver the aspirations of the project.
Where and when is the work taking place?
The work is taking place in communities in the Swansea Council area.
The project started in October 2022. There is no set end date, but the team expects to build on the good work that has been done so far and work dynamically depending on the needs of the clients.
Who’s involved?
Swansea Council has worked with a range of partners on this project, including Workways, Jobcentre, community centres, elected representatives and local area coordinators.
The project has also made use of Social Care Wales support, including our innovation coaching service (link) and place-based care community (link).
What have they learnt from the work?
A key learning from the project is the value of going into, and working with communities, valuing the expertise there and utilising this expertise and support to underpin social care workforce recruitment.
Some challenges that the team faced were:
- Sudden increase in the volume of PA applications, including ones that are not viable
- Digital exclusion
- Finding the balance with the ‘personal touch’, enabling vs doing for
- Capacity issues
- Working in a complex system
What they are doing to overcome some of these challenges:
- Putting in additional processes to support the recruitment, including agreements and check ins with other teams to clarify expectations
- Helping people who may not have digital access or skills to complete applications and increase their confidence in using technology
- Regular discussions and evaluation of work to see where improvements are made and how they can empower people and support their journey
- Taking time to build relationships with key partners, as well as ‘opening their doors’ to new connections to help more efficient working and support each other
- Building and developing a team that works well together
- Nurturing a culture where learning and passion are at the focus and the team focuses on their strengths in dedicated roles
- Telling people about their work (the successes and challenges alike) and keeping people informed of progress
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How to get in touch
To find out more about this project, please contact Victoria Morgan at Swansea Council.