Telent is committed providing maximum social return on investment (SROI) to its customers by adding measurable social benefits to the communities it operates in.
Through the ‘Supply Chain Social Value Strategy’, Telent provides opportunities for growth to voluntary, community and social enterprises, by offering free business resources to improve local services and enable access to future funding.
10-year signal maintenance contract
In 2021, Telent were awarded a 10-year contract to carry out signal maintenance on more than 160 highways for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC). A key element of Telent’s offering was a strong commitment to delivering social value in the area, in-line with local priorities. This was valued at £650,911 over the life of the contract through targets around local employment, training opportunities, employability skills for young people, local supply chain spend and the provision of expert business advice to VCSEs.
Following SMBC’s VCSE networking event in 2023, Telent made support commitments to several third-sector organisations, to provide in-house expertise on a range of business-related issues. Offering free business advice to VCSEs can significantly enhance their operational efficiency and overall impact. Voluntary organisations often operate on limited resources and expert guidance in areas such as ICT, strategic planning, financial management and organisational development can prove invaluable to achieving their social purpose.
New website for community initiative, Cars Area Together
Cars Area Together is a resident-led, voluntary and community initiative established in 2012 as part of the National Lottery’s “Big Local” initiative. They provide valuable community services for the people and by the people. The area is a pocket of the country that has been overlooked for funding and resources in the past and faces issues including the decline of local industry, high levels of unemployment and a pressing need for new support services.
The team of dedicated volunteers believe that local residents should decide how to improve their community and be in-charge of local spending, covering everything from training and employment schemes to tackling anti-social behaviour, creating new community facilities and providing more activities for young people.
After winning funding from "Local Trust", they have set about working with local residents to improve their community together by creating a community hub, backing over 20 community groups, organising regular local events, running an employability programme and helping to launch two new local businesses. But despite a great social media presence, the lack of a website and the resources to develop one has meant struggles in securing the further funding needed to deliver their legacy plan.
After meeting some of the volunteers at SMBC’s VCSE networking event, Telent offered its internal resources for free, including the creation of an online marketing plan, copy writing and a new website to promote the initiative.
This will not only help with future funding applications, but also give the community additional ways to connect and get involved.
Having being approved by the trustees, the website went live in December 2023 and includes features such as a full events calendar and a suggestion scheme, with residents able to easily submit their ideas and needs through the site, or sign-up to help. Visit the site and take a look around https://www.carsareatogether.co.uk
We are so thankful to Telent for getting us up and running with our new website. To say we are chuffed is an understatement and we are delighted to share it with our partners and residents as it’s so impressive. It's hard to grasp that from a short meeting with Rhys Griffiths and Daniel Rigby at an event organised by Solihull MBC for community organisations back in the Summer, we have managed to achieve this all thanks to your skills and persistence. We thank you for your time and resources to finally get us online - we are proud of our community and our people, and the website helps to showcase what we can achieve together.
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According to the National Social Value Taskforce, this project created £2,273 of measurable benefits for the community.
Every year, Telent’s Procurement team commits 100 hours of resources across our business to building local supplier capabilities, to create more opportunities and promote the growth of responsible regional businesses. In FY23, Telent spent over £181 million with Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across the UK, accounting for 67% of suppliers.
This focus on MSME engagement not only diversifies Telent's supply chain and drives innovation, but also contributes to the prosperity of local economies, generating £40 million of additional social value benefits according to the National Themes, Outcomes and Measurement (TOMs) Framework.
Engaging with VCSEs really does remind you that there are good people in the world doing great things for their vibrant communities, despite tackling day-to-day challenges. With our strong links to Solihull, Telent were more than happy to give our expertise and resources as a large business, and I’m delighted with the result.
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