Harlequins Makes Winning Conversion to Bond Payroll Services

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1 Harlequins Makes Winning Conversion to Bond Payroll Services Success and business growth can have unforeseen consequences, as London rugby club Harlequins discovered when its local outsourced payroll provider simply could not scale up to support both the size and complexity of its payroll. Having struggled with data inaccuracy, which was causing employee queries and poor financial reporting, a decision was taken by the club in early 2014 to look for a new outsourced payroll provider. Critically, by reducing the time spent on payroll related administration, Harlequins HR and Payroll team has been able to refocus on added value activity, including improved board level information and forecasting, to deliver long term benefit. The conversion to Bond Payroll Services, including the adoption of electronic payslips, has reduced payroll errors and improved financial reporting.

2 Rugby Transformation Top flight rugby has been transformed in recent years and leading clubs such as Harlequins are reaping the rewards. However, growth creates its own problems, not least in managing an extremely complex payroll process. One of the key challenges faced by the Twickenham based club is the variability of the payroll run especially during the playing season. The club has around 200 staff on the payroll, including full time office staff, the playing department, which includes coaches and players, but also a variable a number of part-time match day workers. For more information about Bond Payroll Services This latter group includes steward supervisors, retail assistants and the ticketing team and can be required once or twice a month for home games and as well as turning out for the growing number of hire games for events such as Rugby Aid and Legends matches. Rosy Burness, Harlequins HR Executive, says, We try to have a pool of match day workers who work at all the games to give consistency to the customer experience, but they will not work every game. Some games are quieter than others and will demand a smaller number of staff. We try to have a pool of match day workers who work at all the games to give consistency to the customer experience, but they will not work every game. Some games are quieter than others and will demand a smaller number of staff.

3 Variable Payroll Challenges Even more complex than the variable part-time staff payroll, however, is the payroll for the playing department. Players basic salaries are enhanced by appearance fees and win bonuses; while both players and coaching staff also receive additional payments at the end of the season if the club has performed well and qualified for competitions such as the Challenge Cup. In addition, any players picked to play internationally will receive payments from the national rugby board again including appearance fees and win bonuses. This money is paid to the club and allocated via the Harlequins payroll process. Players payments can vary significantly each month especially when compared to the off season when they are only receiving a basic salary. For international players especially, from the Six Nations matches onwards, the variance can be significant and it is essential to get that process correct, Burness confirms.

4 Accuracy and Scalability Harlequins has outsourced its payroll process for many years, until recently relying on a local accountancy firm. However, the club s expansion over the past five years combined with the increasing complexity of the payroll process was creating problems for the incumbent provider, leading to inaccuracy in the payroll data. It became clear that we needed a payroll provider with the ability to deal with both the scale and complexity of our payroll and the ability to support the club s future expansion, including increasing the number of players with international experience. The problem came to a head when Harlequins decided to introduce a salary sacrifice scheme as part of its contribution to Sports Relief effectively enabling players to donate a day s wages to the charity. While the players were keen to take part, the payroll provider struggled to manage the process, leading to errors and significant disruption. Burness says, It became clear that we needed a payroll provider with the ability to deal with both the scale and complexity of our payroll and the ability to support the club s future expansion, including increasing the number of players with international experience.

5 Evolving Payroll Requirements With a board director also involved at Arsenal football club, Harlequins finance and HR teams leveraged the relationship to understand the evolving payroll requirements of a larger club. Following the discussion, Arsenal s payroll team also recommended a number of outsource providers, which included Bond Payroll Services. Even though we were looking for a bigger provider with greater scalability and expertise, we also wanted the personal touch and that is what came across as soon as we met the team at Bond. We don t have a lot of payroll expertise in house, so we wanted someone we felt comfortable to talk to and to act as a trusted advisor. Bond was the obvious choice. Burness says, Even though we were looking for a bigger provider with greater scalability and expertise, we also wanted the personal touch and that is what came across as soon as we met the team at Bond. We don t have a lot of payroll expertise in house, so we wanted someone we felt comfortable to talk to and to act as a trusted advisor. Bond was the obvious choice.

6 Seamless Migration Harlequins moved its payroll over to Bond Payroll Services in April The migration process went well, with strong support from Bond s migration team. Says Burness, The only concern we had was regarding the state of our payroll data from the old provider. Bond managed to resolve that problem easily and minimise any impact on the business or employees. Since the migration, Harlequins has been reaping the rewards of an improved process and eradication of errors. In addition to improving data quality, the club has also embraced electronic payslips, replacing the hard copy payslips previously used. first draft has reduced as well. Rosy Burness, Harlequins HR Executive According to Burness, the biggest benefit in moving payroll providers has been the massive reduction in employee payroll queries. We used to have to deal with a lot of employee queries about wrong tax codes or other mistakes on the payslip and these have almost completely disappeared. The number of adjustments required after we submit our first draft has reduced as well. Add in the time saved by removing the need to create and distribute hard copy payslips and Burness estimates that she has saved about 25% of her time previously spent on payroll. She says, The HR department is not huge and the move to Bond has freed me up to focus on other things, which is incredibly valuable. We used to have to deal with a lot of employee queries about wrong tax codes or other mistakes on the payslip and these have almost completely disappeared. The number of adjustments required after we submit our

7 Planning Ahead One of the key areas of focus has been improving the overall quality of the club s service providers. While Harlequins staged for Auto- Enrolment in 2014, following the move to Bond Payroll Services, the Club decided to revisit its pension arrangements. The quality of our pension service historically was not great, says Burness. The successful migration to Bond set our expectations higher and made us realise we should be looking for the same standard from other providers to meet our needs as a business. As a result we are changing the pension provider as well. The finance team is also gaining benefits from the improved accuracy of the payroll data and quality of reporting provided by Bond Payroll Services. In the past, due to a lack of confidence in the data, the finance team had to create a lot of the journals in house. Now the quality of the Bond reports is enabling the creation of far more detailed reports for the board and senior managers, providing far better insight into what is a significant proportion of overall business costs. Rugby is only going to get bigger and we will run more events the ability to see clearly and quickly staff costs from payroll for each event will be key in improving forecasting, says Burness. Rugby is only going to get bigger and we will run more events the ability to see clearly and quickly staff costs from payroll for each event will be key in improving forecasting.

8 Outsourced Payroll Expertise Furthermore with accurate, detailed payroll information, in tandem with rapid access to advice from the Bond payroll team, the club is now confident that it is both meeting legal requirements as an employer, and contributing to the strategic success of the business. Burness concludes, We don t have any payroll expertise in house and the quality of the payroll process is key to employee perception, therefore the role of a provider is essential. We have a fantastic relationship with the Bond Payroll Services team and have full confidence in any advice provided. We don t have any payroll expertise in house and the quality of the payroll process is key to employee perception, therefore the role of a provider is essential. We have a fantastic relationship with the Bond Payroll Services team and have full confidence in any advice provided. HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM A PAYROLL SERVICES PROVIDER Outsourcing payroll works, and works well. However to attain measurable benefits and value organisations need the right mentality and understanding of the outsourced model