21.03.13
IT recruitment in the changing NHS
Guest blog by Don Tomlinson.
I have worked solely with the NHS since I founded max20 some 12 years ago. Many things over that period remained stable, constant, and I would never have expected all the changes we are seeing today even a short few years ago.
The radical overhaul, which will see PCTs completely phased out by the end of this month, is heralding a real change in outlook as well as structure.
Let me start with the subject area I know best: recruitment.
We used to have to tell talented professionals that unless they had NHS experience the likelihood was that they wouldn’t have a realistic chance of securing work.
This view was very much my and my team’s opinion as little as year ago.
A survey we conducted in November last year confirmed that this view was prevalent amongst non-NHS professionals as well. Some 69% of IT professionals had wanted to work in the NHS, but approaching half had not acted as it was seen as a fruitless exercise.
Today, many positions look favourably on commercial sector experience. Skilled business analysts, project managers and transformation specialists are in demand and the experience gained in a financial or professional services environment can give candidates a real edge.
The term that I think best reflects the change is commercial (in outlook).
We are seeing our clients; mainly senior post holders that make hiring decisions, adopt this outlook with some conviction.
It is amongst other things about collaboration and identifying opportunities to rollout programmes outside their immediate organisation.
The changes with CCGs and CSUs are happening now, but the changes actually go further back as talented NHS professionals who welcome this change start to attain positions of greater responsibility. If we include more senior professionals coming from outside, as well as NHS professionals adapting to the new strategic direction, there is the grounding for a successful transition.
Don Tomlinson is managing director of dedicated IT NHS recruitment agency max20
