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How Serco scaled its vetting operation across seven business areas without doubling its team
Serco is a public services company working on behalf of governments across the UK - operating in defence, justice, immigration, health, facilities management, leisure, and transport. With complex, highly regulated vetting requirements across every one of those sectors, robust and scalable candidate screening isn't a nice-to-have, it's mission-critical.
Challenge
- Previously running an entirely manual, paper-based screening process
- Six metal filing cabinets of candidate records
- Unable to scale without significant headcount growth
- 40% failure rate with third-party criminal and qualification checks
Approach
- A centralised, digital vetting platform with Access Screening
- 80+ configurable workflows across seven business areas
- Automated candidate chasing and form completion
- Integrated digital third-party check providers
- Recruiter view-only access for real-time visibility
- Dedicated customer success and development team support
Results
- 10,000 candidates vetted per year with a team of 24 – would be an estimated 50 required without the platform
- 99%+ compliance rate across all contracts
- Average candidate form completion time of under 24 hours
- A single Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) file able to be completed in just 2 hours
- Large, complex tender won on the basis of adoption of the platform that will increase vetting volumes by 300%
Before: From filing cabinets to a platform built for scale
When Kev Sambor joined Serco as Head of Vetting and Onboarding, the team of six was conducting all candidate screening manually. Sending application forms to Disclosure Scotland and the DBS, scanning completed files, and waiting for the post each day to action the next steps. The process was slow, resource-heavy, and expensive.
Before we adopted Access Screening, we followed a very manual process. We had six metal filing cabinets filled with people's written files. We were posting application forms, scanning files when they were complete. A very monotonous process.
Kev Sambor, Head of Vetting & Onboarding, Serco
Kev's mandate was clear. Expand the vetting team's remit beyond defence and bring each of Serco's business divisions in-house. To do that without an unsustainable increase in headcount, he needed to automate and streamline the processes with technology. In 2017, after evaluating multiple options, Serco chose Access Screening.
It was an immediate realisation that in order to scale up the operation, we needed good technology to support us. To keep the team size efficient and make sure they were doing value-add tasks.
Why is Access Screening the right choice nine years on?
The number one criteria when evaluating solutions was configurability. Serco operates across six or seven employment sectors, each with its own distinct vetting requirements. The platform needed to flex around the business, not the other way around.
At the time, going back nine years, Access Screening just clearly stood head and shoulders above any capability of any of the other options. The team loved it. It just felt like using the internet to run checks. It had everything we needed and more importantly, the cost element won through too.
Nine years later, Serco has grown from two or three workflows to more than 80, spanning seven different areas of the business. Recruiters now have view-only access to live check statuses, and Kev has full confidence that any new contract win can be onboarded quickly with a tailored vetting package.
Implementation: A team that listens, and a product that keeps evolving
Serco gave Access Screening a 10 out of 10 NPS score and a five-star Trustpilot review. For Kev, the decision was straightforward. There was simply nothing he could point to that hadn't been delivered.
I'm a believer that if something's good, you say it is. When I was filling in the survey, there was nothing I could say wasn't delivered. And I knew there were great things coming down the pipeline on the roadmap that I was excited for that will create further efficiencies for us.
The relationship with the Access team extends well beyond the platform itself. From the initial implementation, moving from paper to full digitisation, and through to ongoing support, Kev describes a team that is always willing to listen and act.
A couple of weeks ago, I didn't know how to create a solution to deliver for one of our customers. I had a chat with my Customer Success Manager, who helped me with a bit of guidance and a few options on how I could present the solution. That kind of support makes a real difference.
The screening features that made the difference
Configurable workflows at scale
Serco's vetting requirements vary significantly across its business areas, from the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for defence, to more complex checks across justice, immigration, and health. Access Screening's configurability means each new contract or business area can be set up with its own tailored workflow, without relying on the development team to build it from scratch.
Starting with just two or three workflows in 2017, Serco now runs more than 80.
Automated candidate engagement
One of Kev's favourite features is the auto-chaser, a configurable tool that prompts candidates to complete their forms within a set timeframe. This has resulted in an average candidate form completion time of under 24 hours.
The average time of just under 24 hours for candidates to complete the forms says something in itself. They see an email, click a link, follow up and complete, rather than leaving it for later.
Task specialisation and team efficiency
The platform allows Kev's team to segment work so that administrators handle similar tasks in batches, improving both speed and quality. Team members are multi-skilled and can rotate across tasks, but the system's structure means they can move quickly and consistently through high volumes of work.
Integrated third-party checks
Before Access Screening, Serco relied on a third-party provider for criminal and qualification checks with a 60% success rate, meaning 40% of checks came back incomplete. Now, all third-party interactions are fully digital and built into the platform, with administrators able to complete and analyse results in one place.
Compliance and audit confidence
Across Serco's highly regulated public sector contracts, compliance is non-negotiable. Access Screening has enabled the vetting team to provide contract directors with real-time compliance data, flagging issues before they become problems.
Now we're at 99-point-something percent for compliance. Our team managers can report to a contract manager: - "your site's compliant, your site's not compliant, and here's why”. All of that data comes from the Access Screening system.
Serco's results with Access Screening
%+
Compliance rate across all contracts
%
Projected increase in vetting volumes from new contract win
What organisations should know about Access Screening
For Kev, the advice to any organisation considering Access Screening is simple. Take a proper look, understand what it can do, and don't be afraid to ask for what you need.
Understand the system because it's powerful. And if there's something missing, or it's not doing something you need, just talk to the Access team. You'll see it delivered as a feature on the roadmap, and it'll give you the efficiency you're looking for.
After nine years, Kev is unequivocal about the role Access Screening has played, not just in Serco's operational success, but in his own.
I genuinely believe that Access Screening has helped me to achieve my personal goals and build the team that delivers for the rest of the Serco business. I wouldn't be as successful in my role today without Access Screening to support me.
See what Access Screening could do for your organisation
Join organisations like Serco in transforming your candidate vetting, reducing turnaround times, improving compliance, and scaling without adding headcount.