Supporting an NHS Nightingale Hospital with Cleaners Supplied at Short Notice
- qualified cleaners in 24 hours
- x
- more suitable candidates than competitors combined
- +
- candidates provided
Company Background
Our client is a world leading international support services and construction company based in the UK. They employ over 50,000 people worldwide, providing a wide range of advice, design, construction, equipment, facilities management, and frontline services to more than 7,500 public and private sector clients.
Client
Contact
Sector
Staffing Type
Recruitment Challenge
Our client was awarded the facilities management contract for the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West in Manchester in March 2020. They required a new temporary workforce including 400+ cleaners to work around the clock to keep the facilities in a clinical, clean state. The quick turn around needed for this project was necessary to ensure the smooth running and safety of the location.
Recruitment Solution
The National Account Manager and Manchester Recruitment Lead started to immediately identify and qualify candidates. They did so alongside our technology platform, which played a powerful role in automating application reviews and matching requirements such as skills, location, and availability.
It also enabled us to find workers in other professions who were based locally and seeking alternative employment due to recent redundancies. This included many catering candidates, with enhanced-DBS clearance, who were keen to transition into cleaning roles to support the Nightingale effort.
Recruitment Journey
Here at Blue Arrow, we understand the need to improve conditions and pay for workers. An increased pay rate was needed to immediately attract the right volume of workers for the roles. This was a necessity due to the reduction in public transport, which meant increased commuting costs for our candidates.
We proposed a new rate card to our client Procurement Manager which was accepted as the standard for all agencies to abide by. To avoid reduced attendance rates, we were thorough and upfront about the working environment – ensuring our candidates understood the expectations of the role ahead of their appointment.
Blue Arrow impressed us with their responsiveness, knowledge and reassurance that their workforce would play a vital role in the project.
Procurement Manager
The Results
As part of our work with the Nightingale Hospital, we ensured the quick and efficient hiring of cleaners to support the work the hospital was doing.
We provided:
- 96 qualified cleaners within 24 hours
- 225 qualified candidates within 4 days – 2x that of other suppliers
- 400+ cleaners supplied overall
- Onsite training for candidates from non-cleaning background (15% of hires)
Due to the scale of our delivery, we maintained an active role supporting the arrival of new inductees.
We remained its principal supplier, later expanding support to include catering and portering.
