CARE provider Belong has hired more than 100 staff across its seven state-of-the-art villages following a successful recruitment campaign, including 26 roles at its Loushers Lane site.

A shortened application process by the increased use of technology has enabled the dementia specialist to reduce its average time from application to appointment to just four days.

By carrying out interviews via video calling and accepting identification and DBS documentation via messaging apps, the time taken to appoint and certify new staff has been greatly reduced.

Mel Saywell, project manager at Belong, who headed-up the campaign, said: “The current crisis has really increased people’s awareness of the vital role of care workers in our society and we were pleased to receive a large volume of applications.

"We have a very personal approach to recruiting and when engaging with applicants, the overwhelming response was that people just want to help, it’s very heartening.

“The use of technology has supported us in evaluating applicants quickly to identify those who share our values, and reduced the administration time needed to process paperwork. For example, the flexibility offered by video call interviews meant more could be held outside office hours, which is convenient to shift workers."

A total of 130 positions have been filled across Belong’s dementia friendly villages in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Staffordshire, including nurses, support workers, housekeepers and hospitality staff.

Belong has also enjoyed success after reaching out to more than 1,000 former colleagues, with a number re-joining the business on a temporary basis to offer support whilst the health crisis continues.

Mel added: “By fulfilling our recruitment needs, we have returned to less reliance on agency staff, with permanent colleagues guaranteeing continuity of care, which is particularly vital at this critical time and when working with those who have dementia.

“Amongst the new appointments, we’ve created a new recruitment officer post to continue this important work and help attract more high calibre candidates as the organisation expands to serve new communities.

"We look forward to welcoming new members of the team and helping them realise their career aspirations with us.”