— Hackney becomes the first London council to embrace innovative in-house recruitment model —
— Programme prioritises staff retention, workforce development, and improved service delivery —
— Joint venture to deliver financial benefits to Hackney Council —

Hackney Council is partnering with Commercial Services Group (CSG), wholly owned by Kent County Council, in a joint venture called Connect2Hackney aimed at transforming the recruitment process for temporary staff across social care, waste, environmental, housing, and other front-line roles.

The innovative in-house model gives Hackney Council greater control over its contingent and interim recruitment outreach and processes, strengthening its connection to the local community. By focusing on residents, this approach will not only reduce recruitment costs but also provides an opportunity to increase staff retention and create meaningful local job opportunities, particularly for Hackney residents at the beginning of their career or those who have faced long-term unemployment.

Through the joint venture model, the partnership ensures that significant funds previously allocated to external management and staffing companies are retained within the council. This approach not only cuts recruitment costs but also allows the council to share in the financial benefits generated by the hyper-local service.

With all local authorities facing severe financial challenges, the initiative will help the Council deliver on its commitment to making savings by transforming how the council works rather than reducing frontline services. It also supports the Council’s ambitions to bring operations in-house to deliver more reliable, effective services.

The model has already delivered impressive results in councils across the UK, including Surrey, Luton, Hampshire, Kent, Dudley, Halton, and Dorset including during the latest 12-month period:

● 2,759 individuals directly engaged by the existing joint venture organisations, with 71% of hires sourced locally, strengthening community employment opportunities.
● 124 individuals previously unemployed successfully placed into sustainable roles.
● 246 temporary positions converted to permanent substantive posts, providing greater job security and stability.
● Network of 628 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) actively supports the delivery of CSG’s joint ventures, underlining commitment to fostering local business growth.

Recruiting and retaining high-quality social workers has long been a significant challenge for local government. Across the UK, councils face chronic shortages, with nearly one in five social worker positions unfilled. In the last year alone, the number of vacant social work roles in the UK rose by 13%, exacerbating the pressure on already overstretched teams. This shortage results in higher caseloads for existing staff, leading to burnout, low morale, and increased turnover. These issues are compounded in inner-city boroughs like Hackney, where competition for skilled social workers is fierce. Through the direct sourcing model by a team of specialist talent partners, Connect2Hackney will build a pipeline of locum social workers specific to the council needs.

Cllr Carole Williams Cabinet Member for Employment, Human Resources and Equalities, said: “All councils face big challenges recruiting staff, particularly in vital frontline roles such as social workers. This new initiative will mean that, where we do need to recruit temporary and agency staff, we do so in a way that means we maintain greater control of how we recruit, reduces spending that can be better used on the services our residents rely on, and maximises opportunities for people here in Hackney.

“Rather than continuing to outsource recruitment of temporary staff to external agencies, this is a partnership approach that delivers on our commitments to bringing services in-house to improve quality and ensuring we make savings by transforming how we work.”

Matt Johnson, CEO of Commercial Services Group, said:
“We are thrilled to welcome Hackney Council to our growing network of joint ventures across the UK ranging from inner city and metropolitan boroughs to unitary and county councils. We are committed to helping councils manage workforce costs transparently while delivering essential services to their communities.

“Our joint venture model enables public sector partners to retain control and oversight of their workforce solutions while driving community value and creating opportunities for local businesses and residents. We look forward to seeing the positive impact Connect2Hackney will bring.”

Connect2Hackney is set to launch in July 2025, ushering in a new era of collaborative workforce management for Hackney Council and its community.