In today’s competitive job market, businesses face persistent recruitment challenges. Hard-to-fill vacancies, high turnover costs, and skills gaps are impacting productivity across Surrey. Connect to Work offers a practical solution that helps businesses access untapped talent and solve recruitment challenges, while building stronger, more diverse teams.
Connect to Work is a government-funded supported employment programme delivered by Surrey County Council. It helps adults who face complex barriers to employment find and keep sustainable work. This includes people living with disabilities, health conditions, and those experiencing other significant challenges in accessing the job market.
The programme matches suitable candidates with employers and provides dedicated employment specialists who support both the employee and employer for up to 12 months.
The benefits to business
1. Fill hard-to-fill vacancies
Access a motivated talent pool that’s often overlooked. In sectors like hospitality, retail, warehousing, and care where recruitment is particularly challenging, Connect to Work can help you find committed employees who are ready to work.
2. Build a diverse, high-performing workforce
Diversity drives innovation and better decision-making. By widening your recruitment, you gain fresh perspectives and tap into skills that might otherwise be missed. Many Connect to Work candidates bring exceptional attention to detail, reliability, and unique problem-solving approaches.
3. Improve staff retention and reduce costs
Employees supported through programmes like Connect to Work often demonstrate high loyalty and commitment, staying in roles longer. This reduces your recruitment and training costs while building institutional knowledge and team stability.
4. Boost productivity through better job design
Connect to Work helps identify opportunities for job carving – tailoring tasks to match different skill levels. This allows your experienced staff to focus on complex, high-value work while essential routine tasks are handled efficiently by other team members.
5. Enhance workplace culture and your reputation
Inclusive workplaces foster empathy, collaboration, and mutual support, with studies showing improved morale across the board when businesses embrace diversity. Plus, an inclusive hiring approach enhances your reputation, helps you connect with diverse customer bases, and makes you an employer of choice for top talent who value inclusive workplaces.
Support through the process
Connect to Work removes the uncertainty from inclusive hiring, and youโll get support from the team’s employment specialists every step of the way.
They can help:
- Identify suitable roles and adapt job descriptions if needed
- Match you with pre-screened candidates ready to work
- Provide ongoing support to both you and your new employee for up to 12 months
- With guidance on reasonable adjustments and workplace support
- Support you to access any additional funding or resources available.
If you’re new to inclusive hiring, the team can also help facilitate work experience placements – a low-risk way to discover the talent that’s out there.
By partnering with Surrey County Council’s Connect to Work programme to support people into work, you’ll access reliable talent, reduce recruitment costs, and build a workplace that performs better and stands out for all the right reasons.
Find out more about how Connect to Work can help your business by emailing STEPSurrey@surreycc.gov.uk or visit: www.stepsurrey.co.uk/connect-to-work.
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