challenge
They initially came to us at an early stage for small business payroll support. They had a modest number of retail stores across the UK with big ambitions to grow considerably through acquisition in the following year.
Traditionally the stores being acquired were family-owned and payroll processes needed updating to bring efficiency up to the right level for the new operations and as a result they started exploring outsourcing payroll services.
As the business had ambitious plans to grow, acquiring one new store per week on average (sometimes 6 in one week), they needed a UK payroll services partner that could support the transfer of employees that were TUPE’d across and moved onto the main company payroll.
solution
We ran a fully managed payroll service for the business, adapted a payroll email address (to be branded as part of the business) and answered phones as the Payroll Department, which made the employees feel more at ease, building trust and allowing us to provide a responsive, reliable service to the team.
With our wider knowledge of acquisitions as a people consultancy who also specialise in organisational development, we were able to understand the challenges and opportunities that occur in a rapidly growing business.
When transferring during TUPE, the employees needed to be setup on the payroll system and then paid weekly, fortnightly and then eventually moved to monthly. This was part of the onboarding process following successful acquisition drives.
Collating timesheet data for all stores was a process that needed to be rolled out with new stores and constantly updated too.
results
Within a few years, the number of stores doubled and increased to 1200 employees and we supported them in growing their business through a smooth payroll process.
A lot of work was done to heavily support store and area managers, particularly around new starters and leavers. They also needed payroll reports for approval cost analysis.
Due to the success of operations, and the acquisition plan, the business was eventually snapped up by a larger retail consortium and took the payroll in-house with their existing teams.
They also showcase their gender pay gap reporting prominently to show transparency.
Contact us at the Talk Staff office nearest to you or submit a business enquiry online.
A truly excellent partner. Incredibly responsive. totally knowledgeable. And all staff are a pleasure to interact with. Every now and then you encounter an organisation that is run exceptionally well – this is one of them.
