Celebrating One Year with Leonard Cheshire: Where Technology Meets Care
How a phased start grew into a partnership where more than 1 in 2 interviews ends in an offer.
A year ago, Leonard Cheshire and ResourceBank set out on a journey in health and social care: moving high volume care recruitment to a technology-led approach, built around the people who deliver care. We started with a phased approach, settled in and got to know the services. Today, more than one in two interviews ends in an offer.
On the 1st November 2026, we celebrated our first anniversary. Here’s how the partnership took shape.
Recruiting for care at scale? Let’s talk about what a partnership could look like for you
The Challenge: High Volume Care Recruitment in a Competitive Market
Like many care organisations, Leonard Cheshire was recruiting in a highly competitive market, with ongoing pressure around vacancies and the cost of using temporary agency workers to maintain staffing levels.
The charity wanted a recruitment partner who could:
- Increase direct hiring
- Reduce reliance on temporary agency workers
- Improve recruitment speed and consistency
- Support operational managers more effectively
- Deliver a positive candidate experience
They were also ready to bring new technology into the business, through a more scalable, embedded partnership where technology and human support work side by side. That’s what brought them to ResourceBank.
But it wasn’t just about attracting more candidates. In a market where application volumes can be high, typically around 75% of applications are unsuitable. Screening that volume would place significant pressure on already busy hiring managers, taking them away from the day-to-day running of their services. Taking that burden away, while ensuring the right candidates move through the process, has become one of the biggest impacts of the partnership.
Building the Foundations
The partnership began with a phased start before the official launch on 1st of November. We built a dedicated team, working as the Leonard Cheshire recruitment team, powered by ResourceBank. The first few months were about embedding in: learning how each service works, meeting the operational leaders and agreeing where recruitment support was needed most.
We launched with nearly 200 vacancies, which meant adapting fast. We scaled up our resource, reviewed and adjusted our process to increase efficiency, and got more candidates through the recruitment journey. We built strong foundations, and we’re not afraid to keep driving improvement.
Putting Technology to Work
This is Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch recruitment in practice. Care roles attract high volumes of applications, and AI-powered screening helps us filter through them quickly, pick out the strongest candidates and take that first round of screening off hiring managers. It also removes the need for screening calls, so candidates get a quicker response. The technology supports our recruiters, it doesn’t replace them. People make the hiring decisions, and our team spends its time on the conversations that matter.
We have also improved the recruitment platform. Hiring managers now see better vacancy information and interview dates, candidate tracking is clearer and there are dedicated lists for active and past onboarding, with more to come.
Taking Recruitment Local
Some services are harder to recruit for than others. Targeted open days and local social media campaigns put Leonard Cheshire’s care services in front of the right people in hard-to-fill locations, and two recruitment events produced a strong run of offers. For high volume care recruitment, that local focus matters. The campaigns also raised the charity’s visibility on Facebook and Instagram. One Deputy Manager told us how proud they were to see their service and the Leonard Cheshire brand across social media.
The Results So Far
Between January and September:
- 54% interview-to-offer rate
- 37% reduction in application-to-shortlist time
Managers are meeting the right people sooner, and most of the people they meet are ones they want to hire.
A Partnership Built on Data and Conversation
We work alongside Leonard Cheshire’s operational leaders, with regular conversations and data-led insight. Together we decide where recruitment effort is needed most, tackle problems early and support services as they grow.
The Outcome
- 39,000+ applications managed, with high volume care recruitment handled by a dedicated team working as part of their own, powered by ResourceBank
- A 54% interview-to-offer rate, with more than one in two interviews ending in an offer
- Application-to-shortlist time reduced by 37%
- Less reliance on temporary agency workers, through stronger direct hiring
- Screening technology that filters high volume applications and frees hiring managers to focus on running their services, while people make the decisions
- Local campaigns that reach candidates in hard-to-fill locations
Experience Across Health and Social Care
Leonard Cheshire is one of several care organisations we have supported. From high volume care recruitment to specialist roles that are harder to fill, we understand what it takes to hire people who bring compassion to their work, often in hard-to-reach locations. We have also supported Affinity Trust, a charity with more than 2,000 employees. If you recruit for care, see how we help health and social care organisations.
Here’s to Year Two
The partnership is built on shared goals, open conversations and a team that really understands Leonard Cheshire’s services. Looking ahead to year two, onboarding is a key focus. Like many organisations across the care sector, there are opportunities to make the journey simpler and more efficient, and we’re exploring how technology can help us do just that.
Hiring for care or other high-volume roles? Let’s talk about what a partnership could look like for you.
