Derbyshire Council

Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. It has 64 councillors representing 61 divisions. They pride themselves on being great employers in order to attract the best employees, so they can deliver high quality services to people in the region.   

Derbyshire County Council have joined the YPO frameworks in 2023. Comensura have an existing relationship with Derbyshire County Council, having managed their contingent workforce and associated payroll since 2007. Together, Comensura and YPO have been responsible for providing agency and temporary staff so that Derbyshire County Council can maintain essential services to their constituents.    

There is a significant skills gap across the UK and Derbyshire is no exception. Staff shortages in healthcare, social services, logistics and planning have a serious impact on a local authority’s capacity to deliver services and reduces their ability to help central government meet key pledges.  

Derbyshire County Council were looking to take a more collaborative and organised approach to sustainable employment, with a focus on finding local, available talent. They also wanted to help local people without the immediately required skills but who have the potential to develop and find employment within the local authority.  The initiative needed to be cost and time efficient in its approach, but with a long-term outlook to ensure sustainable pricing and good levels of retention.  

Although this needed to be delivered quickly, the council were committed to taking the initial time needed to ensure they found the right partner - one that offers both the most competitive pricing and best value and delivers the outcomes they require. As a result, they started the selection process 12 months before the program was set to start, speaking to the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) and Comensura about their options.