The challenge
D4 Drivers is the UK’s largest provider of driver medicals and offer medical assessments on behalf of the DVLA. The doctors it employs are responsible for completing D4 medical forms – which determine whether drivers are medically fit and well to drive a bus or a lorry.
Reed initially worked with D4 drivers back in 2019 to help the company recruit doctors on a locum basis. After the success of filling these placements, it reached out to Reed again in 2021, during the pandemic, due to a sudden uplift in demand and a growing backlog of assessments across the country.
“We recognised that to achieve our target of recruiting a high number of doctors, we needed an agency to assist us”, said a spokesperson for D4 Drivers.
As the business had previously been impressed with Reed’s service, it agreed to partner with us on an exclusive basis, but it was looking for a fast and cost-effective solution to its needs.
The solution
Emma Gillespie, Senior Executive Recruitment Consultant at Reed, took the lead on the recruitment for D4 Drivers. She engaged in a long discussion about its requirements, how it wanted to approach recruitment, and what its budget was, before coming up with a bespoke solution.
D4 Drivers wanted to handle most of the recruitment process itself, including scheduling interviews, making offers, and keeping the candidates engaged during the process, but was looking to Reed to source the best professionals to kickstart the process. Due to this, we agreed to source the doctors at a reduced fixed-rate finder’s fee.
In order to find the best doctors, Emma recognised the importance of pre-screening each candidates’ credentials to ensure she was only recommending those who had the correct GMC Doctor registrations. “It was important that I understood the exact requirements needed for the job. This was a new type of vacancy, so I spoke at length with D4 Drivers to ensure I had all the information needed to source only the most suitable doctors.”
Emma kept in constant contact with the candidates to ensure they were engaged throughout the process, regularly updating D4 Drivers on the doctors sourced. While the company was happy to conduct most of the onboarding itself, Emma was on hand to help with gathering details for compliance checks where needed.
The results
Reed was able to successfully source nine doctors for D4 Drivers at a reduced rate to conduct driver medical assessments during the pandemic.
D4 Drivers was extremely happy with the service provided, a spokesperson said: “Emma immediately understood our requirements and started sending doctors to us to onboard. Her dedication to finding the right candidates for our business has been instrumental in our success this year. We have been so impressed with the service and pricing that we have passed Reed’s details on to other companies in our group who are now engaging their services.” From this recommendation, Reed was successfully able to place a surgeon in a private healthcare clinic.
“The doctors have been very happy with the sessions and enjoying the work they are doing. It has been a very successful recruitment drive and I am happy that we were able to help them with the driver shortage crisis during the pandemic”, Emma noted.
