We all know that filling one of the huge number of vacancies in the NHS isn't just about advertising a role and choosing the best candidate. The journey continues way beyond when the offer is accepted; in fact, for many HR teams, it's where the real work begins. The onboarding process (sometimes referred to as pre-boarding) is often a forgotten stage of the recruitment lifecycle, yet it's where things can either fall apart or truly flourish depending on how it's played.
Our latest whitepaper, Transforming Recruitment in the NHS, highlights just how critical onboarding is - and how a few smart changes can improve your time-to-hire, as well as your candidate experience, team morale and efficiency.
Here's a taster of what's in the whitepaper and why NHS recruitment teams should be paying much closer attention to onboarding.
Just add your details below to get your free copy. Or continue reading for some highlights. 👇
Let's be honest - many onboarding processes across the NHS are still driven by paper forms, scattered emails and manual checklists. That's understandable given the complexity of NHS recruitment and the need for thoroughness around compliance, safeguarding and regulation. But it's also where delays and problems creep in.
It might surprise you to learn that, in some NHS trusts, onboarding can take longer than the rest of the hiring process combined. So as well as being frustrating for HR teams and hiring managers, it directly impacts patient care by delaying when new hires can start, leaving seats empty for longer - and in some cases, can lead to new hires dropping out before they even reach day one.
This whitepaper explores the key reasons why this happens - but more importantly, it reveals practical ways to fix it.
👉 Curious about the main onboarding bottlenecks and what can be done about them? Download the full whitepaper here.
Onboarding isn't just another admin checklist task to complete. For candidates, it could be their first real impression of life at your NHS trust. A disorganised, lengthy or complicated process can undo all the hard work of engaging them in the earlier stages of the journey. Worse still, it can create anxiety and uncertainty at a time when candidates should be feeling excited, supported and ready for their first day on the job.
This whitepaper looks at how a seamless onboarding process can reinforce your brand as an employer. Make candidates feel valued from the moment they start interacting with the recruitment process, all the way through their employment journey with you.
It's not just about the candidates either. Technology, like our Jobtrain ATS, includes onboarding tools that give recruitment teams visibility, structure and speed. So no more manually chasing down DBS checks or wondering whether IT have received the new starter form. Automation and status dashboards do all the heavy lifting - allowing HR teams to focus on people, not paperwork.
👉 Want to know which organisation cut their onboarding process from weeks to days? Read the case study in our whitepaper.
This whitepaper showcases real-world examples where small but strategic changes made a big difference and doesn't just highlight the pain points.
From using Intelligent Automation to speed up pre-employment checks, to building in reminders and triggers that keep the process moving, onboarding is one of the most overlooked opportunities for improvement in NHS recruitment.
And crucially, these improvements aren't pie-in-the-sky or budget-breaking. As the paper shows, the return on investment in streamlining onboarding - both in terms of cost and capacity - can be significant.
👉 Explore how better onboarding can reduce costs and improve time-to-hire/time-to-start in your NHS trust. Download the guide.
While onboarding takes centre stage in this blog, it's just one of six steps our whitepaper explores in the journey to transforming NHS recruitment.
Alongside onboarding best practice, the guide covers:
The role of technology and why the right ATS is more than just a database
How real-time, accurate data can unlock continuous improvement
Ways to elevate the candidate experience and improve application completion rates
Collaborating with other NHS trusts to save costs and improve outcomes
The all-important goal of driving efficiency across the entire recruitment process
With each step linking to...
👉 Looking at the bigger picture for your recruitment transformation? You'll want to read the whole whitepaper.
If onboarding has become a sticking point in your recruitment process, you're not alone. But the good news is that change doesn't need to be overwhelming. We are shining a light on the gaps and asking NHS trusts to rethink the process with candidates in mind to unlock real improvements in both speed and satisfaction.
This whitepaper offers insights, inspiration and case studies to help you get started - or to help take your onboarding from good to great.
👉 Ready to see what transformation could look like in your trust? Download your copy of ‘Transforming Recruitment in the NHS' below.