“I don’t think we could have imagined how much [Steps to Work’s] support and guidance would help us to improve our organisation.”
When RMC (Refugee and Migrant Centre) heard about a range of Building Better Opportunities programmes in the midlands, it brought us in contact with Steps to Work for the first time. At that stage, I don’t think we could have imagined how much their support and guidance would help us to improve our organisation.
From the start, Steps to Work Supported us with our application to join the partnership they headed up, giving clear and precise guidance to us and all other partners on expectations and the processes we would need to follow.
That was back in 2016, now 4 years later we are proud to be a part of one of the most successful BBO partnerships in the UK.
Steps to Work have constantly given us support when we needed it (and at times we did!) staff are professional and knowledgeable and we have developed a relationship with them where we can be open and honest with each other at all times. Their ability to relay updates from the managing authority has been outstanding and is delivered to us in a clear and precise way so it’s easy to understand and act on.
With financial claims, their attention to detail has given us confidence that the risk of claw-back on the project is minimal, while their approach to performance management means we know exactly what we are expected to deliver and when. Steps to Work also work with us regarding our budgets, they ensure claims are processed quickly and effectively, while at review meetings it is discussed and reviewed to ensure we keep on top of potential under-spend.
What we have gained most though from our partnership with Steps to Work is knowledge and understanding on how to run a successful programme. We also used this learning on other projects we have at RMC and it has helped us successfully bid for new projects.
Through Steps to Work’s drive to deliver high quality paperwork, we have had to up-skill staff working on these projects to reach and maintain these standards, but also have used that learning amongst all staff to improve our quality and recording of interventions. The detailed guidance and learning we have gained from financial reporting gave us the confidence to bid on further EU funded projects, safe in the knowledge if we followed the same “gold standard” approach on other projects that we have developed with Steps to Work, then the risk of claw-back is minimal.
Our experience with Steps to Work has been nothing but positive for RMC, and we hope to work together for many more years to come.
