Overview
Hyperlocal recruitment involves targeting prospective candidates within a specific geographical area. This works particularly well with entry-level roles and has seen significant benefits in overcoming socio-economic barriers and improving inclusive recruitment practices where you can add a more personalised approach on a smaller scale.
Here are some examples of what this looks like in practice:
- Community support workers connecting job-seekers to roles
- Local job fairs (in smaller areas such as council wards/boroughs)
- Advertising roles in community spaces, such as cafes, libraries and job centres
- Engaging with local community groups
- Targeting social media campaigns to a specific demographic or group
Key challenges
- Delivering dedicated targeted recruitment initiatives to several small geographical areas takes dedicated resource and capacity, which isn’t always available
- Traditional recruitment methods are not reaching diverse range of people and marginalises those that struggle with transport etc.
- Changing the organisational culture of traditional recruitment methods
- Continued issues around long-term sustainability of staff and retention plans
Benefits
- Helps support the local economy with improved employment rates
- ‘Growing your own’ model initiatives helps build social value
- Easier for job-seekers to find work close to where they live
- Attracts candidates, who wouldn’t usually apply through traditional channels, resulting in improved EDI statistics
- Local people supported in an Anchor Institution have higher retention rates overall
Takeaway tips
Join forces with local supporting organisations
Join forces with volunteering infrastructure organisations, community support officers and Jobcentre Plus career staff. They work closely with local individuals, who are looking to upskill and work for a local employer, and can provide you with excellent source of candidates (See Supporting Organisations for more information).
Hold localised job fairs
Either host your own or join forces with key partners to target more specific areas/spaces or different cohorts of people within the community.
For example, Bury locality has seen success with its Path to Employment events, working with its local adult learning centre to engage with people who don’t speak English as their first language. They’ve been able to offer same-day job interviews with public sector organisations looking to fill vacancies or educational agencies offering pre-employment courses.
Advertise your roles within local community spaces
Printing flyers, posters and leaflets is a simple and effective way of advertising and attracting new employees, especially if you post details of your vacancies in places where ideal candidates will see them.
For example, the Step into Care campaign involved distributing leaflets with a cover letter to community spaces, such as local community centre notice boards, faith group halls, shopping centres, newsagents, hair salons, dentists, health centres and GP practices.
Engage with local community groups
Engage via social media, face-to-face or both. Meet with local community groups to explore the barriers and needs within the local area.
For example, The Northern Care Alliance (NCA) has dedicated outreach team members, who speak to local and wider faith groups. These personalised conversations enable the NCA to better understand the local community and their needs about how best to support them as a provider and a potential employer.
Person-centred approach
Hyperlocal recruitment is a unique opportunity to recruit in smaller numbers and creates more in-depth and detailed conversations with people from within local communities.
For example, Manchester Care Org held a local recruitment event in Trafford and tailored their interviews to individuals’ needs. Individuals with childcare requirements were seen first and a quiet room was provided for people with anxiety or more neurodiverse issues.
Useful links and resources
- NHS Employers – Recruiting from your local community
- Anchor institutions and how they can affect people’s health insight from The King’s Fund
- The benefits of hiring locally – Forbes article
Next » Advertising and application forms
Advertising roles in the right place and in the right way is key to encouraging people to apply and remain engaged throughout the recruitment process.