Wandsworth Council launched a new recruitment campaign and website for its social services teams to address national skills shortages and negative publicity following the Baby Peter case. The campaign goal was to make recruitment more effective and reduce costs by advertising roles jointly for the first time. Research including focus groups informed the development of the "Wandsworth Way" concept highlighting the council's strengths. A microsite brought this concept to life using video and animation. The results included over 15,000 site visits, 300 candidates registering, and agency spend reductions as 10 roles were filled within 3 months. The campaign received several awards and positive testimonials praising its focus on support for social workers.

1. The Challenge
Wandsworth planned to launch a new recruitment
marketing campaign and website for its Adults and
Children’s Social Service Teams in Autumn 2009.
At the time, the profession was at a very low ebb
following the Baby Peter Investigation. In the face
of national skills shortages, the negative publicity
and low morale were making recruitment more
difficult than ever.
The goal of the campaign was to make recruitment
more effective than ever before while acting as a
joint venture for both Children’s and Adult Social
services for the first time. The secondary aim was
to reduce spend in both departments – previously
advertising was ad-hoc and had proved expensive.
In turn, better response should also reduce agency
spend as perm positions were filled.
Our Strategy
As part of a wider piece of research (which
included a competitor audit and salary
benchmarking), TMP supported Wandsworth in
developing an evidence base of their current
position in the social work recruitment market.
This included focus groups to establish the views
and opinions of current employees – and to
identify what could be done differently to help
position Wandsworth more favourably in the future.
The research findings were presented back to key
internal stakeholders such as the Assistant
Directors of both Children’s and Adults. The
findings were also then used to inform the brief of
the new campaign.
The resulting creative development process led to
the ‘Wandsworth Way’. It highlights Wandsworth’s
strengths such as its record on safeguarding and
the fact is has managed to avoid recent
controversy – a major selling point post Baby Peter.
A specially created microsite brought the concept
of the ‘Wandsworth Way’ to life – using video and
animation to overcome preconceptions and
highlight selling points.
The media strategy featured a major launch in the
trade press, followed by a carefully planned series
of on and offline advertising activity,
complemented by Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
The Results
The campaign achieved the following results:
• 15,829 unique visitors to the site
• 300 registered candidates
• £80k of media savings through negotiation
• Agency spend in Children’s services has been
significantlyreduced as there have been 10 hires
in the first 3 monthsof the campaign
• Winner of PPMA ‘Recruitment Microsite of the
Year’. Runner up in two further PPMA categories.
‘Best Recruitment Advertisement for a District/
Borough Council’ & ‘Best Recruitment
Advertisement in Adult Social Care’
• Runner up in the RAD 2010 ‘Microsite of the Year’
• OnRec 2010 ‘Public Sector Website of the Year’
finalist
Case Study – Wandsworth Social Services

2. Client testimonials:
Jack Cordery, Assistant Director of in
Children’s Services:
“Recruiting social workers has never been more
difficult.The country is facing a much-publicised
shortage of qualified practitioners, and matters
haven’t been helped by regular media criticism of
the profession. As competition for staffis becoming
increasingly fierce, Wandsworth needs to be bolder
and more creative in its approach. We’re very proud
the site has been recognised at the RAD Awards.”
Rob Persey Assistant Director of Adult’s
Social Services:
“The campaign focuses on key issues such as
career development, the value we place on social
workers and the quality of safeguarding. We
believe the ‘Wandsworth Way’of doing things is a
big draw for talented Social Workers.”
Councillor Kathy Tracy, Executive Member for
Children’s Services:
“Wandsworth has a strong reputation in both
Adults’ and Children’s Social Service. The council’s
entire range of services for children, including its
schools and its child protection systems, are
“excellent” according to standards watchdog
Ofsted. However, we owe it to our residents to build
the strongest possible social work team while
reducing the reliance on costly agency workers.
We’re very pleased the campaign is helping us
bring in even more committed and capable
professionals to Wandsworth.”
Social workers have a
challenging professional
task. That’s why at Wandsworth we do our utmost to keep caseloads
under control so you can concentrate on what really matters – delivering
an excellent service to the people that need your expert support. Join
Wandsworth and you’ll become part of a strong and supportive team that
understands the challenges social workers face and does everything to
make their role that little bit easier. To find out more about opportunities
in Adults’ or Children’s services, visit www.thewandsworthway.org
The Wandsworth Social Work service has always recognised the contribution our staff maketo our professional pride and high standards. Communication is strong and we’re increasinglyseeking the input of frontline staff to inform policy and practice. This is a borough whereyou will always be valued. To find out more about opportunities in Children’s services, visitwww.thewandsworthway.org/guardian
An Equal Opportunities Employer
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Strengthening and developing our workforce is vital in maintaining our high standards.That’s why we have your career development in mind from day one. This includes supervisionso you learn effectively on the job, formal training opportunities, and support in undertakingfurther qualifications. To find out more about opportunities in Adult services, visitwww.thewandsworthway.org/guardian
An Equal Opportunities Employer
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We know that awards aren’t everything. But they are a good indication you’re doing a good job
and to us at Wandsworth, that’s what matters. We’ve won a few awards along the road, but we
haven’t let them lead to complacency or get in the way of delivering excellent services to those
who need them. Join Wandsworth and you’ll become part of a team that’s highly regarded for
the positive effect it has on people’s lives. To find out more about opportunities in Adults’ or
Children’s services, visit www.thewandsworthway.org/commcare
An Equal Opportunities Employer
At Wandsworth, we know that being better connected with colleagues
across our organisation puts us in a stronger position to improve
outcomes for the people we support. It’s about harnessing every resource available to us and making best use of
each one – something we’re good at here. Join us and you’ll be part of a team that believes in integrated working
and is proud of the positive impact it can have on people’s lives. To find out more about opportunities in Adults’
or Children’s services, visit www.thewandsworthway.org/cyp