Make your recruitment budget work harder with PSLs

What are PSLs?

Preferred Supplier Lists (PSLs) are an increasingly common tool for non-profit organisations of all sizes to save themselves time and money.

A PSL, also referred to as a Preferred Supplier Agreement (PSA), is simply lists of approved suppliers who have committed to an agreed rate and level of service.  You would then advise your employees to either use these agencies exclusively or to consider them first for any new vacancies.

Usually to achieve preferred supplier status, recruitment companies have to meet a range of rigorous requirements on quality, price and service capability.  TPP is a preferred supplier for many leading charitable organisations, as well as a supplier of Buying Solutions, the national procurement partner for UK public services.

Why use a PSL?

The main benefits of using PSLs are:

• Save money – recruitment consultancies included in a PSL usually offer a discount on their standard terms
• Save time – vacancies can be filled more quickly by having existing relationships with recruiters.  It also allows your employees to save time searching for agencies and easily field calls from other suppliers.
• Better quality of service – recruiters you regularly work with will understand your organisation’s values and culture well and find candidates likely to fit in
• Guaranteed level of service – the expectations of both parties are agreed in advance
• Less administration – budgeting is easier with an agreed rate and there are fewer invoices to process
• Ensures a greater level of confidentiality and security of sensitive company information
• Ensures consistency, eg that all suppliers comply with your organisation’s ethical approach

According to research, over three quarters of business owners and HR professionals don't feel that recruitment agencies provide value for money. This feeling stems from using agencies which advertise and then flood their clients with huge numbers of unqualified CVs, without adding any additional value to the service.  But by carefully selecting the companies to be on your PSL, you can ensure a good level of service and value for money.

How to start setting up a PSL

Before you start putting together a list of recruiters, it is a good idea to go through the list of benefits above and decide which are most important to you.

Depending on the size of your organisation, you could choose to set up different PSLs for each department, playing to the strengths of different agencies.  If you opt for a single all-inclusive PSL, it is important to adopt a portfolio approach and include a variety of types of recruiters, from large generalist agencies to smaller specialist consultancies.  This will give you a range of options for different types of role .

TPP has a strong network of clients and candidates in the sector, which give us access to a large pool of skilled professionals who may not be actively searching for new roles.  Larger generalist agencies may not have the sector knowledge required to develop this network.

Other things to consider are:

• How long a list do you want?
• How many suppliers will you invite to apply to be on the list?
• How will you know when you have a list you are happy with?
• How often will you review your PSL?
• Are you going to use the same PSL for temporary and permanent staffing?

Evaluating recruitment agencies

Obviously, the discounted rate an agency can offer you is a key consideration when putting together your PSL, but don’t stop there.  There are other important criteria to consider that can affect the overall effectiveness of your recruitment.  Define which criteria are important to you, rank them in order of importance and apply a scoring system to the agencies tendering.

Key considerations are:

• Does the agency understand your organisation’s mission, values and culture, and the exact nature of your roles?  An agency that works in many sectors may have a large pool of potential candidates but not the expert knowledge of your sector required to successfully fill a vacancy.

• Is the agency’s proposal suitable to your needs?  Agencies often offer added-value services such as help interviewing candidates, or running psychometric or competency based tests that can save you time in shortlisting candidates, but you only should agree to pay for services you are likely to need.

• Can the agency reach passive jobseekers?  Or will they just post your vacancies on job boards?  You need to be sure they have a network of contacts in your sector to call on.

• Does the agency meet all candidates in person before sending CVs over?  This initial screening process is essential to ensure you only see quality candidates, but can be skipped by some agencies in favour of a high turnover.

• Review the track record of that agency in filling previous roles.  How many of their candidates were selected for final interviews?  If they filled the vacancy, how long did the candidate stay with your organisation?

Maintaining your PSL

It’s important to keep reviewing your preferred supplier list on a regular basis, both to ensure that you are getting the best possible value from existing suppliers, evaluate new ones and to guard against complacency.

Finally, keep an open mind – don’t simply reject CVs from agencies not on your PSL out of hand – they may have an exceptional candidate worth meeting.

How TPP can help

TPP also has expertise in assisting our client to set up a PSL. With our expert knowledge of the local recruitment market place, we are able to advise on rates, terms and conditions and the best recruitment companies to fulfil your niche skill-set requirements.

So whether you currently have a PSL or wish to establish one, TPP have the expertise and experience to assist with your needs.

Recruiting to fit your organisation’s culture

A common scenario

Imagine you hire a new employee who was fantastic on paper and in interview, with all the right qualifications and experience.  Yet they somehow fail to live up to their initial promise and never truly mesh with the rest of the organisation, leaving themselves and others demoralised and less productive. Their personality, working style and behaviour on the job are simply inconsistent with the values and expectations of your organisation.

This situation can be avoided by taking your organisation’s cultural fit into account in the recruitment stage.

What is cultural fit?

A not for profit organisation’s culture is made up of its vision and values, combined with the individual personalities and experiences of its employees and the way in which they work together.  It includes the work methods and management style employed by an organisation, its mission and methods and often unwritten rules of behaviour.

Cultural fit is the compatibility between an individual employee’s personality traits, work style, beliefs and attitudes and the organisation’s culture.

 “Culture encompasses the shared, taken-for-granted assumptions that a group has learned throughout its history - values held in common that extend beyond the framed mission statement hanging in the lobby.” (Damian Zikakis, 2007)

The business case for hiring to fit your culture

When recruiting a new employee, it may appear vital that they have the required knowledge and skills for the role.  However, current knowledge and skill sets change over time and can quickly become redundant – an organisation’s culture is much more fixed and provides an anchor for its employees.  A new member of staff with the right cultural fit can develop their skills in the role, but their attitude and values are much harder to change.  Cultural fit cannot be developed, so it is imperative to take it into account during the recruitment process.

A candidate who fits into your organisation’s culture is likely to be more effective and create more value, and will probably stay longer with that organisation.  A new hire within a team should also help that team to work more effectively if they fit well.  In addition, if a new employee proves a bad cultural fit and leaves after a short period of time, you will have to spend more time and money recruiting again.

How to define your organisation’s culture

Before you can assess a candidate’s potential cultural fit, you have to be sure what your organisation’s culture is.  A not for profit’s culture is linked to its vision and values, so a good place to start is with the Trustees’ opinions on the organisations and their vision for the future.

This can be followed up with a questionnaire for staff members to assess their attitudes towards the organisation and its prospects, and to describe a typical personality type.  When recruiting new staff, you may not want to match this existing personality profile, but it is something you will need to take into account to ensure a good fit between employees.

More information on defining culture.

How to measure cultural fit

When recruiting, don’t just assume that your personal instincts will give you enough information about whether a candidate is likely to be a good cultural fit – these are frequently inaccurate.  There are several quantifiable methods to help you establish compatibility with your organisation’s culture.  Best practice is to involve a neutral third party who will help you make impartial assessments.

• Obviously, a central part of a charity’s culture is its cause, making passion for that cause a key requirement for any new hire.  This should be relatively easy for a candidate to demonstrate through experience, volunteering and past instances of philanthropy.

• Personality tests are a good way to measure how a candidate’s attitudes and beliefs mesh with an organisation’s culture.  The candidate fills in a questionnaire about their characteristics and the traits they would find appealing or unappealing in an ideal organisation.  This is then matched against the organisation’s culture to spot areas of alignment or disparity.

• Asking behavioural questions during the interview process is also a key method of measuring cultural fit.  Candidates are presented with hypothetical dilemmas and asked to comment on how they would solve them, or asked to provide examples of similar situations and how they behaved.  There are many examples of competency-based interview questions on the TPP website.  Panel interviews are generally a good way to get a consensus of opinion on someone’s character, as an individual can easily be subjective.

• Checking a candidate’s references is also a crucial step in the recruitment process.  You can ask referees the same questions you would ask the candidate in order to judge their cultural fit.

• Other methods of determining how well a candidate will fit within a team and an organisation include onsite visits, trial work periods on a temporary or contract basis or pre-employment socialising with relevant staff members.

How TPP Not for Profit can help

TPP are experts in hiring for cultural fit.  When beginning each new assignment, our consultants work closely with you and your employees to gain a deep understanding of what skills and motivation the right candidate should have.  We then develop a bespoke package of recruitment solutions, including detailed job and person specifications and advertising options.  We interview all candidates prior to suggesting them to ensure that they have not only the necessary skills and experience, but also the right values and attitudes.

TPP also offer our clients additional psychometric and aptitude testing, to ensure all candidates are a good fit for the organisation prior to interview or offer.

How to stop your best employees leaving

The New Year is traditionally a time when disgruntled employees consider making a change and dusting off their CVs – as many as 1 in 4 employees say January is the most likely time for them to leave their roles.

The third sector had a staff turnover of 20% in 2009/10, significantly higher than the 13.5% UK national average, and expectations of increased stability in the economy is likely to make this percentage even higher this year, as employees feel more confident about leaving their existing jobs.

So how can not for profit organisations tell if their valuable staff are considering leaving, and address underlying issues before they lead to a resignation?

Look for danger signs in your staff

Employees often make changes in their behaviour when they are feeling unhappy at work.  It is important for managers to pay attention to these indicators and not ignore them.  Typical warning signs include:

• Increasing lateness or absenteeism
• Drop in productivity
• Employee seems stressed or hostile
• Employee is much quieter than usual
• They request holiday one day at a time
• They stop volunteering and are not enthusiastic

Get to the bottom of the problem

If a manager spots any of the above changes in an employee’s behaviour and suspects they might be considering handing in their notice, they need to act fast to discover the underlying reasons.  Arrange a meeting with the staff member and keep probing to get to the bottom of the problem – don’t simply accept the first answer given.  It is important to listen to the employee’s answers and not to give your opinions of their situation or jump to conclusions.

Don’t fall into the trap of assuming all problems are salary-related.  Most employees cite pay as their reason for leaving, and in some cases this is true, but it is often used as an excuse as it is a ‘safe’ and incontrovertible answer.  As long as an employee feels they are being paid adequately, more money won't buy more motivation or loyalty.  For more information on motivations for non-profit employees leaving roles, see TPP’s recent Fundraising Recruitment Survey.

Look for solutions

Once you’ve got to the bottom of any problems an employee is having, it is vital to come up with a plan to solve them, or at least stop them escalating.  Together with the employee, a plan of action should be agreed on, and the manager must take responsibility to ensure that it is pursued.  Each action point should play to an employee’s strengths and should be an actual, not just verbal, change.

Solutions you might consider include:

• Changing the employee’s role
• Adjusting the employee’s level of responsibility
• Flexible working
• Increased employee recognition
• Better internal communications

What if they have already resigned?

If an employee has already handed in their notice, but their loss is likely to drastically effect your organisation, you may wish to consider making a counteroffer.  However, any successful counteroffer is likely to require a financial incentive, which will make the employee question why they were not receiving that level of pay before.

The counteroffer with the greatest chance of success will consist of a package of solutions, such as increased responsibility and recognition, together with a pay increase.  Of course, it is always better to make sure that such a valued employee never gets to this stage.

Is it worth the effort?

Before undertaking any action, you need to weigh any possible consequences against the value of the employee.  In some cases, the departure really is best for both parties. An unhappy employee is difficult to manage, tends to disrupt the effectiveness of his or her team, and will most likely leave eventually anyway.

However, for your most talented people, a concerted effort to solve their problems can lead to them becoming even more motivated and loyal to your organisation.

Case studies

Here are just a few examples of charities that have successfully implanted strategies to reduce their staff turnover:

•    Cancer charity, Marie Curie
•    Disability charity, Leonard Cheshire
•    Youth charity, YouthNet
•    Health charity, Autism Plus
•    Tower Homes, a London housing association
•    Children’s charity, Children’s Links

How TPP Not for Profit can help

One of the best ways to increase your employee retention is to hire the right staff in the first place.  Taking your time and getting expert advice can help you find exactly the right person for you team, meaning they are more likely to stay long-term.  TPP’s consultants are sector specialists who can give you advice on benefits and remuneration packages and make sure you find exactly the right employees.

For more information, contact TPP Not for Profit on info@tpp.co.uk or 020 7198 6000.

Writing effective job descriptions and person specifications

What is a job or person specification?

Before you place a vacancy with a recruitment consultancy, it is a good idea to spend some time evaluating exactly what you require from a candidate. While a job description and person specification are not legal requirements, they will save you time in the long run.

A job specification is a detailed description of the role, including all responsibilities, objectives and requirements. A person specification is a profile of your ideal new employee, including skills, experience and personality type.

Why should you bother?

Writing a detailed specification forces you to think about exactly what skills and experience is required for your role and the type of person you want for the team. Giving your recruitment consultant a comprehensive brief will allow them to work more effectively and quickly in finding you the perfect candidate.

Specifications also give candidates a better idea of exactly what you are looking for. This can help to weed out inappropriate applications from people who might be suitable on paper, but not actually that interested in the role. They also help to manage the expectations of successful new employees and to avoid situations where they feel they have been misled about the exact nature of the role.

You can use the specifications as a checklist for evaluating CVs and in interviews, which will save you preparation time and make sure you don’t miss anything.

Writing specification can make you think about how your department works and provide you with an opportunity to shift responsibilities around to maximise efficiency.

Specifications are also useful after the vacancy has been filled, as they can help to assess a new recruit's performance and to determine their future training needs.

Things to bear in mind before you start

Be as specific as possible about the responsibilities of the job, including any deadlines for delivery and measurements of success.

Leave room for flexibility within the job specification, and make it obvious if the role is likely to change or grow in the near future. This helps to avoid employees resenting taking on responsibilities not in their original job description.

Be careful with your wording, eg is a qualification really required or would someone who is Qualified by Experience (QBE) still be suitable?

It is essential not to discriminate on grounds of gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality or health, so avoid any inappropriate requirements, eg “must have x years’ experience” or words such as “dynamic” or “mature”. Read more information about avoiding discrimination here.

If the role is involved with service delivery, you may want to ask a selection of your clients their opinions on the type of person they would prefer to work with.

What should you include?

A job specification should include:

• the job title the position in the company, including their line manager and any other members of staff reporting to them
• the location of the job
• a summary of the general nature, main purpose and objectives of the job
• a list of the main duties or tasks of the employee
• which skills/qualifications are essential and which are desirable
• any equipment or software requirements, eg “knowledge of Raiser’s Edge”
• salary and benefits
• examples of typical projects help to illustrate the requirements

A person specification should include:

• the technical, organisational, communicative and creative skills and abilities you expect from an ideal candidate
• any specific qualifications or education required for the role
• the level of experience needed in either similar organisations or equivalent roles
• the kind of personality that would fit in with your team, and with your organisation’s ethos
• character traits that are likely to help them to do the job effectively
• any preferred achievements, eg volunteering

Some examples of job and person specifications for typical roles in non-profit organisations are available from the NCVO website.

Finally, please remember to use your recruitment consultancy as much as possible. TPP Not for Profit are experts in the not for profit sector and are able to give you advice about how best to construct job and person specifications to fill a role, and on the salary and benefits you will need to offer to attract the best possible candidates.


TPP Not for Profit are specialists in the charity, arts and public sectors and help our clients both recruit and retain their staff. For more information, visit ww.tpp.co.uk or contact us on 020 7198 600 or info@tpp.co.uk.