How we scaled robotic process automation in recruitment across North Central London

Background

In 2021, NHS Employers shared a case study on our work at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust to improve staff and candidate experience through automating parts of its recruitment process. Since then our team, North London Partners Shared Services (NLPSS), who are behind this innovative work, have rolled out a shared recruitment service, underpinned by the successful use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for six trusts within our partnership.

Through ongoing partnering and collaboration with the Digital Productivity team at Transformation Partners in Health and Care (TPHC), NLPSS has continued to expand and evolve its use of RPA. We now automate high-volume, manual recruitment tasks for trusts, continuing to support the Royal Free London, as well as University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust, Whittington Health NHS Trust, and others.

By automating routine tasks and manual processes, our partners and customers are benefiting from significantly reduced time and effort spent on time-consuming procedures, enabling their recruitment teams to focus more on strategic decision-making and improving the candidate experience.

The case study details how our Speeds Things Up (STU) Process Automation (PA) robot was programmed to automatically complete tasks in the recruitment process. Find out what results and benefits RPA has delivered in the last few years.

What RPA has achieved  

This work is award-winning and has been recognised for its effectiveness in driving efficiency in the NHS in the 2023 HPMA Excellence in People Awards. To date, six trusts within the NLPSS partnership are now automating recruitment processes with technology incorporated into existing HR systems, including TRAC, ESR, Trust ID and various Microsoft applications.

The results to date

Automation has proven its value with economic, efficiency and effectiveness results demonstrating direct and indirect benefits for hiring teams and candidates.

Time and cost reductions for recruitment teams

Annually, STU is achieving the following:

• Over 100,000 new starter forms processed.
• Cost savings:
  • On average, a 21 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) saving, rising to 33 WTE in the peak summer period.
  • £500K net saving in staff costs, with operational resources and technology costs offset.
• Time to hire reduction and link to Bank/Agency spend: a 1-day reduction saves up to £100 per day.
• Time savings:
  • Faster time to hire: the average time between issuing a conditional offer letter and completing employment checks is down from 30 to 14 days.
  • Shorter end-to-end processing time: NLPSS’ recruitment time is 200 minutes, surpassing the average NHS recruitment time of 300 minutes and resulting in a reduction in working time and cost per applicant.
  • Time release for hiring managers: 2,500 hours per annum have been released, enabling more time to focus on their staff and patients, rather than process.
• Enhanced candidate experience and satisfaction
  • Improved candidate experience with a consistent 90% satisfaction score for the employment check process.
  • 100% of junior doctors received a job offer in line with the Code of Practice target.
  • Ease of submitting personal information reduces candidates’ time and the need to raise queries or request changes to payroll errors.
• Improved experience and ways of working for the recruitment team
  • Improved recruitment team experience: Using new starter e-forms has improved data capture from 70% to over 99%, reducing the need for manual payroll checks and corrections. Less manual, mundane work has created opportunities for team members to upskill while working on complex cases. Career opportunities and varied roles for staff have opened up, such as working with robots.
  • The efficiency of the recruitment team has been noted by many applicants, boosting job satisfaction.

The art of the possible – where next?

NLPSS currently deploys 36 RPA processes over six partner trusts, and additional developments are in progress. This growth is underpinned by ongoing partnership and collaboration between NLPSS and the Digital Productivity team at TPHC. Expertise in identifying and automating manual and routine processes with secure technology is boosting efficiency and helping trusts secure talent faster than ever.

Jilly Jamieson, Head of Client Services and GPO for recruitment at NLPSS, says:

‘‘We’re incredibly proud of the growth and scaling of our recruitment automation programme, which has evolved into our shared recruitment service for our colleagues working in trusts across North Central London. Our NLPSS service development team, led by Sylwia Kitchin, continues to work with curiosity and bold vision to evolve our existing processes and bring to life new ones which result in cost savings and respond to the needs of hiring teams and candidates alike.’’

This programme and collaboration between NLPSS and the Digital Productivity Team demonstrates what automation can achieve in the NHS, and the learning has shaped both teams’ approach to scaling innovation more effectively.

Witnessing countless automation programmes across the system fail to deliver the promised efficiencies and productivity gains has inspired the Digital Productivity Team to develop a new solution. This approach will enable cost-effective access to digital productivity tools, such as automation, for the NHS and public sector. It also removes some of the main barriers, such as high operational support costs and the need for multi-year contracts with 3^rd party suppliers.

Speaking of these advancements, James Davies, Head of TPHC’s Digital Productivity Team, commented:

‘‘This is an incredibly exciting time for our team as we prepare to launch our new solution. Our early adopter deployments are progressing well and seeing substantial savings, with one realising a 73% reduction in the total cost of ownership for its HR RPAs. In the current NHS climate, where budgets and corporate services are under pressure, this shows that productivity gains can be delivered affordably by the NHS for the NHS.’’

With the recent 10 Year Health Plan calling for improved efficiency and productivity, both teams welcome conversations from other healthcare organisations looking to embark on their own recruitment automation approach. See their contact information below.

About the organisations

NLPSS and TPHC’s Digital Productivity team are both hosted services as part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

NLPSS

• For further information about our recruitment service, see our recruitment page.
• Contacts:
  • Jilly Jamieson, Head of Client Services and GPO for recruitment
  • For RPA programme/technical process designs: Sylwia Kitchin, Service Development Manager

TPHC Digital Productivity Team

• Visit the TPHC website to find out more about the Digital Productivity team.
• Contact: James Davies, Head of Digital Productivity: james.davies28@nhs.net