Surrey County Council and Commercial Services Group to launch new recruitment venture.

A joint venture has been announced to recruit temporary agency and interim staff into a wide range of roles across Surrey County Council.

The new and innovative recruitment system has been designed to meet the growing demand for services, particularly in social care.

The council has joined forces with Commercial Services Kent Ltd (CSKL), a company owned by Kent County Council, to launch a new recruitment managed service that will enable the authority to more effectively manage the recruitment and retention of skilled, high quality, temporary agency staff.

The move will also support the delivery of Social Value, in line with the Community Vision for Surrey in 2030 plan.

Surrey County Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Becky Rush said: “The joint venture has been set up in line with our long-term strategy in providing local jobs for local people, engaging more Surrey residents and more effectively managing the recruitment of temporary staff.

“By creating what is effectively our own in-house managed service, drawing on the expertise of our partners in Kent who have a similar set-up locally and have successfully delivered the provision for other Councils, our aim is to attract and retain good contingent staff and interims over a longer period.  In doing so, we would hope that many will take the opportunity to convert to permanent employment with us, which we would welcome.

“This new system will allow us not only to successfully manage expenditure but also to reduce costs and ensure the service is wholly adaptable to our needs, both now and in the future.”

Chief Executive Officer of CSG, Matt Johnson, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Surrey in their aim to attract and retain good quality contingent staff. This joint endeavour is very much building on the good work that the team at Commercial Services Group have delivered with Kent County Council, Hampshire County Council and Luton Borough Council over recent years. The system combines that experience with that of Surrey’s local supporting agencies, who will have a significant role to play going forwards. This is an innovative solution that will deliver significant benefit to the residents of Surrey”.

“The commitment and openness to working in partnership from both parties is something to be extremely proud of and will stand the joint venture in good stead to deliver its goals.”

While the managed service will be responsible for the recruitment of temporary agency staff across roles within the County Council, from specialist interim and legal to engineering and surveying roles, there will be a particular focus on recruiting into social care, where demand for additional staff to plug gaps on a temporary basis is most evident.