Case Study: Community Action for Better Living

Background

Community Action for Better Living (CABL) is a not-for-profit organisation providing integrated and complementary services to offer practical and emotional support to disadvantaged, vulnerable, and at-risk community members. Among their services is CABL Family Support Services, a preventative program focused on supporting families and building on their existing skills. This service promotes positive relationships within families and fosters environments that value, nurture, and protect children.

CABL required recruitment for two critical roles within their Targeted Early Intervention (TEI) Program: A Family Support Manager and a Family Support Caseworker. These roles were essential not only for driving the program’s day-to-day operations but also for providing strategic direction and growth, ensuring the program could adapt to evolving community needs and sector challenges.

The Challenge

CABL had previously engaged two other recruitment agencies to fill these roles but was unable to identify candidates with the necessary strategic and leadership skills, coupled with commitment to a contracted opportunity rather than permanent. Recognising the importance of these competencies for the senior role, CABL turned to abrs, seeking their proven track record in understanding sector-specific recruitment needs, especially in roles demanding strategic oversight and an adaptive approach.

The abrs Advantage

Deep Insights: During the initial consultation, CABL emphasised the need for a Family Support Manager with strategic vision, capable of driving service growth and expansion. This individual required a comprehensive understanding of both the TEI program’s goals and the broader sector landscape. Similarly, the Family Support Caseworker needed to be skilled in hands-on support while also aligned with CABL’s long-term objectives to foster resilience and positive outcomes for families.

Through this consultation, abrs gained insights into CABL’s program structure, goals, challenges, and intended sector impact. This understanding allowed abrs to position itself as a true partner, fully aligning recruitment efforts with CABL’s mission and future objectives.

Exclusive Advantage: CABL agreed to work exclusively with abrs, enabling a focused and targeted  strategy tailored to finding candidates with the necessary leadership and strategic skills. This exclusivity allowed abrs to take a proactive approach, tapping into a pool of potential candidates with relevant expertise and employing a selection process that prioritised strategic thinking and deep program development knowledge.

abrs worked closely with CABL to refine a candidate profile that reflected not just technical skills but also the leadership qualities essential for navigating growth and development within early intervention services. For the Family Support Manager role, abrs sought a candidate who could demonstrate skills in strategic planning, innovation, and sector knowledge—critical elements for leading CABL’s services toward sustainability and increased impact.

Sector Specific Candidate Database: The Family Support Caseworker position was central to delivering the TEI Program’s immediate services. For this role, CABL needed a candidate with deep empathy, resilience, and a nuanced understanding of family support. abrs leveraged its extensive network and database of over 110,000 sector-specific candidates to identify individuals who not only met the role’s requirements but also demonstrated a genuine commitment to working with vulnerable families.

The Results

Through this exclusive approach, abrs successfully placed both the Family Support Manager and the Family Support Caseworker. The chosen Family Support Manager possessed the vision, strategic capacity, and commitment to effectively guide CABL’s services, helping to ensure the longevity and expansion of the TEI Program. This partnership highlighted abrs’ capacity to deliver recruitment solutions that address both immediate program needs and long-term strategic objectives, positively impacting CABL, the TEI Program, and the community it serves.

Successful offers were made 3 weeks after the initial search commenced, with both candidates beginning within 5 weeks of engagement.

This collaboration underscores the value of targeted recruitment and the impact of bringing strategic, visionary leaders into key roles within community-focused programs.

All net revenue generated from this recruitment project was directed to programs that support children, youth, and families across NSW and the ACT