Wiltshire Police
Wiltshire Police, serves 722,000 people over an area of 1,346 square miles. In terms of officer numbers, it is the second smallest force in the United Kingdom.
Wiltshire Police actively recruits around 360 new individuals each year to strengthen their force. This includes approximately 200 volume hires for crucial frontline and support roles like police constables (through both degree and non-degree routes), Special Constables, Call Handlers, and Detention Officers, alongside roughly 160 non-volume hires which cover a mix of internal transfers, experienced officers, and essential corporate services positions.
Industry
Public Sector
Main Challenges
Manual processes that were inefficient
Key benefit
Streamlined processes
Wiltshire Police harnesses talent acquisition software to optimise recruitment efforts
What did Wiltshire Police require?
The key requirements and issues that needed to be addressed were:
- Improving the low rate at which positions were being filled.
- The cost associated with recruiting new employees needed to be decreased.
- The TA&WFP team was viewed as purely administrative and lacked credibility within the organisation.
- The team needed to be given the tools and authority to perform effectively.
- The process for candidates applying to Wiltshire Police needed significant improvement.
- The overall quality and efficiency of the TA&WFP services needed to be elevated.
How Wiltshire Police Achieved Their Goals
Wiltshire Police successfully transformed their Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning (TA&WFP) team. Here’s how they achieved their impressive results:
- Strategic High-Volume Recruitment: Managing a significant intake of approximately 360 new individuals annually across diverse officer and staff roles, from Constables to corporate services.
- Leveraging Dedicated Talent Acquisition Software: Harnessing advanced ATS technology to optimise and streamline their overall recruitment efforts.
- Optimized ATS Implementation: Achieving improved Oleeo ATS use through a thorough re-implementation and continuous configuration work.
- Empowering Users and Integration: Providing comprehensive training and GSA appointments, which enabled hiring manager self-service and seamless system integration.
- Strong Partnerships & Internal Leadership: Fostering better relations with the Oleeo team and empowering their own internal team to lead and embed continuous change within the recruitment process.
The Outstanding Results
The transformation of the Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning team at Wiltshire Police delivered significant and measurable successes, exceeding initial strategic objectives:
- Non-Volume Time to Offer (TTO) was reduced from 50 to 40 network days.
- Volume fulfillment increased from 80% to 90%, with a forecast to reach 96% in the next financial year.
- TA&WFP consistently maintains 95% data accuracy in Oleeo, demonstrating strong compliance.
- The team’s credibility led to the business proactively requesting integration of additional processes into Oleeo, such as Establishment Control Board and Non-Competitive Moves, for improved efficiency and audit trails.
- There’s a notable increase in internal employees seeking promotions within the team, those on fixed-term contracts seeking permanent roles, and employees from other areas expressing interest in joining.
- Proactive use of the Oleeo and self-configuration resulted in a 1400% increase in support cases handled internally and a minimum saving of £14,812.
- The transformation led to a positive onboarding experience for new applicants and reduced gapped posts in critical areas like the Crime Communications Centre, significantly boosting public trust and confidence.
- Notable success in initiatives like Detective Resilience and the ICIDP campaign, which saw 19 applications (the highest ever for Wiltshire at one time), demonstrated improved talent attraction.
The Future
Our transformation isn’t a one and done project, it’s an evolving strategy that will continue to enhance candidate experience, support talent retention, promote employer brand and ultimately continue to help keep Wiltshire safe whilst supporting public trust and confidence.
“This change programme has been more than just a structural or process change – it has been a cultural shift that has transformed the way we operate, think and deliver results. What sets us apart is that this wasn’t a simple transactional adjustment; it was a people centric innovation that prioritised training, capability and confidence building.”
Michelle Dring
Head of Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning, Wiltshire Police