Dennis Publishing publishes over 70 titles throughout the UK, Australia and USA in the form of magazines, digital magazines, magbooks, websites, apps and mobile sites. A pioneer of online subscription marketing and online competitions, this diversified business never stops growing and evolving. In 2010, it applied the same philosophy to its payroll.
“We felt we weren’t really receiving value for money from our existing payroll services provider,” says Dennis HR Manager, Isabel Forbes. “Although the payroll bureau itself was quite sophisticated, it was standalone payroll product. We had a separate back office system that held everything from staff leave to sickness which was completed on a variety of Excel spreadsheets. We wanted a smarter, easier, flexible service that was all encompassing and included an employee self service element.”
The search for a new payroll services supplier
Isabel shortlisted three potential candidates to transform Dennis Publishing’s payroll services. In the frame were the original provider, Trace and a third, much larger provider.
Trace won for a number of reasons. “Our payroll department isn’t large. Trace seemed to focus on us and our needs in a way that larger organisations might not be able to. It reassures me to know that there is someone there for us when we have a query and someone who understands our business and internal processes. That feeling was evident right from the start with Trace”.
Built around you
Something else that fitted perfectly was Trace’s innovative Easipay Plus system.
“It’s been brilliant,” enthuses Isabel, “Really easy to use, amend and edit. And because it’s web-based I can use it at home, on the train, or whenever and wherever I need”.
“When we first started using it there were a few things we needed that the system didn’t offer as a regular part of its set up. For example, we have a wider range of staff with the authority to make changes than the system initially allowed. We also work to a few different working patterns and Trace tailored the system to fit the way we work. So very quickly all the people who needed authority to approve changes had it, and our time system has been fully incorporated.”
“It’s very refreshing to have a service provider who changes the way their systems operates as opposed to expecting you to change the way you work.”
Making the most of Employee Self Service
Dennis publishing adopted the Employee Self Service module to bring all its information into a single payroll system. Transferring information to the new system remains a work in progress but Isabel, and everyone using the system within Dennis Publishing, is already seeing the benefits.
“The new leave, sick and absence systems have gone down really well,” says Isabel. Employees can update their own information simply and quickly and the only work at our end is monitoring the information they input. It has reduced the manual workload of the HR department and more importantly it gives accountability to employees and managers to ensure that their records are up to date and accurate.”
“We’ll be bringing bank details online shortly so employees will be able to amend their own information. We’re continuing to migrate other information across, all of which makes our lives easier, improves accuracy and reduces double handling.”
Partner not provider
Trace is passionate about being more than a payroll service – it partners with client businesses to deliver long-term and wide reaching service improvements. It’s something Isabel clearly recognises: “I think that passion is clear from everything they do. We have a single point of contact at Trace and it’s a great feeling to know that someone’s got our back. We’re learning from them, and its good to know that there are payroll experts on hand to spot any technical errors. That’s not something you’d get without that personal touch.”
“Not so long ago we met our Trace contact for the first time and that’s helped us make things even better. We know how she works and what she needs to be able to deliver us the best service – and she has seen things from our perspective. That’s helped build our understanding still further.”
Rewarding loyalty
Dennis Publishing is part of Trace’s Major Accounts Programme, which means Isabel has access to loyalty points she can use for the benefit of the business. “You can use the points you earn for training and system configuration / development – but we tend to use our points for emergency adjustments to our return. If we’ve already completed our submission and then notice a mistake we can use our loyalty points to make last minute changes without incurring additional charges.”
A year with Trace
It’s been over a year since Dennis Publishing signed a three-year contract for payroll processing services with Trace. Has the switch been worth it?
“Absolutely,” says Isabel Forbes, “It’s only when you look back you realise just how basic our back end system was. Now we have something that can grow with us. We have a level of confidence in the accuracy of the system we never had previously. We’ve made more people accountable, and we’ve freed, and continue to free, huge amounts of time across the business. I’d definitely recommend Trace.”
