Connect2Luton 2022: Year in Review
2022 is drawing to a close, and what a year we’ve had! So much has happened that we wanted to share with you before we leap into the new year. We caught up with Business Manager, Jane Stredder, to reflect on the past 12 months and look to the future.
What has been Connect2Luton’s highlight of 2022?
There are so many! Year on year, we have doubled the size of the team which has been beneficial in providing the best service we can. We have also attended over 10 recruitment events, which has been great to meet people in the community!
More recently, HRH Charles III visited Luton town, and it was amazing to see so many people out! We have supplied and supported the Ukraine Welcome team at London Luton Airport.
Our own Sabie won CSG Employee of the Year, plus other awards this year for her and the team.
We have been bringing together a wonderful Education team to serve the school recruitment needs in Beds, Bucks, Herts, and London. We feel we each have a distinct purpose and bring all our values together to make the perfect blend, with Shahki as the person with the most recruitment experience, Khadijah with the most business acumen blended with recruitment, Tabetha as our compliance lead and administrator and Maryam as our main general administrator. We are proud to say that our team is vibrant, funny, we work hard, and most importantly, we work well together.
Finally, Commercial Services Group Recruitment Division won Best Public/Third Sector Recruitment Agency at the Recruiter Awards this year! This is a testament to our collaborative partnership with local authorities, and we'd like to thank everyone for their support!
What recruitment challenges have you faced this year, and how have you overcome them?
Challenges to recruit have been in every market sector. From professional i.e., Legal, Qualified Social Workers, Trades, Housing etc. Plus, also to recruit to the level of expertise I need, for my own team.
We have built an education team of 4 from scratch and trained our administrators to be compliance experts and the face for supporting our supply candidates and this was difficult because neither of them had experience in these areas. Shahki and Khadijah have worked to train everyone on how to work effectively in a recruitment environment and they have picked up the information with great enthusiasm. We are building new inroads with our schools and have managed to get good relationships going with schools at decision-maker levels. This was done by helping our clients through the difficulty they faced in finding great talent, and we have managed to get their attention with the great candidates we have provided.
We have been working hard to overcome these challenges and are feeling confident going into the next year!
What plans do Connect2Luton have for 2023?
The education team have started work on a recruitment package that will save schools money. The schools will have the option to opt-in or out of the package and this business model is currently being reviewed with our leadership teams and Luton Borough Council for approval. If approved, schools will pay a monthly fee for one of three packages, and we anticipate significant yearly recruitment cost savings for them. We will be visiting more schools to promote this package in 2023.
Connect2Luton would like to continue growing the team to deliver the best service and bring more money back to the local community. We look forward to continuing engaging with as many groups, societies, and organisations with the Borough to promote the long-term growth of the town through its people.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this year, and we look forward to working together in 2023!