London based rugby club, Harlequins, has selected Bond Payroll Services as its payroll provider of choice with success and business growth as key drivers for the change in provider, after 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 constraining financial reporting, a decision was taken by the club in early 2014 to look for a new outsourced payroll provider.
The conversion to Bond Payroll Services includes the adoption of electronic payslips and has reduced payroll errors and improved financial reporting. Critically, by minimising the time spent on payroll related administration by approximately 25%, 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.
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 its payroll, including full time office staff, the playing department, which includes coaches and players, and also a variable a number of part-time match day workers. 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.
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 European Rugby Champions 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 Harlequins’ payroll process. Harlequins was therefore looking for a provider that could manage both the complex payroll requirements and the sheer scale of the payroll which is being run.
Rosy Burness, Harlequins HR Executive, comments, “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 and has saved us around 25% in time which was just spent on payroll.”
Burness continues, “Harlequins moved its payroll over to Bond Payroll Services in April 2015. The migration process went well, with strong support from Bond’s migration team. 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.”
Burness concludes, “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.”