Report signals roadmap for public service partnership
A blueprint for how to put positive social impact at the heart of company strategy was launched yesterday in Parliament as part of a collaboration between The Purpose Coalition and leading provider of essential services, Serco UK. The report, Breaking Down Barriers through Public Services, details Serco UK’s current social impact and includes a series of recommendations for further action.
Serco UK supports day-to-day life for people and communities in Britain across a wide range of critical sectors, including defence, justice, immigration, transport, healthcare and citizens services. With over 31,000 employees across the UK, it plays a vital role in national infrastructure and public wellbeing. As a trusted partner to the Government, the business combines the expertise of its people, cutting-edge innovation and strong partnerships to deliver effective solutions that address some of the country’s most pressing challenges. The breadth of its operation is significant for the country’s economy, with tax contributions in 2023 amounting to £400m.
The report showcases the range and depth of Serco UK’s current best practice, particularly highlighting its integrated learning and career development, its data driven and adaptive approach, the way in which wellbeing and safety are embedded as business drivers, the business’s collaboration and social impact beyond the workplace and the opportunities it offers to all. It also acknowledges the opportunities for Serco UK to go even further, and includes a set of wide-ranging recommendations which aim to extend its future impact by:
Strengthening and scaling ex-offender and prisoner employment
Workforce data tracking, engagement and transparency
Embedding colleague influence in strategic decision making
Digital inclusion and digital skills development for frontline workers
Maximising community impact.
Welcoming the difference that Serco UK is making to the social impact landscape, Chair of the Purpose Coalition and former Education Secretary, Rt Hon Justine Greening, said:
“The Purpose Coalition’s partnership with Serco on this report has been invaluable. It has a crucial role to play in tackling many of the economic and social challenges we are facing today, including poor social mobility, and, at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, it also plays a critical part in supporting the UK’s defence capabilities.
“With a reach across sectors and geographical areas, it is on the frontline when it comes to delivering opportunity across the country. Its commitment to ensuring that it is accessible to everyone, whatever their background, and the innovative and sustainable solutions it has developed to tackle inequality, as evidenced in the report we are launching today, serve as a fantastic blueprint that other organisations can follow.
“The breadth of the recommendations in the report is testimony to the range of Serco’s social impact, the high standards it is already achieving and its ambition to go even further, targeting its efforts to the areas of most need. They also highlight how tracking and measuring its work is so important in producing positive outcomes for its colleagues, clients and the communities it serves.”
Chair of the Breaking Down Barriers Commission and former member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet, Nick Forbes CBE, said:
“Serco has a wealth of experience and understanding of how public-private collaboration can successfully serve the needs of individuals and communities while also promoting broader regional and national growth. These partnerships are fundamental to identifying and breaking down the barriers that hold people and places back.
“Today’s report contains examples from a variety of sectors where that is happening in practice, whether that is working with prison services through its unique second-chance employment initiatives or with local authorities to deliver important education and leisure services.
“The Breaking Down Barriers Commission works with organisations to actively shape a better future by redefining the role of business in society and find new ways of constructive engagement with government. There is still a lot to do but we are making positive progress with a collaborative, practical and evidence-based approach and Serco’s leadership is making a significant contribution to this important work.”
Chief People & Culture Officer of Serco UK and Europe, Shaun Stacey, said:
“Serco’s commitment to making a meaningful difference extends across every contract, community, and colleague in the UK. Our work is about delivering complex essential services in a way that supports the needs of citizens, while maximising positive social and economic outcomes.
“We are delighted to have worked in partnership with the Breaking Down Barriers Commission on this report to assess our social impact against the Commission’s Goals.
“As we look ahead, we remain focused on embedding sustainability and social impact into every aspect of our business, ensuring that we continue to deliver impact in ways that are meaningful, measurable, and lasting.”
