Have you ever wondered what actually happens on a typical day in the SocialWork 2000 offices? No one knows better than Maggie Whymark who has clocked up over 8 years of experience with us and has set the standards for Recruitment in an industry which has undergone many changes during that time. This is an excellent article which Maggie has penned and truly encapsulates the highs lows and challenges faced by our team of Recruitment Advisers.

The day starts with six new jobs having arrived via email overnight. A lot of local authorities now use an automated system that generates orders sent to all agencies on their preferred supplier list. I alert all the Recruitment Advisers and put the jobs on our database. At least one of these jobs will suit several of my candidates so I call to make sure they are interested and put their CV’s forward.

Time to make a quick coffee and chat to the others in the team as they come in. I call one of my locums to find out how her job interview went yesterday afternoon. She thinks it went well and would accept the post if it was offered to her. She’s an excellent worker so I’m sure she will have been successful. Calls start coming in from our clients with new posts available. I update the jobs on the website and send text alerts to locums who have registered for information on new jobs as they come in.

Post arrives and there are several GSCC re-registration applications from our locum social workers that need verifying and countersigning. I’m impressed by their PRTL records – such a wide variety of training and learning opportunities have been accessed.

I get a call from our finance dept to tell me which timesheets are outstanding this week. We want to ensure everybody is paid on time so we send texts to locums to remind them to send in their timesheets.

We still receive calls directly from Managers in some authorities, and a Manager of a Children’s Team who knows us well phones me. He is looking for an experienced social worker to start as soon as possible. We talk about the role and I tell him I have the perfect candidate. It’s true – I do! I call a locum I interviewed recently. The job is just what she is looking for and I email her CV over right away together with her references and confirmation of her CRB. The Manager calls back within minutes to set up an interview.

A call comes in about the interview yesterday afternoon with excellent feedback from the Manager. They want to know when the locum can start. I call her – she’s delighted and can start on Monday. I confirm this to the Manager then complete the contracts. She’ll be there for at least three months, possibly six.

Late morning I leave to attend a locum placement review. We can’t do as many reviews as we used to due to contract restrictions but where we can we like to meet the locum at their place of work with their Manager or supervisor for a short meeting to check that the contract is running well on both sides. Both the locum and her Manager are pleased with work to date, supervision is happening regularly and the Manager is encouraging of the locum accessing training alongside her permanent colleagues. Afterwards, I get a chance to chat with her over lunch. She has worked for SocialWork 2000 for nearly three years now. We talk about work and family and the next SocialWork 2000 social event – a theatre night and she’s looking forward to attending.

Back at the office there are responses to the CV’s forwarded for jobs this morning. The client wants to see two of the three candidates. I arrange interview dates and times and send confirmation to all parties by email.

Mid afternoon I attend a regional meeting to discuss local PQ developments and the national framework. SocialWork 2000 is one of several agencies committed to the continued professional development of independent social workers but it is disappointing to see a national agenda that continually marginalises and discriminates against them. For example, independent social workers working through their own limited companies who source their work through recruitment agencies are unable to receive Skills for Care bursaries for PQ training and I raise this and other issues with the GSCC and Skills for Care on a regular basis.

I return to the office where the team are upbeat. It’s Friday and the donuts arrive to give us all a last minute sugar rush! A social worker thinking about locum work calls for advice. I tell her the truth. Locum work can be a fantastic way to work. There are some great work opportunities out there and if you’re flexible, professional, adaptable and reliable you’re likely to stay in regular work. It doesn’t suit everybody though. There is no security, and if you chose to work through a limited company no paid holiday either! But if you can accept all that and have a company like SocialWork 2000 behind you it can be a truly liberating career choice.