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Cost-effective recruitment of Senior Management

Of O’Connor’s range of HR services, this case study demonstrates:

• Campaign planning
• Careers website development
• Employer branding
• Press advertising

Introduction
Recruiting Senior Management to any organisation is often a lengthy and costly exercise.
Historically, recruiters would turn to a consultant/headhunter to find potential candidates.
Today, online technologies can provide a highly cost-effective alternative. By constructing a dedicated microsite for one senior position, we were able to supply candidates with a wealth of information. Normally, they would only expect to be able to access this level of information through a consultant.

Below is a summary of a comprehensive report we provided to the Chief Constable of Grampian Police on a recent campaign utilising a bespoke microsite to recruit an Assistant Chief Constable.

The brief
Chief Inspector Mike Gall was asked to manage the recruitment of an Assistant Chief Constable for Grampian Police. He invited O’Connor to attend an informal meeting with himself and Karen Williams (Director of Corporate Services) to discuss how we would plan a successful campaign.

O’Connor had previously worked with Grampian Police on a campaign for a Deputy Chief Constable but, on that occasion, we had not been involved at this early planning stage. Media selection was, in that instance, made before our involvement. That campaign was successful in that an appointment was made, but it was considered to be expensive in terms of media costs.

For the Assistant Chief Constable’s campaign, O’Connor was pleased to be able to give input before media selection was made and this report will show the wisdom of involving the advertising agency as early as possible in the campaign planning process.

At the meeting, Mike referred to the Chief Constable’s desire for the campaign to present the Force as innovative and forward-thinking in order to attract a like-minded applicant. Mike also stressed the need to ensure a cost-effective advertising strategy.

There are certain constraints on Police Forces when advertising such senior positions - the transparency of the recruitment process has to be evidenced and a high level of visibility and accessibility must be achieved.

To meet these criteria, the following media should be used:-

• Police Publications
• UK national newspapers
• Scottish national newspapers

Obvious enough, but the last similar campaign was expensive and the brief called for a “cost-effective”, “innovative” and “forward-thinking” campaign.

Review of the previous campaign (Deputy Chief Constable)
This campaign ran in two parts. Initially, advertisements were placed in the Times and Police Review. A number of responses were received but were considered insufficient. Therefore, the position was readvertised in the same publications and also in Scotland on Sunday.

How, then, could the Assistant Chief Constable campaign achieve a faster and more cost-effective result?

The Assistant Chief Constable campaign

The advertisement
The previous advertisement was considered to be attractively designed and impactful on the page.
Decision - retain the style.

The media selection
These met the constraints of Senior Police recruitment and would be read by our potential candidates.
Decision - use the same media, but aim to eliminate the need for a second run of the campaign.

The application process
Here was the opportunity to make a difference. In the previous campaign, candidates were asked to write or phone for a (very) comprehensive application pack. They were asked to then submit their applications to the Grampian Joint Police Board. Could this process be streamlined to eliminate the risk of candidates dropping out during the various stages?

The solution
O’Connor suggested creating a microsite specifically for this position. This had many benefits:-

• It would cost less to build than the price of a single media insertion.
• It was “innovative and forward-thinking” as the brief demanded.
• Potential candidates would see the press advertisement and immediately access the site for further information.
• It negated the need for a cumbersome application pack.
• As soon as candidates had accessed the supplied information, they could download application forms.
• It indicated the importance Grampian Police attached to the role.
• It enabled statistical analysis of the campaign’s success.

Mike Gall and Karen Williams agreed with the suggestion and requested a media plan with costs for both press advertising and the construction of a microsite.

The Microsite
The microsite was very comprehensive. It carried:-

• Job description.
• Person specification.
• Core competencies.
• Advertisement text.
• Links to sites supplying information of both general and specific professional interest.
• Application forms.
• Equal Opportunity monitoring forms.
• Chief Constable’s report.
• Medical questionnaire.

The site had a high degree of functionality and was very technically advanced. Flash software was used to animate the site and add to its visual appeal. For visitors who did not have Flash capabilities on their computers, a passive version of these graphics was provided.

The results - financial
Savings of over £4,500 were achieved in comparison with the previous campaign.

The results - response
The stringent requirements regarding candidate’s seniority and experience meant that the campaign was targeting a very small talent pool - less than 50 Police Officers across the UK would have the necessary qualifications/rank.

Despite this, the number and quality of responses was considered to be excellent.

The microsite attracted a lot of non-candidate interest too! Other forces perhaps?
In total, 633 people visited the site.