Industry
Social Service
Non-profit
Company Size
89 sites
177 employees
3 provinces
Recruiting Focus
Care Facilitators
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Industry
Social Service
Non-profit
Company Size
89 sites
177 employees
3 provinces
Recruiting Focus
Care Facilitators
44
new sites staffed
95%
retention rate
42%
reduction in terminations
due to misconduct
Context
Community Keepers is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of learners, parents, and teachers in South Africa’s most underserved school communities.
Community Keepers partnered with schools to open on-site support centres, staffed by a social worker and a community member trained in mental health first aid.
Challenges
In 2023, Community Keepers partnered with the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund to open 44 new support sites across South Africa, all staffed by unemployed individuals from local communities.
Their recruitment model is unique: train first and then recruit. This extended process not only builds local skills but also allows both the candidate and employer to determine fit.
Scaling this model nationally presented new challenges:
-
Expanded into new, often rural provinces (like the Eastern Cape) where Community Keepers was relatively unknown
-
No dedicated HR team in-house at the time of new site additions
-
Operating remotely from Stellenbosch and working against tight funding and implementation deadlines
Alternatives
Smollan ran an RFP process and considered a number of alternatives before selecting JOBJACK for their deep understanding of the South African entry-level recruiting market.
“We wouldn’t have been able to commit to this catalytic growth without JOBJACK. And JOBJACK’s assessments helped us find the right Care Facilitators - we’ve had less than 5% staff turnover in the last 18 months. Faster and better hiring means we’ve been able to stay focused on providing support and safe spaces to children.”
Allifer Plaatjies
HR Practitioner
Community Keepers posted their vacancies on JOBJACK since 2023 to staff the new sites for the Jobs Fund project.
As humanitarians, Community Keepers were drawn to JOBJACK’s human-centred design. Each applicant profile included a picture, voice note, and short introduction, allowing them to connect with people rather than just the data.
Community Keepers initially supplemented their vacancy advertisements with advertorial media in community newspapers, concerned about applicant volumes. Instead, they were overwhelmed by interest (800+ applications per job) largely thanks to JOBJACK’s reach and accessibility.
JOBJACK’s responsiveness to feedback and feature suggestions throughout the process helped ensure a smooth adoption of the platform into Community Keepers’ recruitment needs.
Implementation
Results
Using JOBJACK, Community Keepers successfully managed a nationwide recruitment drive before having a formal HR department in place.
Key outcomes include:
-
Exceptional retention: 95% retention rate of candidates
-
Fast hiring: Within a week of posting, Community Keepers could shortlist, even in rural areas, streamlining the process despite their unique “train first” model
-
JobFIT™: JOBJACK’s Literacy and Numeracy Assessments helped ensure data accuracy and job readiness among entry-level applicants
-
Talent development: 35 recruits have completed an NQF qualification as Social Auxiliary Workers, and one has been promoted to a Finance Admin position at our HQ
-
Positive brand impact: The recruitment process itself became a community-building exercise, expanding reputation and creating a positive applicant experience
44
new sites staffed
95%
recruitment project retention
Context
Community Keepers is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing of learners, parents, and teachers in South Africa’s most underserved school communities.
Community Keepers partnered with schools to open on-site support centres, staffed by a social worker and a community member trained in mental health first aid.
“We wouldn’t have been able to commit to this catalytic growth without JOBJACK. And JOBJACK’s assessments helped us find the right Care Facilitators - we’ve had less than 5% staff turnover in the last 18 months. Faster and better hiring means we’ve been able to stay focused on providing support and safe spaces to children.”
Allifer Plaatjies
HR Practitioner
Results
Smollan uses the JOBJACK Assessment Battery and integrated risk checks across all business units; they also use JOBJACK’s Document Upload feature to automate the collection of documentation ( ID documents, bank details, etc.) for all candidates.
Using JOBJACK, Community Keepers successfully managed a nationwide recruitment drive before having a formal HR department in place.
Key outcomes include:
-
Exceptional retention: 95% retention rate of candidates
-
Fast hiring: Within a week of posting, Community Keepers could shortlist, even in rural areas, streamlining the process despite their unique “train first” model
-
JobFIT™: JOBJACK’s Literacy and Numeracy Assessments helped ensure data accuracy and job readiness among entry-level applicants
-
Talent development: 35 recruits have completed an NQF qualification as Social Auxiliary Workers, and one has been promoted to a Finance Admin position at our HQ
-
Positive brand impact: The recruitment process itself became a community-building exercise, expanding reputation and creating a positive applicant experience
Implementation
Challenges
In 2023, Community Keepers partnered with the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund to open 44 new support sites across South Africa, all staffed by unemployed individuals from local communities.
Their recruitment model is unique: train first and then recruit. This extended process not only builds local skills but also allows both the candidate and employer to determine fit.
Scaling this model nationally presented new challenges:
-
Expanded into new, often rural provinces (like the Eastern Cape) where Community Keepers was relatively unknown
-
No dedicated HR team in-house at the time of new site additions
-
Operating remotely from Stellenbosch and working against tight funding and implementation deadlines
Implementation
Community Keepers posted their vacancies on JOBJACK since 2023 to staff the new sites for the Jobs Fund project.
As humanitarians, Community Keepers were drawn to JOBJACK’s human-centred design. Each applicant profile included a picture, voice note, and short introduction, allowing them to connect with people rather than just the data.
Community Keepers initially supplemented their vacancy advertisements with advertorial media in community newspapers, concerned about applicant volumes. Instead, they were overwhelmed by interest (800+ applications per job) largely thanks to JOBJACK’s reach and accessibility.
JOBJACK’s responsiveness to feedback and feature suggestions throughout the process helped ensure a smooth adoption of the platform into Community Keepers’ recruitment needs.
Zainab Gamieldien, Operations HR Manager, shares how JOBJACK’s standardised process and psychometric assessments helped increase the quality of hires and customer experience in store
Allison Mlenzana, Talent Acquisition Lead: SA Operations, shares how Smollan works with JOBJACK to improve the speed and quality of their hiring, while reducing costs
See how a KFC franchise was able to fill staffing gaps10 times faster, just by switching on JOBJACK’s Waitlist feature
How other companies use JOBJACK
Zainab Gamieldien, Operations HR Manager, shares how JOBJACK’s standardised process and psychometric assessments helped increase the quality of hires and customer experience in store
Allison Mlenzana, Talent Acquisition Lead: SA Operations, shares how Smollan works with JOBJACK to improve the speed and quality of their hiring, while reducing costs
See how a KFC franchise was able to fill staffing gaps
10 times faster, just by switching on JOBJACK’s Waitlist feature