Making a difference is in Serco's DNA. They understand how vital it is that we work closely in partnership with customers, colleagues, charity partners and our supply chain. Collaborating with them, they co-design people-centred solutions that make a positive impact on both people and the planet.
We recently got the chance to interview their Social Impact Manager, Lulu Hobbs, on Serco's approach to Social Value - plus their top tips for other businesses getting started in Social Value.
What does Social Value in Action look like at Serco?
We're specifically a business-to-government organisation, so we only provide services into the public sector.
We focus on three key pillars: People, Place and Planet - not unheard of, as everybody's obviously talking about those at the moment!
Within the People pillar, we focus on our people services. What we can do for our people, how we can train and develop them, the opportunities we can provide, and then most importantly, their health and well-being so they can feel relaxed and happy at work and bring their authentic selves to work.
Within the Place pillar, it's very much about what we do for our communities. We invite our colleagues to take a day's volunteering leave every year, and they use that to volunteer with local schools or community organisations they already have relationships with. We also promote professional volunteering, where they can use their skills to help other organisations like charities and third sectors.
For the Planet pillar, it's very much about how we can ensure a sustainable organisation. Our colleagues are trained in environmental management, nature and biodiversity, but most importantly, we pass that on to our supply chain and partners we work with. We have lots of skills and expertise in our organisation, so it's about making sure they're appointed and used in the right places.
Why did you choose Social Value Portal as your partner?
Selecting Social Value Portal as our partner was a really obvious choice, with the alignment to the UK Government's Social Value Model.
As a business-to-government organisation, all of our bidding, all of our growth and our development, is completely aligned to the Social Value Model. So the fact that the Social Value TOM System and the Social Value Model have a golden thread back through to the Sustainable Development Goals, makes our job a lot easier.
We were also really interested in the Social Value assurance approach that Social Value Portal could provide, because we need to make sure our customers are aware that we're not marking our own homework and that we are actually delivering against commitments we've made.
The other thing that using Social Value Portal has helped us do is give Social Value a seat at the commercial table. By having a Social Value proxy, a Social Value pound (SV£), we can enter into commercial conversations and give Social Value the really important place it has. Previously, it was always the nice to have, and now it's actually part of the conversations with business leaders and business decision makers.
As a B2G organisation, all of our bidding, all of our growth and our development is completely aligned to the Social Value Model, so the fact that the Social Value TOM System and the Social Value Model have a golden thread back through to Sustainable Development goals makes our job a lot easier.
Lulu Hobbs, Social Impact Manager, Serco
What's your advice for businesses getting started with Social Value?
My advice for companies just starting in the Social Value arena would be to make sure it works for them.
If you're going to use the TOM System™ and Social Value Portal, don't think that you have to have an answer for everything and have a measurement against everything.
Look at what you're already doing, look at what you're already achieving and make the system work for you.
The other thing is to ensure that you're getting buy-in across your organisation. It's really important obviously to deliver social impact and Social Value for all of the right reasons, but also make sure that you're demonstrating and explaining the business reasons behind delivering Social Value, because the senior decision makers in your organisation will need to hear that.
The last thing, which actually is really easy, is just seek advice, ask questions. There's no one right way to deliver Social Value and social impact, and nobody knows the right answer. So just ask questions, seek advice, and just read as much as you can.
What's next for Serco and Social Value?
It's very much about developing our culture. Although Social Value is not a new thing to Serco, the new approach from the central government and local government is much more prescriptive than it has ever been previously.
So it's about bringing all of my colleagues along on that cultural journey: getting the information out there, making sure everybody understands the part they can play in delivering social impact.
Another key objective of mine is very much around increasing our volunteering leave, as we've got a workforce of 30, 000 people in the UK and everybody's entitled to take their one day's volunteering leave. It might not sound much, but all these small pieces are going to become a huge contribution to community and society.
Moving forward, we want to make sure that we're tracking and measuring what our supply chain are delivering. We know for a fact they're delivering huge amounts of Social Value and social impact, but we don't have a full picture and it's not always being reported. So we're going to use Social Value Portal to really ensure we're doing that in the future.
Resources to help you win central government contracts
Interested in how Social Value activity works in harmony with the UK Government’s Social Value Model? Then be sure to check out our dedicated Social Value Model Bid Checklist.
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