The Challenge
A mid-sized NDIS provider operating across New South Wales and Victoria was facing a critical workforce shortage.
The business employed approximately 400 disability support workers but needed to increase its workforce by another 120 to meet client demand. Unfortunately, its turnover rate exceeded 35 percent annually, driven by:
- A highly competitive recruitment market, with other providers offering sign-on bonuses.
- A lack of consistent screening, leading to the hiring of underqualified or culturally mismatched candidates.
- High stress levels among existing staff due to constant backfilling of shifts.
- Limited internal recruitment resources, with only one HR manager handling end-to-end recruitment.
The provider’s leadership team recognised that without addressing these recruitment challenges, they risked failing service delivery requirements under the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
The Solution: Partnering with Ingenious People
The provider engaged Ingenious People to build a recruitment strategy tailored to the unique pressures of the NDIS sector.
The strategy included:
1. Market Mapping and Workforce Planning
- Conducting an in-depth market analysis of disability support worker availability across the provider’s service regions.
- Identifying underutilised candidate pools, such as return-to-work parents, mature-age workers, and students studying allied health.
- Developing a 12-month workforce plan aligned with the provider’s projected service growth and compliance obligations.
2. Redesigning the Recruitment Funnel
- Building a structured candidate screening process focused not only on qualifications (NDIS worker screening clearance, first aid, manual handling) but also values alignment.
- Creating behavioural interview guides for hiring managers to assess resilience, empathy, and teamwork.
- Streamlining advertising strategies to target high-traffic job boards, local community centres, and vocational training providers.
3. Employer Branding Refresh
- Positioning the provider as an employer of choice in the NDIS sector, highlighting its commitment to ongoing training, wellness support, and flexible rostering.
- Crafting recruitment marketing content that challenged misconceptions about disability support work, showcasing career progression pathways.
4. Talent Pool Creation
- Building an active talent pool of pre-screened candidates ready for deployment, reducing time-to-hire.
- Establishing relationships with local TAFEs and universities to attract students interested in allied health careers.
5. Onboarding and Retention Improvements
- Introducing a structured onboarding program that paired new hires with experienced “buddies” for their first 90 days.
- Setting up feedback loops to capture insights from new hires at the 30-, 60-, and 90-day marks, ensuring early issues were resolved.
The Results
After 9 months of working with Ingenious People, the provider saw transformative results:
- 120 new disability support workers recruited, meeting the original workforce expansion target.
- Turnover reduced from 35 percent to 18 percent, thanks to better screening and onboarding practices.
- Time-to-hire decreased by 40 percent, with urgent shifts filled in record time from the new talent pool.
- Candidate quality improved, with fewer performance-related exits in the first six months of employment.
- Employee engagement scores increased by 22 percent, as staff felt supported by a more reliable team structure.
Perhaps most importantly, the provider achieved 100 percent compliance with NDIS Quality and Safeguards workforce requirements, safeguarding its accreditation.
Client Feedback
The CEO of the provider stated:
“Ingenious People completely changed the way we think about recruitment. It wasn’t just about filling jobs, it was about building a sustainable workforce. For the first time in years, we’re ahead of demand instead of always playing catch-up.”
The Ingenious People Advantage
By taking a strategic, values-driven approach to recruitment, Ingenious People delivered more than hires. They delivered:
- Workforce stability in an industry where churn is common.
- A stronger employer brand, positioning the provider as an employer of choice in their community.
- Operational resilience, ensuring services continued uninterrupted despite external workforce pressures.
For NDIS providers across Australia, the lesson is clear. Recruitment is not just about plugging gaps — it’s about building a workforce that can thrive under the unique pressures of the sector.
Ingenious People continues to support this provider with ongoing recruitment strategy and workforce planning, ensuring their workforce grows alongside the needs of the participants they serve.