JobCentre Plus for Employers: A Strategic Guide
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<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
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<li>Free job advertising: Jobcentre Plus offers no-cost job listings, beneficial for employers with limited budgets.</li>
<li>Suited for specific roles: Ideal for blue-collar jobs, driving, retail, hospitality, and seasonal positions.</li>
<li>Time investment: Screening applicants may require significant time due to the high volume of benefit-motivated applications.</li>
<li>Quality concerns: Higher likelihood of applicants not responding or failing to meet job standards.</li>
<li>No guarantees: The service does not offer any guarantees that it will either fill a job, or that a successful candidate will complete their probation period.</li>
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What is the Jobcentre?
The Jobcentre, or Jobcentre Plus, helps employers advertise jobs for free, and typically connects them with applicants who are long-term unemployed and looking for blue-collar jobs.
Sadly it is a dying UK institution and part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It used to have offices nationwide where social security benefit claimants would have to attend and demonstrate they were looking for work. This meant many claimants made job applications simply to receive unemployment benefits. From my experience, this inevitably meant some applicants sleepwalked their way into an interview, intentionally making a lacklustre attempt to secure employment.
Unemployment benefits have now changed, with many people unable to claim if they have any savings. Additionally, many Jobcentres have closed as part of “modernisation”, where the focus has moved online. Therefore, the Jobcentre is now a shadow of its former self.
Which businesses should use the Jobcentre
The Jobcentre has a reputation for being used by employers with the following characteristics:
- Limited recruitment budgets: Because the Jobcentre offers free job advertising, it is attractive to businesses with limited recruitment budgets. (This is slightly worrying because there are so many good-value recruitment alternatives, and it does beg the question of how they can afford to pay their staff!)
- High staff turnover: Some employers use the Jobcentre as a “quick fix” rather than solving an underlying staff turnover issue.
The above list may seem disparaging to a small group of employers. But based on 25 years of experience in recruitment, this is quite accurate. But to provide some balance, I should highlight that a minority of companies aim to support the long-term unemployed, so they might choose to use the Jobcentre.
What type of jobs can you fill using the Jobcentre?
The Jobcentre is particularly suited for filling:
- Blue-collar jobs: These include manual labour or skilled trades, such as warehouse, construction workers, tradespeople, mechanics, and factory workers.
- Driving and delivery jobs: Positions like delivery drivers, truck drivers, and courier services.
- Retail and customer service jobs: Retail stores, call centres, and other customer service environments.
- Hospitality and catering jobs: These include chefs, kitchen assistants, waitstaff, and baristas in hotels, restaurants, bars, and catering services.
- Temporary or seasonal jobs: Such as holiday retail staff or agricultural workers during harvest seasons.
When would employers use the Jobcentre?
Employers could advertise an appropriate job at the beginning of their recruitment process. Because the Jobcentre is often used by employers with high staff turnover, they usually find themselves consistently advertising.
How much does it cost to advertise with the Jobcentre? Time vs. money
Advertising with the Jobcentre is free in monetary terms, which initially appears attractive to employers. However, it’s crucial to consider the broader indirect costs:
- Time investment: One of the most significant costs is the time spent sifting through applications, some of which were encouraged to apply so they could collect benefits.
- Recruitment challenges: Experience shows a higher proportion of applicants from the Jobcentre either do not respond to communications, fail to attend interviews, or accept a job offer but don’t start. Each scenario wastes time and money.
- Quality of candidates: Fewer applicants will be Great Performers. This could lead to hiring employees who might not meet the Minimum Acceptable Standards, thereby incurring costs related to poor productivity, increased management oversight, and potentially frequent turnover.
- Long-term financial impacts: Over time, the cumulative effect of failing to recruit Great Performers can be substantial. Frequent hiring of Poor Performers impacts training, rehiring, and reduces productivity.
Do employers have any guarantees when using the Jobcentre?
Because the Jobcentre doesn’t charge and is just advertising, it doesn’t offer any guarantees of successfully filling a job.
How to advertise with the Jobcentre
The Jobcentre operates like an online job site. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it:
- Register as an employer: This can typically be done online through the Jobcentre Employer Direct service, or a similar platform managed by the DWP.
- Create a job advert: Provide details about the job, such as the job title, description, location, salary, type of contract (full-time, part-time, temporary, etc.), and any specific requirements or qualifications needed.
- Submit for review: The Jobcentre may review the job listing to ensure it meets its guidelines and standards. This ensures the job is legitimate, fairly described, and meets legal employment standards. Often, this is a formality for new employers, and subsequent job adverts are immediately approved.
- Approval and posting: Once a job advert is approved, it will be posted on the Jobcentre’s online job board.
- Communicate with applicants: The Jobcentre’s online system typically allows employers to receive and shortlist applications and communicate with applicants directly.
- Ongoing management: Employers can manage job listings, update them, or remove them when the positions are filled, all through the same online system.
<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tips:</span> I adapt my recruitment process slightly:<ul><li>Telephone Interviews are even more important to avoid time-wasters. While I make a few attempts to contact applicants, I reject them if they don’t respond after one text, one voicemail, and one email.</li><li>When arranging interviews, I am very assertive and don’t accept excuses for being late, and don’t give second chances.</li><li>At the interview, I make a simple point, “You won’t have to beg me to get paid on time. Therefore, I won’t beg you to turn up on time and do your job. Do you understand?”</li><li>Finally, when performance managing staff, I dismiss much sooner. I won’t tolerate anyone who compromises the company culture and values and doesn’t meet reasonable standards.</li></ul></span>
Additional Resources
More help and advice are available including:
- Recruiting Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment - How to Recruitment Great Employees.
- Downloadable PDF guide; The Reality of Jobcentre Advertising: More Hassle than it’s Worth?
- Article; An Overview of JobCentre Advertising for Employers.
- Article; Advantages & Disadvantages of Using JobCentre Plus for Recruiting Staff.
The secrets of great recruitment
The Secrets of Great Recruitment is a top-seller. It is easy to read and wastes no time in giving powerful actionable strategies you can use straight away.
