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Ah yes, I remember it well...

It was a warm, sunny day in early June 2016. Our main conference room was filled with 7 guests from Liverpool and 5 of our Connect & Simplify™ team members.

We were gathered so our Liverpool guests could explain what they were looking for in a Human Capital Management vendor for their 1st USA-based office. (They had 1100 employees in 28 countries worldwide already.)

Seated in front of us were their new, US Sales Manager (who had found our company on the internet the day before) and from their World HQ in Liverpool their Chief Financial Officer, Legal Counsel, Financial Director, Main Board Member, Chief Executive Officer and Service Director.

Our team included senior specialists from Benefits, Retirement, Payroll, Time Labor Management, our CEO/President, and Executive Vice President.

We learned that they were a large worldwide entity with offices in 29 countries, and finally ready to open a headquarters here in the US sometime in July, in the Pewaukee, WI area. They were anticipating an initial staff of about 10 employees.

We also learned they had searched for us on the internet and had decided our multi-service offering: payroll, time labor management, employee benefits, retirement plans, and HR services made sense to them. One-stop shopping for all the services they needed.

HCM solutions for payroll, employee benefits & more

Their opening took a little longer than anticipated. July 6th, we signed agreements for payroll with a 1st check date in August, followed immediately by employee benefits and we set up a 401(K) plan. While we were implementing payroll, we learned of their need to revamp their employee handbook to reflect US policies so we had our BenHR team get to work on a handbook revision.

Next, we trained their US personnel, and also their Liverpool staff, on how to enter data into the payroll software and get the standard reports and automation queries they would need.

Not a huge client, but a nice beginning to what was to become a multi-state entity.

Shortly after they became a client, their company was sold to a large US Corporation, also headquartered in WI. In my past experience, I was doubtful we would retain the client since most often they would have been absorbed into the new company’s services.

I was proven wrong! Of the many entities their new owners had purchased, our client was the only one who was allowed to keep their current vendor relationships.

Fast forward to December 2019. I received a call from our energy client’s Finance Manager about a new acquisition they had made on the east coast. They had acquired another energy company with employees in IN, MD, VA and DC and 1 employee in NY. That increased their employee count to 35 people. They needed to integrate these new employees into our system and they expanded the services we provided. They added Time Labor Management since they had service technicians on the road who would be tracking time from job to job from their smartphones and mobile devices.

Handle employee benefits enrollment with an integrated HCM software

They also needed to streamline benefits enrollment, since the east coast employees had a different health plan, and they wanted to add them to their 401(K) plan.

Our health team took over their existing health plan. We added Benefits Administration with Electronic Benefits Enrollment since their forms would be sent directly to the carriers. Our 401(K) team also added these new employees to their existing 401(K) plan.

We also implemented Electronic New Hire Onboarding to simplify and streamline the entire process for their Finance Director, their employees and for payroll.

As I am sharing this client’s Connect & Simplify™ journey today, I just learned from one of our team members, this client will be onboarding another 60 employees (in several states) in the immediate future.

Connect & Simplify™ streamlined administration for the Finance Manager, streamlined processes for New Hire Onboarding, Payroll, Time Labor Management, Benefits Enrollment, Retirement Plans, and Human Resources for everyone!

Next year, with 60 new employees, they will need to Connect & Simplify their ACA (Affordable Care Act) Reporting.

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About The Author —

Barb Schnoll is a Subject Matter Consultant in Payroll, Time Labor Management, HR, and HCM systems. Her prior history also includes many years of business-to-business consulting, sales, implementation, and training in technology. She has seen payroll evolve from writing checks, paying taxes, and producing W2s to a full-fledged, cloud-based HCM system offering mobile access from smartphones to employees and new hires.

In her spare time, she loves traveling, motorcycling, and new this summer, discovering the endless trails of UTVs.

She has represented The Benefit Companies for 20 years.

Connect & Simplify™ partners with UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) to offer best-in-class Payroll Software, Kronos Time Clocks, HR, and HCM solutions.

Call Barb at 262-207-1999 ext. 217 and visit www.connectandsimplify.com