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.
Challenge
Morgans at this time had been experiencing difficulties related to compliance and employee onboarding. Steve realised that if there was a staff review or dispute, new joiners, leavers or the directors just needed some staff information, it was stored in multiple locations. This disjointed approach led to feelings of unprofessionalism that could negatively impact the business through delaying critical actions throughout the business.
“From our perspective, we didn’t have one person with a dedicated IT or HR function. We were previously a much bigger company with a dedicated person responsible for these functions, but as the main business spun off into smaller individual companies, that function no longer 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.”
Inefficient data storage
“When we were recently reviewing some staff files, I realised that some line managers were holding their own staff folders in separate locations so if we needed to do a staff review, we were having to search in multiple locations so important information could easily be overlooked.”
For Morgans, a stable data and localised information storage section was required. Operations at times were often delayed as directors searched for necessary staff information such as employment contracts, workplace policies, property registers or staff reviews that were located in multiple locations. When Morgans started remote working during COVID-19, they realised that some staff required company computer equipment to ensure information would remain company property, so having an accountable property register and workplace policies was essential for continued professionalism.
Holiday planning
Previously, a challenge that plagued directors was the management of holiday approval. For Morgans, employees would request leave from their line manager and then place stickers on an office calendar for days they would be out and another member of staff would keep a spreadsheet of entitlements and leave taken.
“Our processes were out of date and things had to change. I wanted to make sure we had an easy way to evidence what leave staff had due to them including any leave that was carried over from the previous year.”
Solution
Whilst Morgans previously experienced quite a headache searching for data and information, they used this as motivation to search for solutions. They’ve been using Employment Hero to streamline their HR processes since November and have already seen its benefits in full effect.
“Having something like Employment Hero, you can add a degree of professionalism while also meeting your compliance requirements and accessing staff data quickly.”
Company-wide transparency
Steve’s hard work paid off in spades. Morgans has been able to improve their transparency to its staff, providing directors the ability to send staff documents, handbooks and the ability to check certifications. Directors now receive digital recognition that staff have read company documents. This allows Morgans to ensure that compliance procedures are met and employees can confirm correct and up-to-date information on their employment contracts.
Improved manager responsibility
Directors finally now have implemented new holiday approval procedures. No longer will there be communication breakdowns amongst directors, as line managers are each now responsible for approving holidays. By giving line managers responsibility, this reduces the responsibility placed on one staff member and is placed back into the director’s hands.
Streamlined data storage
Time is money. Being efficient and productive with your time can significantly improve your chances of successfully running a business. Steve recognised that Morgans needed a degree of professionalism whilst also achieving that speed of sourcing data quickly. With Employment Hero, employees can quickly locate any relevant data with ease, without having to worry about wasting time and money.
“I needed to look for something the other week and I spent 90 minutes looking for it in the system. My charge out rate is £300 per hour, so it cost the company £450 for me to find that one document because it was misfiled and not easily identified—and that was just one document! Employment Hero costs us £100 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.”
Impact
Morgans can now effectively and efficiently manage their employees with ease without the worry of trying to remember all the pieces that need to be put in place. Directors can now easily
allocate certain tasks to certain directors or employees, significantly reducing the reliance on one person being responsible and promoting a system of collective responsibility.
The commitment to refined, streamlined onboarding procedures has given Steve and other 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.
