Top tips for attracting staff who share your values

Before you advertise, think about what types of people you want to reach and recruit.

• Is there a particular demographic or type of experience that you want to add to your team?
• What matters most to these people?
• How could you sell your values to them so they would want to apply for your posts?

There are lots of ways to get people to apply for roles – and different methods will attract different people. You could try using:

• job boards and recruitment websites
• your own website
• local papers, local shops and community noticeboards
• social media (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn)
• career fairs
• open days
• employee referral schemes.

Think about staff you’ve recruited who have shown your workplace values and behaviours in their work. Where did those staff come from and what kind of advertising attracted them?

Ask your existing staff what it was about your adverts that sold your culture and values to them so you can use those messages in your adverts. 

Have different adverts for different roles and to appeal to the values and motivations of the different groups you want to target.  

In your job adverts, share your values and what makes your workplace and children’s home unique.

Ask questions to make a connection between your workplace values and their values.

In your adverts, and the information in recruitment packs and on your website, use real-life examples of staff putting your values into practice.

For example, you could include case study of a residential child care worker making a difference to the life of a child or young person through their work.  

If experience isn’t necessary for the role, make this clear in your advert. Let people know that you’re looking for someone with the right values and behaviours and that the right candidate will be supported to learn any necessary skills.

Don’t be afraid to specify when a qualification or experience is essential.

Think about what you want people to do in response to your advert, and how your recruitment process can give them a chance to experience your values and culture. 

• Do you want people to phone for an informal chat or will that be difficult to resource? 
• Would it be easier to run a ‘drop-in’ coffee morning where you could chat with potential candidates in an informal setting? 
• If you have a value of respect and compassion, how will the process respect them, their time and the information they share with you?
• How could you share information about:
  • what’s happening in your workplace?
  • your values in action?
  • your stories of success?
  • keeping in touch with candidates between the various stages of the recruitment and vetting process?  

If it’s relevant to the post, include a statement indicating that you’ll need to do a criminal record check and what level they need to do. 

This is an opportunity for you to show that you’re living up to your values (such as safeguarding and respecting their information) as part of your organisational commitment to safeguarding and being child-centred.

Social care, especially children’s, can be perceived as a career for women.

Adverts and person specifications which use words such as ‘nurturing’ may appeal more to women than men. 

This gender decoder tool can help neutralise the language you’re using in your adverts.

The WeCare Wales recruitment campaign features men and why they chose to work in Residential Children’s Care. 

You can also include a statement showing your commitment to inclusion and making adaptions to make sure disabled and neurodivergent candidates can share their values with you in a way that meets their needs.

Here are some examples of adverts you could use to attract staff who share your workplace values.