Steve Goodwin is the director for Morgans, a financial advisory business providing a variety of financial services for both private and public clients. Steve heads up Morgans Employee Benefits where they specialise in providing advice on Group Risk and Health Benefits.ย ย
Challengeย ย
Morgans at this time had been experiencing difficulties related to compliance and employeeย onboarding. Steve realised that if there was a staff review or dispute, new joiners, leavers or theย directors just needed some staff information, it was stored in multiple locations. This disjointedย approach led to feelings of unprofessionalism that could negatively impact the business throughย delaying critical actions throughout the business.ย ย
โFrom our perspective, we didnโt have one person with a dedicated IT or HR function. We wereย previously a much bigger company with a dedicated person responsible for these functions, butย as the main business spun off into smaller individual companies, that function no longerย existed. Morgans is one of those parts and although we have four directors, no one person had been tasked with that individual HR responsibility or had the necessary experience.โย ย
Inefficient data storageย ย
โWhen we were recently reviewing some staff files, I realised that some line managers wereย holding their own staff folders in separate locations so if we needed to do a staff review, weย were having to search in multiple locations so important information could easily beย overlooked.โย ย
For Morgans, a stable data and localised information storage section was required. Operationsย at times were often delayed as directors searched for necessary staff information such asย employment contracts, workplace policies, property registers or staff reviews that were locatedย in multiple locations. When Morgans started remote working during COVID-19, they realised that some staff required company computer equipment to ensure information would remainย company property, so having an accountable property register and workplace policies wasย essential for continued professionalism.ย
Holiday planningย ย
Previously, a challenge that plagued directors was the management of holiday approval. Forย Morgans, employees would request leave from their line manager and then place stickers on anย office calendar for days they would be out and another member of staff would keep aย spreadsheet of entitlements and leave taken.ย ย
โOur processes were out of date and things had to change. I wanted to make sure we had anย easy way to evidence what leave staff had due to them including any leave that was carriedย over from the previous year.โย
Solutionย ย
Whilst Morgans previously experienced quite a headache searching for data and information,ย they used this as motivation to search for solutions. Theyโve been using Employment Hero to streamline their HR processes since November and have already seen its benefits in full effect.ย ย
โHaving something like Employment Hero, you can add a degree of professionalism while alsoย meeting your compliance requirements and accessing staff data quickly.โย ย
Company-wide transparencyย ย
Steveโs hard work paid off in spades. Morgans has been able to improve their transparency toย its staff, providing directors the ability to send staff documents, handbooks and the ability toย check certifications. Directors now receive digital recognition that staff have readย company documents. This allows Morgans to ensure that compliance procedures are met andย employees can confirm correct and up-to-date information on their employment contracts.ย ย
Improved manager responsibilityย ย
Directors finally now have implemented new holiday approval procedures. No longer will thereย be communication breakdowns amongst directors, as line managers are each now responsibleย for approving holidays. By giving line managers responsibility, this reduces the responsibility placed on one staff member and is placed back into the directorโs hands.ย ย
Streamlined data storageย ย
Time is money. Being efficient and productive with your time can significantly improve yourย chances of successfully running a business. Steve recognised that Morgans needed a degreeย of professionalism whilst also achieving that speed of sourcing data quickly. With Employmentย Hero, employees can quickly locate any relevant data with ease, without having to worry aboutย wasting time and money.ย
โI needed to look for something the other week and I spent 90 minutes looking for it in theย system. My charge out rate is ยฃ300 per hour, so it cost the company ยฃ450 for me to find that one document because it was misfiled and not easily identifiedโand that was just oneย document! Employment Hero costs us ยฃ100 a month; it only takes a few instances during that year where you spend a lot of time to find something that it pays for itself.”ย
Impactย ย
Morgans can now effectively and efficiently manage their employees with ease without theย worry of trying to remember all the pieces that need to be put in place. Directors can now easilyย
allocate certain tasks to certain directors or employees, significantly reducing the reliance onย one person being responsible and promoting a system of collective responsibility.ย ย
The commitment to refined, streamlined onboarding procedures has given Steve and otherย directors visibility of employee information and data all in one secure place. By giving their directors the tools to be more effective, Morgans employees have been better able to succeed in their roles.ย