BLOG: Why we partnered with Groundwork, and what we’re building together
By Andy Sweeney, CEO at The Best Connection
I’ve spent a long time in recruitment. Long enough to know that a job is never just a job.
It’s a household that becomes more stable. A person who rediscovers their confidence. A community that becomes a little more resilient.
When you see that often enough, you stop thinking about employment as a transaction and start thinking about it as something with real social weight.
That belief is at the heart of everything The Best Connection does. And the more we’ve grown, the clearer it has become that our responsibility doesn’t stop at the placement. It extends to the communities those people live and work in.
That’s what led us to Groundwork.
A charity dedicated to creating green jobs, green homes and green communities.
Finding the Right Partner
Not every partnership makes sense. We weren’t looking for a charity to support from a distance or a logo to put on a website. We were looking for an organisation whose values genuinely aligned with ours – one that understood the relationship between people, place and opportunity as well as we do.
Groundwork has been doing exactly that for over 40 years – delivering environmental and community programmes that improve green spaces, build skills and create pathways into employment. When we looked at what they stand for and set it alongside what we stand for, the case was clear. This wasn’t a difficult decision. It was an obvious one.
One Month In: Laying the Foundations
We launched the partnership at the start of 2026, and our first month has been about getting it right before we scale it up.
That means introducing our teams to Groundwork’s work, aligning our leadership on how this strengthens our ESG commitments, and identifying where our national reach and local branch presence can create the most meaningful impact.
It would be easy to rush into activity for the sake of visible momentum. But purposeful partnerships are built on understanding first. When our people go out into communities, volunteer in green spaces and fundraise for local causes, it will be because they know why it matters – not just because they were asked to.
The foundations are being laid carefully. What gets built on them will last.
The Evolving Role of Recruitment in Responsible Growth
The expectations placed on businesses have shifted. Clients, candidates and employees increasingly want to see organisations demonstrate real social and environmental responsibility – not as a side project, but as part of how they operate.
I think that’s right. And I think recruitment sits at the centre of it in a way that isn’t always recognised.
We directly influence people’s income, confidence and wellbeing. We shape who gets access to opportunity and who doesn’t. That’s not a peripheral social issue – it’s core to what we do every day. Ignoring it would mean ignoring the most important dimension of our work.
Responsible growth in 2026 means integrating social impact into business strategy. Employment, environment and community wellbeing are not separate agendas. They are the same agenda, seen from different angles.
What We’re Building Together
Groundwork brings decades of environmental and community expertise. The Best Connection brings national scale, employment insight and strong local relationships.
Over the coming months, our teams will be volunteering, supporting green space initiatives and fundraising for causes aligned to sustainability, health and wellbeing. These are not token gestures. They are the beginning of something we intend to build on year after year.
A job is never just a job. And this partnership is never just a partnership. It has the potential to make a real and lasting difference.
That’s a responsibility we take seriously – and one we’re proud to share with Groundwork. We are only just getting started.
To learn more about our Groundwork partnership and how we will be working together throughout the year, visit our Groundwork partnership hub.
Notes to editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk
About The Best Connection
The Best Connection is one of the UK’s leading employee-owned recruitment companies, connecting thousands of people with work every week, specialising in flexible and permanent staffing across a range of sectors. As an Employee Ownership Trust, its success belongs to its people – and its responsibility extends to the communities it operates in. Find out more at www.thebestconnection.co.uk.