Northern Education Trust streamlines temporary staff recruitment process and makes significant savings

Northern Education Trust is a multi-academy trust with 21 academies across the North East, Yorkshire and North West. This case study looks at how the multi-academy trust improved recruitment using a managed service provider.

Before this, they were using more than 50 different agencies across their 21 sites to recruit temporary staff. As Katie Spraggon, Procurement and Contracts Manager at Northern Education Trust explained:

The trust identified its agency and supply costs as an area with many inconsistencies, and where savings could be made. We were using a number of different companies that offered variable rates to both the candidate and the trust, without the required transparency in the academy sector.

Katie wanted to reduce the number of suppliers they were using to achieve cost and time savings, as well as ensure compliance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015. She also wanted to see if technology could help them improve the recruitment process and give them access to detailed management information on their agency spend. 

How the multi-academy trust improved recruitment

Katie realised that the managed service option of the CCS Supply Teachers and Temporary Staff in Educational Establishments framework could help the trust achieve their goals. Through the framework the trust appointed Affinity Workforce Solutions (AWS).

To ensure that the trust’s aims could be achieved there was a 3 month implementation period. The service was then launched to the 21 academies in January 2020. 

During this time, AWS and the trust worked together to proactively engage with internal stakeholders, so that each academy understood how the new managed service would work and the benefits it would bring. This helped lay the foundations for success. 

The time was also used to develop the supply chain. Existing suppliers that were important to the trust were invited to join. This meant academies could continue to use suppliers they had an existing relationship with, but with the added peace of mind that workers would be supplied at pre-agreed rates.

Consistent and transparent rates

AWS created a rate card specifically for the trust, setting out the pre-agreed pay rates. This ensured consistency and transparency across all agencies in the supply chain. 

Working closely with the trust, AWS also developed an online booking and invoicing system. All hiring managers were trained to use the system. The system means the trust’s hiring managers:

  • can book temporary workers and see their bookings filled in real time by the AWS account management team or partners within the supply chain
  • no longer need to make multiple phone calls to numerous agencies to fill a single vacancy, as the system automatically cascades vacancies to the supply chain
  • have access to an end to end online solution where bookings can be made, timesheets checked and approved, and invoices created and viewed 

The system can also be set up so users can view bookings and data for their individual site, multiple sites or clusters of academies.

Significant savings

The trust is now benefiting from an agreed worker pay structure with complete cost transparency, including agency mark-up. Standardised pay rates mean that all temporary workers are paid fairly for the work they carry out. What’s more, AWS has been able to increase the standardised pay rates for workers, whilst reducing agency mark-up and overall costs for the trust.  

As Katie confirmed:

Being outcomes focused and child centred we can now be confident that the framework provides the right quality of candidate to be student facing, whilst offering far more competitive rates, reducing spend and allowing for further investment in educational resources for our students. The framework offers the transparency required to satisfy audit and procurement requirements, whilst also offering the candidate fairer rates.

Here’s an example of the savings made on teaching assistant support staff:

daily charge rate worker pay supplier fee
before managed service agreement circa £140 up to £70 circa £60 (pay dependent)
under managed service agreement circa £99.58 up to £80 circa £20 (pay dependent)

The trust’s spend on temporary workers between January and March 2020 was £617,138. However, during the same time period in 2019 it was £730,427. That’s an impressive saving of £113,289 for the trust. 

No temp to perm fees

A number of temporary teaching and support staff have also been able to take up permanent roles, as a result of successful long term placements. And, because the framework’s standard terms and conditions include no temp to perm fees after 12 weeks in post, subject to 4 weeks’ notice, the trust has been able to make further savings for the trust by avoiding potentially costly transfer fees. This means precious budgets can be spent in areas that will truly enhance student learning. 

As Aiden Proudman a temporary teaching assistant at one of the trust’s academies said:

I had previously worked in another school through a different agency, however, AWS offered me the same type of role with a much higher wage and other additional benefits. With the help of AWS I’ve been able to support myself financially while gaining experience as a teacher. Not only did they help me find temporary work, but they also built the foundations for me to gain a full-time role at Northern Education Trust’s Freebrough Academy.

Reducing the administrative burden

The managed service doesn’t just mean cashable savings for the trust. The use of technology to streamline the recruitment process has also helped them reduce the administrative burden: 

before managed service agreement under managed service agreement
invoices Each agency would invoice each academy separately, resulting in up to 100 invoices a week for some academies. Invoices for all workers supplied by AWS and the supply chain are issued on a single invoice. 
timesheets Hiring managers needed to log into numerous different systems to approve timesheets.  Hiring managers only need to log into one system to approve all timesheets regardless of agency. 
management information  The trust and its academies had to create their own solution to collect data, often resulting in less detailed information that was difficult to navigate.  Detailed data all in one place giving full visibility of agency spend and greater opportunity for strategies to be put in place to reduce spend. 

As the contract matures, AWS will work with the trust to continually improve the service and identify ways to further streamline the recruitment process. 

Katie concludes:

We would recommend any trust consider a managed service – it offers support, transparency and very competitive rates.

Can we help you?

To find out more about how a managed service could help your school or multi-academy trust improve recruitment, why not book a free 1:1 session with our commercial team?

Simply email the team at supplyteachers@crowncommercial.gov.uk providing the following information:

  • school name
  • your name
  • email address
  • telephone number
  • details of any preferred dates and times for the session

We will get back to you to arrange a convenient time for the 1:1 session, as well as discuss the best virtual platform to host the meeting on.

You can also find out more about the framework by:

Flash sale on technology products for the education sector launches

These short-term deals could help you save up to 20% for your organisation – whether you are a school, multi-academy trust, college or university.

Accessing the deals

Visit the Education Technology catalogue on the Purchasing Platform and login to view all the deals currently available.

If you do not have login details already, you will need to register as a buyer. Using the catalogue is quick, easy and hassle-free.

Stock availability is limited and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Visit the Purchasing Platform to start saving today.

Supporting the health sector by providing full end-to-end logistics and document solutions

Our Document Management and Logistics solutions group covers courier services (including specialist courier), records and information management, postal goods, services and solutions, managed print and content services, multi-functional devices, print management and print marketplace.  

Over the past few months we have seen an increase in enquiries from you asking how we can support you with multiple workstreams, some of which have been quite urgent. From the movements of samples and specimens to how you obtain signage or communicate with your customers using print and post right through to how we can support you with digitisation of your services. In this blog you’ll find out how we can continue to help you put in place services and solutions which will support you deliver frontline services.   

Courier services

We can provide you with a total courier solution to move specimens, samples, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment and medical records through our specialist courier services agreement RM3799.

Through our courier services agreement RM3798 you can also move items which require enhanced insurance and liabilities, as well as accessing core courier services such as sameday, next day and inter-site collection and delivery services.  

Postal goods, services and solutions

Our postal services and solutions agreement RM6017 is a one stop shop solution for all your postal service needs, whether you are looking to lease or purchase a franking machine right through to hybrid mail solutions which will support patient communications, including reminders by text message or email. We can also support you with digital mailroom solutions which can open, scan, screen and digitise inbound mail to reduce the amount of handling of items on site.  

Multifunctional devices, managed print services and records management

We can provide you with the solution to lease or purchase your printers through our multifunctional devices and records management agreement RM3781. The agreement also provides access to print management software to help you put in place a hybrid mailing or better manage your information workflow.

This agreement can also provide you with solutions to not only physically store your medical records but also to digitise and scan all your medical records. 

Print management

We manage Tower 9 of the NHS Supply Chain and can provide solutions for all your printing needs from clinical forms to everyday leaflets and brochures. This includes signage and information posters, theatre record books, ward charts, case note folders, risk assessment plans, varying leaflets/care documents, endoscopy forms, casualty admission and printed labels. For further information please visit the NHS Supply Chain webpage and email us.

***Coming soon autumn 2020***  The print marketplace

Our new print marketplace solution is being launched in autumn 2020 and will enable you to order a wide range of printed materials to support your business needs via a digital platform. This new innovative solution will offer real-time and instant pricing from suppliers across the UK. It will enable ease of access and a point of sale transaction rather than a formal call off contract. For further information please email us.

***Coming soon autumn 2020***  Logistics and Warehousing

Launching autumn 2020 our new Logistics and Warehousing solution will enable you to order from a wide range of services that will include, but not limited to, the collection, receipt, warehousing/storage, management, processing and onward distribution. It will be the first pan-public sector Logistics and Warehousing commercial agreement available in the marketplace. For further information please email us.

Want to know more?

If you want to find out more information on the above please visit our document management and logistics solutions web page or email us.

Changes to our frameworks in July

Welcome to our monthly framework update to help you with your procurement planning. We will publish it online each month and also share it in our newsletters and on our social media channels.

The update provides a brief summary of what has been awarded, extended or expired during the previous month. It also outlines what is due to expire in the next 3 months.

Frameworks awarded in July

  • No frameworks were awarded in July 

Frameworks extended in July

Please note: the expiry dates on the framework pages will be updated shortly

Frameworks that expired in July

Frameworks due to expire in the next 3 months

Further information

If you need further details about any of these frameworks please get in touch. 

If you don’t currently receive our monthly customer newsletter why not also subscribe to receive these updates and more directly to your inbox? Just fill in this short form.

CCS launches Buying Digital Community podcast

Over the past couple of months, I, Emilia Cedeno, Enhancing Capability Lead at CCS, have been working with colleagues and a wonderful selection of guest speakers to help create a series of insightful podcasts which I hope will help you along your procurement journey. 

The podcasts are presented by myself, along with guest host Josh Dell, Digital, Data & Technology Commercial Manager at Department for International Trade. Josh is also a CCS buyer and avid member of the Buying Digital Community, so it was great to have him hosting alongside me for our first ever podcast series. 

We have focused this series around 3 key topics and have a selection of fantastic guest speakers on board to share lots of useful knowledge and insights with our listeners : 

  • development for procurement people – featuring Warren Smith, Global Digital Marketplace Programme Director
  • the importance of pre-tender market engagement – featuring Stacia Copple, Digital, Data and Technology Commercial Manager at Department for International Trade 
  • how to deal with internal stakeholders – featuring Adam Hill, Project Manager, Government Commercial Function, Cabinet Office 

We have also recorded a bonus episode so you can hear all about how the Buying Digital Community has grown and developed since its inception back in March 2018.

You can tune into our podcast series now on iTunes and Spotify.

We hope you enjoy our first podcast series, but if you would like to learn more in the meantime, please get in touch:

Complete our contact form quoting ‘Buying Digital Community’

Or call us on 0345 410 2222

Network Homes save 38% using mobile voice and data aggregation

The requirement

Network Homes was looking to replace a number of mobile voice and data contracts, all with various start/end dates, with one consolidated contract. It felt a new contract would bring with it better terms and an opportunity to refresh the overall approach to the supplier account management.

The solution

The Crown Commercial Service aggregation team regularly run further competitions for multiple customers based on standard specifications for common goods and services. Combining the requirements of multiple organisations helps save time and money, as larger volumes attract more interest from suppliers. Any further competition will be managed by us and won’t cost you anything.

Network Homes expressed an interest and provided details of their requirement. We were able to provide an “indicative savings analysis” to assess the minimum savings they could achieve, by comparing an “indicative tariff” (set as a ceiling price for bids) against their current rates.

Network Homes realised by joining the aggregation it stood a better chance of making a greater saving than if it stood alone.

The indicative savings analysis document allowed the housing association to focus on the other important things needed to be considered; the number/type of connections required, how it was currently using its devices, and how this might change in the future.

This made the process simple and straightforward when it was time to sign the letter of intent.

The results

The competition took place in Feb-March 2018 bringing together the common requirements of 13 customers, amounting to over 20,000 connections.

It resulted in an average 50% saving compared to the prices customers were paying. This is the equivalent of a saving of £1.9 million over 2 years for the customers who took part.

Network Homes achieved 38% savings.

Not only did Network Homes make a good saving, it was also a quick and easy process. Network Homes was kept informed at each stage and believe the saving achieved would not have been possible under the framework as a single customer

Melanie James, Procurement Officer, Network Homes commented:

“I have always been quite apprehensive about joining an aggregated call-off, but the help and support I received from the team was outstanding. This has filled me with confidence for the future and I will definitely consider aggregation where and whenever possible. I would like to say thank you for such great service”

These results clearly demonstrate that with aggregated volumes and the adoption of a standard specification for a commodity product or service significant cost savings can quickly be realised.

Find out more

To find out more about future opportunities, please view our dedicated aggregation webpage

To learn more about how our free to use aggregation services can help you make savings or to discuss any of the current opportunities please fill in our online enquiry form and quote ‘Aggregation’.

Ethical international recruitment: responding to the NHS People Plan

The NHS People Plan for 2020/21 sets out the importance of recruitment and outlines the need to increase international recruitment:

NHS England and NHS Improvement and HEE are working with government to increase our ethical international recruitment and build partnerships with new countries, making sure this brings benefit for the person and their country, as well as the NHS. This will include work to remove barriers to recruitment and increasing capacity for induction and support.

NHS England and NHS Improvement approved

The NHS Workforce Alliance has an existing, proven framework for the recruitment of international clinical staff. Approved by NHS England and NHS Improvement, it aligns to the recommendations set out in the long term plan, as well as the NHS People Plan.  

The alliance has supported over 41 trusts and collaborations, including Capital Nurse, to award international recruitment contracts over the past 12 months. This has led to over 1,215 clinical staff positions being successfully sourced and filled.

The framework provides an easy to use and compliant route to market. It ensures that all candidates are ethically recruited from countries that are permissible by the UK Government. It also allows for both single and collaborative recruitment contract arrangements that support the NHS People Plan recommendations, giving your organisation or cluster flexibility to contract as either a single trust or a partnership, such as an Integrated Care System (ICS). 

Webinars

We are hosting a series of 3 webinars on international recruitment to help you get started.

The first online event – international recruitment: a national perspective – will take place on Thursday 1 October at 2.30pm. Find out more and book your free space. 

The other 2 webinars will take place on 22 October and 12 November. Look out for further details shortly. 

Help and support

Contact your local NHS Workforce Alliance partner to discuss how we can support you in engaging with the international recruitment market to meet your staffing needs:

One-off deep cleans, routine cleaning and much more from our cleaning dynamic purchasing system

The Building Cleaning Services Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) offers public and third sector organisations the opportunity to procure a wide range of cleaning services from regional and national suppliers, through a streamlined procurement process, such as:

  • one-off deep cleans
  • routine cleaning 
  • exterior building cleaning 
  • window cleaning
  • specialist cleaning

Additionally, you can also locate experts to review your current delivery and performance methods, to make improvements based on industry standards and benchmarking.

The DPS allows you to filter suppliers by location as well as by the type(s) of cleaning required. This makes it easy to shortlist qualifying suppliers, saving you time in the evaluation process.

You can then hold a further competition to find the supplier that best meets your requirements. The flexibility of the DPS allows you to assess quality and price based on your organisation’s specific requirements and priorities.

When using this agreement, customers can also benefit from:

  • pre-vetted suppliers – all appointed suppliers have already gone through basic due diligence procedures, such as financial checks, referencing and insurance checks.
  • range of suppliers – new suppliers can join the DPS at any time, which helps ensure a good range of suppliers to invite to tender, from large-scale providers to SMEs
  • pre-agreed terms – the pre-agreed terms have been established in line with best commercial practice to provide legal protection for customers and suppliers.
  • build the contract around your needs – use the CCS schedules to build a set of terms that meet your specific requirements, allowing you to only include what you need.

To find out more about the wide range of cleaning services covered, and how to access the DPS, visit the Building Cleaning Services page.

Virtual events – a new reality

CCS Live was our first virtual event featuring our Chief Executive Simon Tse addressing over 600+ staff using our new platform provided by Glasgows, who won the further competition through our Communication Services Framework (RM3796).

Originally we planned a face-to-face all staff event but due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), we transformed it into a virtual event. 86% of colleagues who joined the event gave hugely positive feedback which is a credit to the amazing work the agencies have been delivering through our events offering on Lot 2.

The Requirement

CCS had planned to do a face-to-face event before lockdown and had already appointed Glasgows in December 2019 as the agency of choice to carry out our event. Due to COVID-19 our event was changed to a virtual event as a result of restrictions on face-to-face meetings and gatherings. 

Glasgows was tasked with bringing colleagues together across the UK, from multiple locations, into one place, at one time, to deliver an impactful and engaging virtual session. We were concerned about how well our first virtual all staff event would be perceived, but it proved to be a success. 

CCS required a platform that would allow for maximum audience interaction, that was simple to navigate and allowed for live sessions, pre-recorded sessions, live subtitles and multiple speakers to host their sessions with ease. 

During the lockdown, Simon Tse hosted several podcasts, blogs and videos to encourage staff throughout this challenging period of working from home. 

The purpose of the all staff event, however, was to reflect on successes and look at business plans and targets. This session needed to allow for instantaneous responses from the attendees.

The Solution

The Communication Services (RM3796) Framework agreement enabled us to find the right agency through a simple procurement process.

The customer guidance document provided great advice on how to get your partner on board. It detailed every step of the procurement process from issuing a brief,  to reviewing proposals from agencies through to appointing an agency and post-award recommendations. The templates offered further support and guided us on our journey. We used the brief template to write our brief and letter of appointment to notify Glasgows of their award as our winning agency. 

We originally contracted Glasgows as the CCS face-to-face events agency, however, due to the impact of COVID on our plans, they were able to quickly pivot our planned event and ensure it went ahead virtually.

Agencies on the events lot have demonstrated how they can adapt and have engaged heavily with CCS on best practice for virtual events and how they can help customers get the most out of them. CCS has worked alongside agencies to look at potential shortened further competition timescales for virtual events versus more complex face-to-face events.

The updated timescales can be found on the customer guidance on our webpage.

The Result

CCS Live was the first virtual event we had delivered as a team, therefore we heavily relied on the expertise Glasgows had built over their 15 years of delivering virtual events. The support we received was fantastic and as experts in their area, they adequately challenged our brief to ensure we were making the right decisions for the event we were delivering. They supported heavily in the creation of our event platform, through all technical aspects and worked closely with our creative agency to deliver the branding. 

Virtual events are new to us all, so measuring our success and taking learnings from our experience was critical. Glasgows platform allowed us to gauge delegate registration and engagement, two key measures which are consistently measured at face-to-face events and we wanted to uphold.

We exceeded our registration target by 5%, with over 75% colleagues attending.

Engagement was measured by using simple smiley faces and overall 86% of colleagues hit the smile icon to record their enjoyment. Several anecdotal comments were also received complimenting the platform and how the event was being run.

Paula Woolam, Events Manager, CCS said, “We were delighted that we had chosen to work with Glasgows. Their event experience, technical expertise and customer service shone through and made our first journey through the world of virtual events exciting.” 

For further information

View our webpage for guidance and more information on our Communication Services Framework (RM3796).

Get in touch with us via email or call us at 0345 410 2222.

Arts Council England save over £220,000 when procuring Facilities Management services through CCS

The requirement

Arts Council England (ACE) develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives, supporting a range of activities across arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections.

ACE was looking to contract with one supplier to provide facilities management (FM) services nationally, across a diverse estate of nine offices spread over England’s nine regions. It was essential for the services to be streamlined by incorporating new technologies into their processes, such as an online logging system to manage the required services. Another key requirement was to make their data management more efficient, ensure social value and, of course, to achieve value for money in terms of both quality and price.

Due to the relatively small size of the Arts Council as an organisation, they previously found it difficult to appoint a supplier to provide FM services. On a previous tender exercise the Arts Council received no bids due to a lack of supplier interest.

The solution

The Facilities Management Marketplace provided by CCS incorporates a new lot aimed at supporting smaller Government bodies. As such, ACE used the agreement to help them find a suitable supplier to deliver their needs. The agreement also aligned with the Arts Council’s social value aims, ensuring:

  • living wage paid by suppliers
  • supply chain opportunities for local SMEs
  • zero waste
  • appointment of apprentices and supporting placements to school children and young adults
  • recruitment of long–term unemployed labour and locally engaged labour
  • recruitment of young people not in education, employment or training
  • procurement and sourcing of sustainable, ethical and fair trade services and products
  • community engagement

By using the agreement, ACE was provided with clear guidance from the CCS FM team, allowing them to follow a simplified procurement process and  direct award in accordance with the agreement criteria. 

CCS supported ACE from early engagement to contract award and will continue to be on hand for the duration of the contract. 

The result

By using the FM Marketplace agreement, ACE has achieved a saving in excess of £220,000 over the term of their contract, based on price alone. ACE also appreciated the support received during the process, with queries being resolved within 24 hours of them being raised. CCS also provided support on contractual matters which enabled ACE and the supplier to build a robust business relationship.

Zobair Mehmood, Head of Procurement at ACE said:

The support provided by the FM team at CCS made the procurement of the new contract very efficient and straightforward. I would definitely recommend using CCS for any procurement needs.

 Get in touch

This framework is now also available via our new digital portal. Customers can quickly view suppliers who can provide the required services, see an estimated contract cost, create and offer a direct award contract or shortlist suppliers ready for further competition.

If you would like to know more about any aspect of our FM framework please contact info@crowncommercial.gov.uk and one of our team will be in touch.