Buckinghamshire County Council and the UK’s leading recruitment specialist, Hays have partnered to create an easy-to-use system for job seekers that is believed to improve experience for applicants and cost the council taxpayer less.

The new recruitment service aims to make it easier to search and apply for jobs with the county council using online recruitment. This service will also look to reduce the time applications take to process as well as keep applicants up to date on progress.

In the first year the county council expects to save around £690,000 if recruitment levels remain the same. As well as cutting the cost of recruitment for the county council, the new process is also designed to reduce the amount of time managers spend on recruitment.

County council recruitment staff have joined Hays consultants to create a team that will provide a streamlined one-stop-shop for permanent and temporary staff. The aim is to simplify the process, provide clarity about the roles and opportunities on offer and market them effectively.

Gillian Hibberd, Corporate Director People, Policy and Communications, commented, “Taking a more streamlined approach to recruitment will enable us to create a reputation as a first choice employer attracting quality staff to run local services. We’re delighted to have Hays on-board because their specialist skills in the recruitment sector will make a real difference to the way we employ staff. We’ll be managing our budget much more effectively, for example, by reducing the time to recruit candidates".