New environmentally friendly online system saving NHS Trust time and money
To help get new members of staff up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible, the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has introduced an online system for new staff, saving the NHS both time and money and reducing the impact on the environment.
The Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, recruits around 20 new members of staff a month and each of these is legally required to read the main policies and procedures and sign documentation before commencing their post.
In order to cut down on waste and to save both time and money the starter packs have been modernised, also making the process more sustainable. The Trust is fully committed to being a socially responsible organisation, introducing measures that reduce or offset its environmental impact.
A new section has been added to the Trust website which gives new recruits access to all the policies and procedures they need to read before they enter the workplace. As part of the conditions of employment new starters with the Trust must now complete the online declaration form confirming they have made themselves aware of the Trust’s key policies as well as returning a signed copy of the terms and conditions of employment. All details are logged by HR to ensure this legal requirement has been fulfilled.
Before the starter packs got modernised the recruitment team was required to print, package and post around 20 packs a month. This was costly both in time and resources, and also not inline with the Trust’s outlook on sustainability.
The old packs cost around £1.32 each to post out, but now with standard documents removed and placed on the website they only cost the price of a first class stamp, 41p. This is a substantial saving and reduces the amount of waste that was involved in each pack – as well as the costs of staff time in assembling the packs.
Sandy Nicholas, human resources manager (recruitment services), said, "The new starter website is a great tool. It frees up our time to focus on other duties and reduces the amount of waste we produce. The new process is more efficient in terms of cost and resources and we have also had some great feedback from new starters who have used the easy system. The quicker we get new staff through the recruitment process and into our services supporting the delivery of high quality care, the better."
Trust web developer, Darragh Woods who set up the online system said, "Technology offers some great opportunities to increase efficiency, both for the Trust and the end user themselves. The communications team were very happy to work with HR, increase their efficiency and save costs, as well as, importantly, giving our new starters a positive and professional first impression of their new employer."
Learn more about working for the Trust, including how our recruitment process works, what benefits there are and current vacancies at http://www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk/