Over the years, students, workers, colleges, companies and support workers themselves have provided Randstad with substantial amounts of feedback about the company’s work in the disability support sector. In this specialist area, it’s people’s personal experience of the service which matters most of all. The testimonials below (the majority attributed, though some are anonymous at the individual’s request) give a flavour of how Randstad operates; they offer an idea of how liberating and empowering it is to be provided with a support worker; and they afford an insight into how it feels to work in this most rewarding area.
If you’d like to know more about the work Randstad does with any of the individuals or organisations quoted, please contact one of the team.
After undertaking a full review of the support service offered at my institution I concluded that the overall operation could be identified in two areas. Firstly, the student facing, disability expertise driven, pairing and monitoring of support activities. Secondly, a complex set of HR and invoicing processes and subsequent weighty associated administration tasks. It seemed logical to make this clear distinction and to invite Randstad HR Solutions to undertake the latter, given this is their area of expertise.
The partnership between the service at Bath and Randstad has allowed a reframing of the priorities of Student Disability Advice which seeks to provide specialist advice, guidance and support to disabled students. It has allowed the non student facing work to be undertaken in a professional and streamlined manner.
All student facing matters are still dealt with by the institution, while all associated HR and invoicing processes are undertaken by Randstad. As a service we haven't lost any level of control about the quality of support provided, we still act as the point of contact for students and the overall delivery has been enhanced through the partnership agreement in place.
As a manager of a Disability Service I am well aware of the negative press around the use of recruitment agencies in the DSA process. I can categorically state that the partnership we experience isn't one of an overbearing, large corporate machine, with suited salesman who have ambitions to take over the world! Randstad fully understand the sector in which they operate and work with us to deliver and develop the service.
Susannah
(Student Disability Advice Manager)
The Access SUMMIT Disability Resources Centre offers a range of services to disabled students and associated professionals in The Greater Manchester area.
To this end The Centre uses the services of some 150-200 support workers including assessors, trainers, notetakers, personal assistant, tutors and trainers.
In early 2003 The Access SUMMIT Disability Resource Centre found it necessary to look for alternative ways of employing these support workers and with the help of a procurement expert drew up a tender document specifying our exact requirements.
Several companies, included Randstad, expressed interest and following briefing sessions and an application process a shortlist of 2 companies was drawn up.
At interview, Randstad clearly demonstrated an ability to meet the criteria laid down in the tender document and was sufficiently well resourced and staffed to deal with the Access SUMMIT contract. In addition, we were satisfied that Randstad was willing to be sufficiently flexible and cooperative in its approach and working practices to forge an effective working relationship with Access SUMMIT. Subsequently, Randstad took over the employment responsibility for the support worker body in July 2003.
Over the past 7 years Access SUMMIT Centre Services have grown considerably in both volume and quality, allowing us to deliver better services to students. This growth has been due, in no small part, to the use of Randstad as a partner organisation allowing Centre staff to concentrate on service delivery issues rather than dealing with employment / payroll issues.
Undeniably, there have been problems; but we have found Randstad willing and able to respond to them quickly and in many cases we have been able to resolve difficulties together to the overall benefit of our service delivery commitments.
We have been and remain delighted with the input and service received from Randstad and look forward to continuing our relationship with them.
Simon
(Centre Manager)
We’ve worked with Randstad HR Solutions for over 4 years, and throughout we’ve found them to be extremely professional, organised and flexible in their approach to student support. They’ve been available to offer advice and time to both students and support staff, and will often suggest additional ideas to help us with new support requirements. I’d be very happy to recommend Randstad to other service providers.
Dominic
We have a successful relationship with Randstad built on partnership and effective communication. Working together, we know our students are getting the best support possible, and it’s reflected in the many positive comments we receive year on year.
Dave
(Head of Student Enabling Centre)
Randstad brought a healthy dose of professionalism to our efforts. We couldn’t have managed without them.
John
(Director of Student Support)
Since using the services provided by Randstad, we’ve found that our students have been assisted by high calibre support workers who have been extremely reliable, professional and well-sourced. We have used Randstad to find note-takers, mentors, academic assistants and readers for our students with disabilities. We regularly check back with our students about their experiences with the support workers and these have on the whole been really positive. The staff at Randstad have provided a great service and handled any urgent requests quickly, which is highly appreciated at the start of the academic session.
Emma
(Disability Co-ordinator)
A growing number of Open University disabled students throughout the UK benefit from Randstad Student Support’s professional and holistic approach to providing non-medical help support – helping them to achieve their study goals and potential, and in some cases building new skillsets along the way.
Christina
(Manager - Planning Policy & Research, Disabled Student Services)
As a student with Mental Health difficulties, I needed additional support with my studies. Randstad provided me with a Mental Health Support Mentor. I found him very easy to work with. His friendly, open manner helped put me at ease during my study sessions with him. He helped me overcome some issues I had related to study. As a result, I discovered I only needed a few sessions as I had gained the confidence to carry on with my studies, by myself. I have not looked back since. I highly recommend this kind of assistance to anyone who needs it, go for it, it helped me and it can help you too!
Randstad has helped me a great deal over the past year with my studies. I have had a wonderful support tutor who has guided me through my course and helped me to complete it. I am now on my 2nd course. This one is a great deal harder and I am very grateful to have my support tutor there to help me overcome many obstacles. Thank you for all your help and support: without it I would not still be studying.
You took particular care in assessing my study needs for my Open University Degree in regard of my brain injury, and went that extra mile to find the best solution and personnel to assist me. I felt safe with you. I found all your staff accessible, and motivated to achieve a sound level of service. Every time I call them I feel valued and that the time spent on the call is both pleasurable and constructive.
I would like to ask you about the probability of having a mentor & tutor support for me for the current 2010/11 academic year? The professional mentor & tutor assistance I have received, has being of great help alongside with studies, so much so that I am worried for the future academic year. The moral & professional support from my mentor it is not just appreciated but truly invaluable to me & I want to thank you for that support given.
I have found the service to be friendly, professional, and a great help to my higher education studies. My tutor has been insightful and effective with study strategies designed to work with and improve my learning style. Dyslexia can often feel like a burden to study and a personal cross to bear but one-to-one tuition with a specialist in dyslexia makes this less of an issue and can make studying both engaging and rewarding
Thank you very much for your attention & help.
You gave me all I needed in terms of physical and emotional support to get me successfully through my course. (Joanne, studying "The Arts past and present" in Newcastle)
I benefited greatly from the help from John with the Open University course with the one-to-one tuitions to help me with my dyslexia problems. He was extremely helpful at all times. (Janet, studying Maths in Brighton)
As I am dyslexic I found the amount of paper work and the language used by the OU difficult to understand and take in. It was nice to have someone who could put it in a language I could make sense of. (Tracy, studying "Exploring Psychology" in Bridgwater)
I received excellent support through my studies as I have a mental health problem. My support worker gives me the confidence to believe in myself, if I make a mistake its okay and to let it go and to have confidence in my abilities. (Anonymous, studying in Manchester)
My experience of using Randstad has been great! The initial person I spoke to listened to my needs and requirements and was able to match a tutor to me who really supported my specific needs. The payment system and feedback system is very quick and easy to use and overall I have been very happy with the service provided. (Sophie, studying "Exploring Psychology" in London)
I would like to say that the service I received from the company was fantastic. I was paired up with a brilliant Notetaker, who was a pleasure to work with. Everyone was very supportive when I had a major health crisis earlier in the year, and I thank you all once again for that. (Angela, studying The Arts in Lincoln)
I am new to working with Randstad and am really enjoying problem solving dyslexia friendly strategies for my open university students. One got positive comments from his tutor for the first time ever in an assignment he submitted recently, even though he has multiple barriers to his achievement. Though initially frustrated that I couldn't get "opus" [the Randstad timesheet system] to work, now I have cracked it, this is a really efficient way to submit time sheets and get paid promptly. I also value the security of the very neat "look out call" system for lone working.
I have been working with Randstad as a Mental Health Mentor for over two years and consider this work a privilege. This support offers students the opportunity of personal and professional development which otherwise they may not be able to access as they need one to one support.
Students are often anxious embarking on a new venture and this support is imperative in encouraging and motivating them to continue. One student expressed "This has not only shown me my potential but this achievement has helped me accept my mental illness and my approach to it is entirely different – I have a new focus". "I never went out and now I am socialising slowly and life has a new meaning".
Supporting and mentoring students who would otherwise have struggled with their courses is the most satisfying job I've had to date. Sharing in their sense of achievement and subsequent successes has been extremely fulfilling professionally.
Randstad is a very large organisation, but it has brilliantly personalised, very professional management. In a small organisation I might have to wait a day to see my line manage: at Randstad my line manager, Joanne Wilson, is always there within seconds at the end of the phone and always ready to talk or explain. She taught me, (a web-site-o-phobe) to negotiate every aspect of the Randstad on-line system I needed to know about - over the phone. And she taught me so well I found I could actually do everything - I've never looked back. I have every confidence in the company’s management which is why I'm back with them for the second year in a row.
Randstad is the best agency I’ve worked for. The team consistently give me plenty of work, the pay rate is good, and the managers are friendly but professional, efficient, and very good communicators. The systems, policies and procedures put in place work like clockwork. Most importantly the agency is making sure adequate and appropriate support is provided to hundreds of students, who as a result have been achieving their degrees and enjoying top grades and increased confidence and self-esteem. I really trust and respect what the company does.
My student suffers from Aspergers and before we looked at some study skills she didn't understand the difference between reading for leisure and academic reading. She used many of the ideas we explored such as using highlighters, post its, index cards and making notes in the margin of her course books to help to learn actively. My student felt that spending time learning these techniques made quite a lot of difference when it came to doing assignments.
Students have said they’d have dropped out of their course if it wasn’t for the mentoring they’d received. They’ve said it gives them the support, encouragement and space to reflect on their studies. They’ve said that mentoring has been pivotal to their success in their course and they would not have completed their postgraduate studies without this support.
It’s a very rewarding experience to work with a student, offer them regular and consistent support, and see them develop. Those students who stick with mentoring tend to do very well in their course and enjoy their university life to a greater extent. Mentoring really does work.