Arc Nationwide event staff specialists

Arc was established in Liverpool in 2008 and has since grown into a nationwide event staffing agency with a team of 35 full time staff across seven offices. The business has a mission to ‘deliver the happiest and most compliant staff to events, every second of every day across the world’.

Arc place staff across the UK, at both regular and one-off events, including hugely prestigious events such as Premier League football fixtures, The Open and the Cricket World Cup. Arc puts honesty and compliance at the core of their business and is committed to make each event a success.

Business need

Arc on-board hundreds of new recruits and place staff at various venues each month. They are recruiting and working with candidates from all over the world. Applicants are assessed and trained to the highest standard and can then choose to work regular or ad-hoc hours at some of the UK’s most exciting venues.

In 2017, the business identified that they needed a straightforward way to keep on top of candidate compliance. The recruitment team were often shown time-limited Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) from candidates as proof of their Right to Work. They visually inspected them and logged details in a spreadsheet which was an inefficient and unreliable way to work.

Maddie Milton, Staff Welfare and Compliance Officer at Arc, explains “finding and compiling information on candidate BRPs, capturing their expiry dates, and ensuring that we didn’t miss follow-up checks was a very time-consuming process. So, our search started originally for a system that could help us reduce our admin.”

The Solution

In 2017, after researching the market, Arc started using the TrustID mobile validation App as an easier way to validate and capture documents than manual checks and scans with a printer or photocopier. The App meant that scanned IDs were sent straight to inboxes and Arc no longer had to manually find the scans.

Then, in late 2018, Arc introduced TrustID ID Scanners for each of their 7 main offices. The office-based scanning devices check visible and non-visible security features in identity documents presented by their applicants, including passports, visas and BRPs. Once a candidate’s documents are scanned, the software automatically saves proof of the check in a centralised system. The scanners mean that Arc can now easily track any expiry dates on visas and BRPs and log the date of the follow-up check, if necessary.

Reduce administrative burden

Arc was originally looking for a simple way to administer BRPs but soon realised that TrustID systems could reduce administration in other areas. “Once we saw the ID scanners in action, we realised how good they could be in supporting our whole enrollment process and saving us time in lots of ways” explains Maddie.

“The scan results are automatically saved in our systems, so we don’t have to photocopy documents anymore. And the scanners are linked to a central system which helps us find information about candidate checks really quickly, wherever and whenever the check was done.”

The scanner also captures a candidate’s photograph from their identity document and Arc can use this image to create a security pass, which is a further useful time saving.

Efficient, on-going compliance from anywhere

Once a new applicant has passed an initial telephone interview, they are invited to an assessment session, usually held in one of ARC’s 7 main offices. No candidate can start the assessment session without first producing the correct Right to Work documentation and passing the TrustID validation check. “This clear process really helps us with compliance,” says Maddie, “It just helps us to ensure no-one is missed!”

In 2019, Arc introduced the TrustID online validation service, alongside the ID Scanners. The pay-per-scan service allows the team to capture a document image from anywhere and upload it to a secure validation service. Within minutes, they receive an assessment on the document’s authenticity. This helps with remote recruitment and has added greater flexibility to ARC’s recruitment process.

“Sometimes, we run ‘pop-up’ assessment days, or two on- boarding teams need to make checks at the same time, so the online validation service has been really useful” explains Maddie “It’s really easy to use and it gives us just a bit more flexibility.”

A professional and transparent check

ID validation technology has given Arc a highly professional way to demonstrate compliance checks to their applicants and their customers. Today, new recruits can see the technology in action as documents are scanned in front of them. “The ID checks set the tone for the professional way that we work” adds Maddie.

Help confirm document authenticity

Since introducing ID scanning, Arc have come across a fraudulent identity document presented by a candidate. “Finding a fake document proved to us how valuable the scanners are,” explains Maddie. “We could stop the application immediately and the TrustID helpdesk were able to inform the relevant parties about the document.”

Conclusion

Whilst looking to reduce administrative on-boarding tasks, Arc have found a straightforward, professional and consistent way to validate applicant identity documents. The validation systems help them to ensure that the staff they’re placing are who they say they are and eligible to work. This supports their commitment to compliance and gives them a robust process to make sure that no-one is placed without a thorough check.

The wide range of validation services offered by TrustID has also helped Arc to maintain compliance across their business, wherever checks are needed and vary the technology they use depending on their requirements.