3 minute read
Posted by Emily Hill on 13 December 2024
The Efficiency Spotlight Report from the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection highlights critical challenges in the prison service, including the high attrition rate of 13.4% as of June 2023. The report cites a significant factor contributing to the elevated attrition rate is the misalignment between candidates’ expectations and the realities of prison work.
To tackle the candidate expectation gap and enhance hiring accuracy, Mitie—one of the strategic outsourcing partners for the prison service- is revamping the recruitment process for prison workers.
Part of this operation includes ThriveMap’s Realistic Job Assessments (RJAs) in its new hiring process. RJAs aim to bridge the gap between candidate expectations and job realities by:
ThriveMap’s RJAs are bespoke to the role and company. By using insights from current employees and subject matter experts, ThriveMap creates immersive assessments that simulate real job scenarios. This process helps candidates self-assess their fit while enabling recruiters to identify the best-suited individuals.
The process involves a series of steps designed to ensure accuracy, relevance, and effectiveness:
In previous projects, RJAs have successfully reduced attrition by 10% to 40%, a critical improvement in environments like prisons, where stability is essential for both operational efficiency and prisoner rehabilitation efforts.
Innovative approaches like ThriveMap’s RJAs offer a path forward by ensuring prison workers are better prepared, more committed, and aligned with the realities of the role.
By addressing early attrition, organisations like Mitie are helping to build a more stable and effective workforce, ultimately improving outcomes for staff, prisoners, and the broader community.
For more on recruitment and retention in the UK prison service, you can view the full report here.
Subscribe for insights, debunks and what amounts to a free, up-to-date recruitment toolkit.
ThriveMap creates customised assessments for high volume roles, which take candidates through an online “day in the life” experience of work in your company. Our assessments have been proven to reduce staff turnover, reduce time to hire, and improve quality of hire.
Not sure what type of assessment is right for your business? Read our guide.
The way organisations hire, develop, and structure their workforce is changing. With job titles becoming less predictive of performance and traditional CVs offering limited insight, more companies are shifting towards becoming skills-based organisations. But what does that actually mean, and how do you get there? Let’s break it down and explore how ThriveMap can support […]
Continue reading
When 19-year-old Lewis applied for a warehouse job in Manchester, the process seemed straightforward: a quick online application form, an on-site interview, and a promise of full-time work. Three weeks in, he quit. The job was nothing like he imagined it to be. Lewis isn’t alone. Across the country, entry-level candidates are stepping into roles […]
Continue reading
Work sampling assessments can be a powerful way to predict how candidates will perform in a role—but only if they’re well designed. When implemented poorly, they can backfire, creating a frustrating experience for candidates and hiring teams alike. Let’s look at the common pitfalls when implementing work samples, what a well-executed work sample looks like, […]
Continue reading