Introduction
Achieving ambitious recruitment targets requires innovative strategies and measurable impact. As part of the government’s Uplift programme — an initiative to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers across England and Wales — Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary partnered with Gaia to meet critical hiring goals. The results spoke for themselves.
The campaign drove a remarkable 179% surge in police officer applications and a 70% increase in detective applications, alongside significant diversity gains, with 60% of applicants identifying as female. This case study explores how a targeted and inclusive approach delivered outstanding results, ensuring the force met deadlines while building a more representative workforce.
The challenge
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary experienced a significant decline in applications for police officer roles, with numbers steadily dropping over the last two years.
Several factors contributed to this trend:
• Economic pressures: Candidates were prioritising roles with higher starting salaries due to the cost-of-living crisis.
• Limited outreach: Facebook’s restrictions on targeted advertising prevented the team from tailoring job ads by age, geography, or demographics.
• Fragmented campaigns: Efforts across TV, social media, and online job boards yielded inconsistent results, making it difficult to track which strategies were effective.
• Complex roles: Becoming a police officer requires thoughtful decision-making, and the Constabulary needed an approach that could engage candidates over time, keeping opportunities top-of-mind.
Facing a tight deadline to achieve their recruitment targets during the national Uplift programme, Hampshire Constabulary needed a reliable, scalable solution to attract top talent.
The innovative solution
To address these challenges, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary partnered with Gaia:
Gaia extended the reach of job ads beyond Facebook, utilising platforms such as Google Search, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to deliver opportunities directly into candidates’ hands. This multichannel approach ensured that ads reached diverse audiences across multiple touchpoints, increasing visibility and engagement.
Recognising that policing requires careful consideration, Gaia’s solution used programmatic ads to keep opportunities in front of potential candidates over time.
Gaia’s intuitive dashboard provided real-time data, allowing the Constabulary to monitor candidate clicks, engagements, and applications. This transparency helped the recruitment team identify what was working and adjust campaigns as needed.
By handling the bulk of campaign setup and optimisation, Gaia freed the Constabulary’s recruitment team to focus on other priorities while maintaining confidence in the campaign’s success.
The impact
Gaia’s campaign delivered outstanding results:
• 2,297 candidate clicks and 679,426 impressions demonstrated its wide reach.
• 2,074 social media engagements and a 0.34% click-through rate highlighted its effectiveness in driving interest.
• Police officer applications surged by 179%, while detective applications rose by 70%, with 60% of candidates identifying as female, showcasing improved diversity.
By the end of the campaign, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary achieved their application targets for the critical Uplift programme, ensuring candidates were processed in time to meet key hiring deadlines.
Future endeavours
The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary plans to continue leveraging Gaia’s AI-powered recruitment platform to tackle their upcoming hiring challenges. With its advanced targeting and actionable insights, Gaia will help them stay competitive and attract top talent.