The challenge
Two days after the United Kingdom went into a national lockdown, Reed was initially contacted by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) to urgently source 12 emergency call handlers.
However, within three weeks of the request, the trust had a vastly increased need for call handlers, raising the number required, all of whom were needed in various locations across the East of England. EEAST would require new call handlers in cohorts of between 12 and 24, Reed received five days’ notice to source suitable candidates and they needed to start socially distanced training the following week. The number of call handlers needed eventually rose to 150. EEAST highlighted those desirable candidates should have a focus on personal skills, a willingness to learn and that their ability to deal with stressful situations was more important than their CV.
Reed reacted quickly and professionally, responding to out-of-hours calls across the Christmas and bank holiday period and adapting quickly to fulfil our requirements, under the midst of lockdown restrictions.
Chief Operating Officer at the East of England Ambulance Service
The solution
To attract the number of candidates required in such a short time, Reed put steps in place to help guarantee a seamless process, including the appointment of an internal coordinator to act as a single point of call, while also selecting a wider team of internal NHS consultants who would be dedicated to sourcing the candidates.
The team also worked closely with the internal framework and compliance team, so all government-approved fast-track screening was completed in full - ensuring any required virtual registrations, meetings or documents were obtained swiftly.
Once the processes were in place, we began pushing out information relating to the role to our network of contacts, created online content to share on LinkedIn and Facebook, and implemented a brand advertising campaign on reed.co.uk using a key worker banner to ensure the vacancies was getting maximum exposure.
This resulted in the role being widely shared across multiple channels, creating an expansive, diverse candidate pool.
Reed also supported the trust with onboarding, including the communication and coordination of training, ensuring all sessions followed social distancing rules. To create a seamless experience, Reed designed an internal tracking system to coordinate the following:
Organise training schedules for the candidates
Support Covid-19 secure environments
Provide information on training and compliance progress
The results
Reed filled all 150 emergency call handler roles within the required timeframe. The importance of the role amid a pandemic attracted candidates from a variety of backgrounds, many of whom were individuals who were recently made redundant or who had been on the job retention scheme, including: managing directors, hospitality workers, retail staff, and air hostesses.
Marcus Bailey, Chief Operating Officer at the East of England Ambulance Service, was pleased with the service we provided. He said: “Reed reacted quickly and professionally, responding to out-of-hours calls across the Christmas and bank holiday period and adapting quickly to fulfil our requirements, under the midst of lockdown restrictions.”
Through successfully filling the roles, Reed continues to support the trust in sourcing excellent professionals for emergency call handler positions and other related roles, such as Covid patient transportation and Covid testing coordinators.
