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Improving organisation agility with a strategic workforce solution

Default Author • Jan 01, 2021

Overview:


For nearly 4 years, Edmen has served as the primary frontline staffing provider and workforce solution for a reputable Out of Home Care provider in Queensland.


Infinity Community Solutions Ltd is a social purpose organisation that provides high-quality Therapeutic Residential Care, kinship and foster care support services as well as NDIS support services for children and young people.

Client Scenario:


As a non-government provider of Out of Home Care, Infinity operates in a predominately fee-for-service funded environment. Fluctuations in staffing demand are frequent and change is constant in the sector. Quality of care, compliance and safety standards drive business decisions and result in time-intensive hiring processes for frontline staff, therefore Infinity needed a genuine staffing partner who was well versed in the complexities of community service delivery; one that adopted a different model to the typical labour-hire agency and could act as an extension of Infinity’s brand and organisation.

An integrated workforce solution


Edmen Community Staffing Solutions provides Infinity a complete end-to-end workforce management solution. There is a dedicated Edmen team that supports nearly every staffing function from recruitment and rostering, performance management, emergency and after hours staffing, payroll and administration. Core services include:

  • Frontline worker recruitment: Sourcing, recruitment and screening of skilled Youth Support Workers (Care Practitioners) are core components of Edmen’s strategic partnership with Infinity. Edmen Recruitment Consultants find, recruit, screen and interview frontline workers. If emergency staff are required by Infinity – say for after-hours support or last-minute shifts – Edmen’s after-hours team can accommodate requests in short time frames if the need arises.

  • Probity and rostering: Edmen works with Infinity to ensure candidates meet regulatory requirements and internal staffing standards, which includes pre-service training at Infinity’s assessment centres. Once candidates have been screened, processed and selected by Edmen, they are trained by Infinity and orientated at the residential houses. Edmen rosters staff on a weekly basis using purpose-built rostering technology, achieving a streamlined experience for Infinity’s frontline workforce.

  • Remote care response teams: Another important component of the partnership is enabling Infinity’s remote care responses. Edmen’s extensive candidate pool and national reach, enable Infitity to deploy Youth Support Workers across the state. For instance, if a child in Brisbane has family has in another part of the state, Edmen is engaged to arrange a Youth Worker – this could be on a short-term basis or for family reunification or initial support.

Client Benefits:

Less administrative work and improved cashflow


By partnering with Edmen, Infinity has been able to reduce recruitment pressures like processing applications, filling shifts and running mass interviews. Outsourcing frontline staffing functions like sourcing, rostering, performance management, probity and payroll allows Infinity’s leadership staff to save time and focus more on value-adding work.


Along with time-saving benefits, Infinity has been able to grow rapidly since founded 4 years ago – expanding from 6 houses to 14 in 2020 alone. This growth been attributed in part to cashflow benefits realised through the workforce partnership. For example, without the need to finance fortnightly payroll for frontline employees, Infinity can claim government funding prior to paying Edmen and reduce cashflow risks.

 

A flexible, integrated workforce


In addition to saving time and reducing the administrative burden, the partnership has enabled Infinity to maintain a contingent workforce with flexible clauses – something CEO, Shelley Wall, says they would not have necessarily been able to do themselves. More than just a labour-hire agency, Edmen serves as an integral workforce partner to compliments Infinity’s frontline workforce by providing additional support and supervision.


“The strength of the Partnership works because Edmen works as a complimentary workforce solution, but it’s still our responsibility to ensure those people are properly prepared and embedded to represent our organisation. And that’s why it works. They’re not just agency workers who are there to fill in some hours, they are a genuine component of our workforce.”

– CEO Infinity Community Solutions, Shelley Wall

Cost savings and increased responsiveness


A key value driver in the partnership is Infinity’s ability to respond to resource demands and form care teams around children, particularly when specialised staff are required at a moment’s notice. Edmen’s national pool of Youth Support Workers enables Infinity to mobilise care responses in locations outside of usual service areas, without additional costs and large work cover premiums.


'When talking about this benefit Shelley says “We don’t have additional relocation costs – its very flexible and we’re always confident when the department talks about a difficult child protection case that we could come up with a solution. I know we have an arsenal that others don’t have.”

 

Need a staffing partner for your community service organisation? Get in touch to learn how Edmen’s workforce solutions can help optimise your service delivery and grow your organisation.


Edmen Community Staffing Solutions Blog

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