Meet our HR and People Team
As we continue our focus on HR and People this month, Jo Barton, Senior Category Manager for HR and People, gives us an update on the workforce procurement landscape.
“It has been an incredibly busy time within the workforce procurement landscape, and as we come out of the Covid-19 recovery period and head into what will surely be another tough winter for the health service, we continue to look to provide solutions for the NHS workforce that will help to ease the current pressures.
“Our team of experts are working hard to help you meet current challenges such as reducing off-framework agency spend and retaining nurses and clinicians at a time when many are choosing to leave the health service.
“As a procurement provider we have a range of frameworks within the HR & People category area which can provide support and assistance in areas such as permanent recruitment, clinical and non-clinical staffing, bank staff and insourcing as well as areas such as interpretation services, legal services and employee benefits, which helps our customers retain their talent pools and build effective teams
“Since 2019, we have been working closely with our colleagues across NHS Procurement in Partnership (NHS PiP) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which together forms NHS Workforce Alliance. Working collaboratively in this way has meant we can provide the collective expertise of all five partners and work with you to find the best solutions available. You can read more about the vision and values of the Alliance later in this newsletter.
“As part of our collaborative approach, we continue to host a range of events for both our customers and suppliers. By doing this we provide a forum for us to listen to you, share best practices and expertise, and for you to talk to us about what is working well and what you need from us.
“Last month, we hosted more than 70 people at the NHS Workforce Alliance Joint Cluster Workforce Workshop, which brought together all of the clusters led by NOE CPC to share learning and identify common challenges. The session focussed on sharing good practice and developing solutions to support our customers in managing their agency spend more effectively, and included presentations by NHS England, NHS Workforce Alliance, a legal seminar by Sintons, an IR35/Umbrella Expert panel discussion and breakout sessions.
“As part of our ongoing customer engagement, we recently brought 19 trusts together as part of the Maxxima Stakeholder User Group. These trusts shared a goal of collaborating and managing the supplier performance of their master vendor Maxxima who supplied AHP and HSS staff into their trusts. The project was delivered on time and generated savings of £350,000.
“We also worked with our partners at Crown Commercial Service to host the NHS Workforce Alliance Permanent Recruitment 2 customer launch, which was attended by more than 70 people online. This provided us with a chance to launch the framework to the public and answer any questions our customers had about their use of the agreement.
“As part of a Trust project to improve its agency controls and reduce spend, we recently held a supplier briefing event. This provided a forum for key stakeholders from procurement, workforce, nursing, and finance to share with current and potential suppliers their objectives and plans and provided an opportunity for suppliers to meet the project team in person.
“Our programme of events continues 29th November when we will host an online Interpreting and Translation Services customer workshop focussing on potential risks associated with market trends and how to mitigate them.
“Through our collaborative approach we continue to host several temporary staffing cluster groups, to support ongoing shared learning and market management and can provide you with a quality service that meets some of the current challenges. Our team of experts are on hand to help you build and invest in your own teams.”