Communities
The nature of our work means we are part of the local community, often delivering services on which people there rely. Some 70% of our employees also live in the communities in which we work. We believe it is important they can be proud of the company's approach locally - and take credit for our collective achievements for our customers. Serco has always been involved with local community projects and our employees are enthusiastic fundraisers and volunteers. We support their efforts in a number of ways, and we are always looking to ensure that the impact of our community projects is as positive and lasting as possible.
You can view our Employee Volunteering Policy Standard [PDF, 68kb] (Please note this link will open in a new browser window).
Within the Serco Management System we commit to support and make a positive impact on the communities we work in.
We therefore expect all business operations to ensure that:-
- stakeholders are actively consulted and involved in the way we engage with the communities that we work in
the design and development of business opportunities takes account of social considerations and the well being of the community - systems and programmes are established to effectively manage and develop community engagement
we share our expertise, skills and resources and create partnerships that have a positive impact on our wider community - employees engage as volunteers in a broad range of initiatives in the communities in which they live and work
- we evaluate, review and report on community activities against strategic community engagement objectives
our community investment is measured and reviewed against agreed targets to demonstrate continuous improvement
Our community activities are as diverse as our business, and we manage them at a local level. Community is an important concept at Serco. For us, it effectively means a number of different groups of people: other parts of our own company which we support through expertise, resources, and day-to-day assistance; the local people and organisations with which our contracts and businesses interact and develop positive relationships; the local business community with which we work to identify positive initiatives; and communities in need, such as schools and charities, with which we encourage our employees to get involved through volunteering or fundraising.
There are many ways in which we support the local community - from raising money for local charities to providing facilities to local community groups; from providing work placements to supporting local schools; from helping prisoners find work and accommodation on release to using local suppliers wherever possible.
Serco encourages its employees to volunteer their time to local projects. This not only benefits the community - and builds the reputation of both Serco and our customer - it has a positive impact on the personal development of the volunteers themselves.
To strengthen the impact that we have we operate a number of regional networks. They help to share best practice and resources across our diverse business and provide rich reservoirs of expertise and skills.
We also build partnerships with external organisations that can meet both community and business needs. Our national membership of Business in the Community (BITC) in England and Wales gives us valuable access to local knowledge and expertise on social issues and opportunities to make a positive difference.
Our business in Hong Kong has recently joined the Citizenship and Leadership Team of Community Business, which helps organisations plan CR activities.
In the UK we also belong to the Corporate Responsibility Group. This organisation for CR practitioners from the UK's major companies offers a support network, access to information and good practice and skills development.
Focus on employability
Employability is at the heart of what we can offer and we have therefore developed an employability programme. It has three focus areas: our own people, disadvantaged people in our communities and young people preparing for the world of work. An important element is our Skills for You programme, described in more detail in the People section, to give basic skills training to Serco staff who want to improve their English, literacy, numeracy and IT skills. It's not confined exclusively to our own employees: wherever feasible, we plan to extend the courses to employees' families, Serco's suppliers and the wider community.
The employability initiative also encourages greater staff participation through volunteering. The second stage of the programme will encourage our businesses to see this as a key part of staff development, as well as a way of contributing to the community.
We are delighted to support the Duke of Edinburgh's Award - an international charity - as a chartered member. This organisation helps young people develop the skills and abilities that we seek in our future employees. We provide additional support by linking Serco's e-recruitment system into the Award's website and through the provision of a bursary scheme for Award participants.
More details on our approach, activities and performance are detailed in our Corporate Responsibility reports.