Staff Recruitment and Retention

Background

The States of Jersey collectively employ around 14% of the Island’s working population (8,834 staff at 31 December 2023).  These staff are a mixture of full-time and part-time and permanent and fixed-term contract, and are supplemented by agency and locum staff and consultants where considered necessary.  In 2023, the States of Jersey Group spent £593 million on staff costs which represented 34% of total Group expenditure.

Over the past four years staff numbers (both headcount and full-time equivalent staff numbers) have risen.  The reported percentage of working time lost to sickness has risen slightly and the turnover percentage has ranged between 8% and 9.2%.

More generally, there are challenges in the local labour market in Jersey.  In the period 2020 to 2023, average earnings across all sectors have decreased in real terms by 4.6%.

One of the stated priorities of the States Employment Board is ‘the delivery of the strategic workforce plan with a particular focus on the production of associated departmental workforce, resourcing and succession plans so that recruitment and retention of staff in critical frontline services are best managed’ (States Employment Board Annual Report 2023).

The States of Jersey are in the process of implementing and enhancing a new system – Talent Acquisition – to support recruitment.  There is also a new job site on which vacancies are published.

Scope

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the States of Jersey’s recruitment, retention and development of capability required to undertake the States’ core activities.

The audit will review States-wide arrangements and procedures as well as procedures used by a sample of departments and for a sample of professions.  The sample of departments will include:

• Children, Young People, Education and Skills
• Health and Community Services; and
• Infrastructure and Environment.

The audit will complement but will not duplicate reviews undertaken or planned by other organisations such as the Jersey Care Commission and the Jersey Appointments Commission.