Holly (HR Manager)

As the HR Manager you would think that I would not have much contact with our Tenants at Hilton Community Services, but you would be wrong! Hilton is very passionate about enabling their Tenants to have choice in all aspects of their lives and that includes the staff that support them.

Throughout my years of recruiting support workers I have been well assisted by the Tenants to recruit the staff that they feel would support them best. Their involvement in the recruitment process helps us to choose the candidates that will provide each individual Tenant with the quality of support that best meets their individual needs.

It is our aim to ensure that we recruit staff that best ‘match’ our Tenants needs and what better way to do this but to work with and support the Tenants to attend recruitment interviews. Hilton empowers the Tenants to be a part of the interviews as much as possible. Many different Tenants have supported me in the interview process, some of whom have asked all the questions.

When arranging interviews a local operational manager and I will meet with the Tenant to discuss our plan for the day and agree what kind of candidate(s) we hope to recruit. We are always on the lookout for candidates with a great attitude and who are passionate about supporting people with a learning disability. Sometimes our Tenants will advise us on what extra qualities they would like from a candidate, for example someone who is a good cook or enjoys outdoor activities. We will then go through all the agreed interview questions with each candidate and write our own notes, including the Tenant. We support the Tenants to do this with pictures and helpful scoring tools. Once all the candidates have been seen the panel will each give their views on each candidate. The Tenant’s input at each interview session is crucial to the outcome. After the interview session we take the Tenant out for a meal as a means of thanking them for their time and input. We encourage Tenants to participate in interviews as much as possible as their opinions and choices are what really matter to us.

It gives me great pleasure to support the Tenants at interviews and to encourage them to make decisions on who they want to support them. I enjoy this part of my job immensely as I feel it makes a real difference to their lives. I hope the Tenants get as much enjoyment as I do out of participating in the recruitment process. I am sure at least some do as on many occasions when I have visited the services Tenants have asked me when we are next doing interviews! I really enjoy hearing from the Tenants about their daily lives, they always tell me about all the activities they are doing and all the things they have achieved since I last saw them. I think this shows that our focus – to empower, enable and encourage every Tenant to live a happy, fulfilled and independent life – is making a real difference to them.