Organisation: Serco Citizen Services
Location: Hertfordshire
Focus: Social value, education, employability and community support
Serco Citizen Services’ social value approach addresses a practical challenge: how can organisations increase social impact when teams are balancing productivity, efficiency and service performance?
Rather than asking operational teams to develop and deliver social value activity alongside their day-to-day responsibilities, Serco’s Citizen Services Social Value Team provides the expertise, builds partnerships and delivers the governance and support needed to embed social value into existing operational priorities.
The challenge
Serco Citizen Services identified the challenge of enabling operational teams, including busy call centre staff, to deliver meaningful social value without creating additional operational burden.
Its approach was to provide dedicated social value expertise and support rather than placing responsibility for developing and delivering activity solely with operational teams.
The response
The Citizen Services Social Value Team invests time in identifying community needs, reviewing operational constraints and supporting managers through coaching and facilitated delivery.
The team also connects operational colleagues with education providers, employability specialists, voluntary and community organisations and clients.
Reasonable adjustments, risk assessments and job carving help ensure opportunities are accessible. Governance and reporting are used to reduce administration for delivery teams and provide measurable outcomes.
Education and employability are central to the approach, through an integrated pathway spanning aspiration, education and paid employment.
What changed
In 2025, colleagues across Serco Citizen Services contributed 1,079 hours of expertise to community projects and supported 92 partner organisations, voluntary groups and community initiatives.
The portfolio delivered a Social Value Proxy Value of £14.85 million in 2025, reported through the Social Value Portal and subject to third-party validation. Direct financial contributions, donations and the value of colleague volunteering totalled £33,650.
Education and employability activity created more than 1,000 meaningful learner interactions in 2025. This included colleagues completing 150 mock interviews to help young people develop their confidence and understand employer expectations.
Six learners secured work placements in office settings, including both mainstream and SEND opportunities. Non-commissioned SEND employability support and careers mentoring focused on CV development, interview preparation, workplace readiness and confidence.
Six young people who were not in education, employment or training were supported into employment pathways with Serco and other organisations.
The approach also responded to local community need. In Hertfordshire, £6,000 of grant funding supported Stevenage Vineyard, FoodShed, BabyShed and bereavement support services. These contributions increased their capacity to provide emergency food parcels to households experiencing hardship, essential baby supplies to families under financial strain, and support that reduces isolation and improves wellbeing following bereavement.
What the experience shows
Serco Citizen Services reports that the approach has also helped build colleague capability, strengthen local recruitment pipelines and connect social value with employee engagement.
In a 2025 employee survey, engagement reached 77%, above the 73% Serco benchmark. Wellbeing was 86%, ethical standards were 83% and communications, health and diversity were each 82%.
External recognition has also been reported, including Social Value Portal recognition, a Social Responsibility Award from CallMiner and Gold in the 2026 UK National Contact Centre Awards’ Giving Something Back category.
Together, the reported activity illustrates how Serco Citizen Services has sought to integrate social value into operational delivery rather than treating it as an additional responsibility for operational teams.
What happens next
The approach continues to focus on providing the expertise, partnerships, governance and support needed to embed social value into existing operational priorities.
Its work across education, employability and local community support provides an ongoing model for how social value activity can be delivered alongside operational responsibilities.
As Serco Citizen Services describes it, the approach demonstrates that social value need not compete with operational delivery. With the right enabling structure, it can strengthen communities, colleagues and services at the same time.
