Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) celebrates a momentous occasion this month. On 1 November, SSCL officially started business from shared service centres inherited from the Department for Work & Pensions, Defra and the Environment Agency.
Since the company was launched in 2013, SSCL has become the largest provider of critical business support services for the UK Government, the Ministry of Defence, the Metropolitan Police Service and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
Over its 10 years, SSCL has made significant savings in excess of £750m for the taxpayer by embedding shared services into the public sector through the provision of core and specialist digital solutions including pensions administration, HR and payroll, finance and accounting, recruitment and resourcing services, contact centre, data insight and procurement services.
SSCL has trebled its revenues and increased its employees from 2,000 people in 2014 to more than 3,000 in 2023. Starting with 1,100 employees transferring into SSCL from across eight locations, SSCL now operates with 3,000 employees from Six Centres of Excellence.
Marking its success, SSCL recently announced it would begin its transition from joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary of its parent company Sopra Steria — a European tech leader recognised for its consulting, digital services, and software development.
The Cabinet Office’s decision to sell its stake will make a significant contribution to the public purse and allow Sopra Steria to continue its investment in the SSCL business.
Shaping the future of public services
SSCL has made significant strides in shaping the future for business process outsourcing (BPO), expanding the range of services in response to client needs, and driving innovation and digital solutions to transform and unify.
Crucially, SSCL has provided added value in areas such as large-scale resourcing campaigns, contact centre services and essential support for clients throughout the global Covid-19 pandemic. With Sopra Steria’s investment SSCL can further enhance, innovate and grow its services on behalf of its civil service, CITB, policing and MoD clients.
David Morris, SSCL chief executive, said: “It’s a significant occasion marking SSCL’s tenth birthday. I am proud of what the company has achieved over the past 10 years, and as we reflect on our many successes of the past, we have our eye on the next decade and the future.
“The next 10 years will be incredibly different. SSCL has built a solid foundation embedding shared services into public sector culture and is well-positioned to shape the future. We’ve digitally transformed services, and now it’s time to drive forward into a new decade of change through the application of predictive and cognitive analytics, deployment of robotic and business process automation and innovative services to continue to succeed together.”