Capita has now signed the Army’s recruiting partnering project (RPP), after being announced ‘recommended supplier’ last month (see Capita trumps Serco for key Army recruitment contract). Valued at £44m a year for ten years - i.e. £440m all in – this is the largest new Government BPO deal we have seen in the UK since TCS’ £600m National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) win in March 2010 (see here). Capita is committing to make savings for the Army in excess of £300m over the life time of the deal, with the aim of releasing 1,000 military recruiters back on to front line duties.
Capita will work with the existing recruiting model for a year before implementing its new approach in March 2013. This will involve delivering the entire process for the attraction and recruitment of soldiers and officers to the Regular and Territorial Army. Capita will also provide a tri-service ICT platform to underpin recruitment for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force. So there should be opportunities for Capita to expand its recruitment role over time.
The deal is a real biggie for Capita, and an interesting example of how the UK BPS market leader is now becoming more open to partnering. Capita will work with advertising agency JWT, to support recruitment marketing, and recruitment process outsourcer (RPO) Kenexa, to support the assessment process and the recruitment technology for the ICT platform. Capita is partnering to provide the end-to-end recruitment process for the Army (excluding core activities like recruitment policy, entry criteria and assessment standards). This includes the communications into and out of the organisation - an area of opportunity we have earmarked for significant growth in our new report Communications-focused BPS: opportunities beyond document outsourcing.
Defence is proving a hot area right now. Another major defence BPO deal is expected to be awarded this week – the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) Future contract. Capita is in here – up against incumbent HP in partnership with Xafinity Paymaster, and CSC. HP has provided this service since 1997 when it was then the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency (AFPAA). But change is afoot and the long-running deal is due to expire this November.