Sage Blog

Jim Scott, Head of SageCover

You don’t need me to tell you that HR and payroll is a major concern for businesses. That’s something your employees will do if you get it wrong! But you might not know that seven out of ten small businesses have needed to seek advice on HR and payroll issues that have impacted their business. 

The challenge for small businesses is the speed that the legislation changes. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) identified that twenty significant changes have been made to the UK employment law since January this year.

Barometer for British Business

During May we carried out our Sage UK omnibus, this surveys 1,500 of our 800,000 customers to get a better picture of the challenges facing UK firms and provide a barometer for British business.

The survey found that only 22% of firms employ a dedicated specialist to deal with HR and payroll issues. But for the majority it’s a huge challenge to find their way around the complex legislative landscape by themselves.

Understandably, many are seeking specialist advice such as our HR Advice service.

Working with our SageCover team also gives me a clear idea of the issues facing businesses. This team provides help to our customers in the day-to-day running of their business, and they’d certainly agree with the survey; there are a large number of businesses struggling to get to grips with HR and payroll issues.

Critical to business success

There is no question that HR and payroll is about far more than pay, rewards and policies. It is about knowing your employees and understanding their needs in order to establish a long-term and productive relationship. Getting your company’s HR and payroll right is critical to the success of the business.

Firms need to be in the best position to take advantage of every new opportunity as we emerge from the recession, and having a highly committed and motivated workforce underpins that. People understandably have a low tolerance when it comes to errors in things so personal as their pay or paternity leave, so making sure your business has the correct procedures and support is vital to maintaining a competitive business.

Staying up to date with HR and payroll issues can seem daunting if you’ve not got dedicated resource in your business, but here are some things you can consider:

Getting to grips with legislation

Legislation affecting payroll changes regularly, so make sure you are always up to date with the latest developments by dedicating at least one hour a month to reviewing the HMRC website. The HMRC also runs EmployerTalk forums, which take place every week across the UK.  The sessions last for half a day and include three half-hour presentations on relevant topics and an ongoing exhibition.

If you’ve got SageCover with your Sage 50 Payroll software then you’ll already have access to expert HR Advice. But, if not, then you might want to consider signing up for our free HR legislation alerts or join our comprehensive HR Advice service.

How much is employee absence costing you?

According to the CIPD’s 2009 survey, the average cost of absence per employee per year is now £692.  Capturing your company’s HR information using software will help you to monitor absences and spot trends. This can help you identify potential gaps and plan ahead. You can also work out the cost of absence to your business and identify if this is an area that needs to be addressed.

Jim Scott, Head of SageCover

It’s Payroll Year End and it seems to come round faster every year.  This is my 7th year end now working in the Sage Technical Support team supporting our SageCover customers, and apart from Internet submissions not a lot else has changed.  I thought it might be nice to let you hear about Payroll Year End from my point of view.

Andrew Redhead, Sage Payroll Support Team

For those of you that don’t know, Payroll Year End is an annual event where everyone who processes payroll has to send their P35 and P14 reports to the HMRC to show what they have deducted from all employees over the previous year.  All reports have to be received by the 19th of May or they will kindly send you a fine for every day it is late.

Days at Payroll Year End are much like any other except they start earlier, end later and are very busy.  Due to the longer opening hours we have people in the office from 8 in the morning till 7 at night to answer calls.  It’s very intensive, and I need a high level of concentration to make sure we support our customers to the high standards they expect and deserve.

Calls from our customers can range from an installation of the new version to make sure they are all ready for the new year or a problem with a P35 not balancing and needing to find out why.  We will also receive calls about the more standard issues for payroll like statutory maternity pay and holidays.

Throughout the day there are various things Sage do to make it go as smoothly as possible.  If we work half lunches we get a free sandwich delivered to our desk.  There is chocolate passed around to keep our energy up and the coffee machine is free for part of the day.  They may sound like little things but they all add up to make the day go smoother.

With a job based on the phone though the biggest thing that effects your day is the customers you speak to.  It’s a stressful time of year for our Sage Payroll customers and you’d expect some of them to be frustrated and annoyed, they are however not.  They are very nice to speak to and although they may mention how busy we are they seem to understand why we are so busy.  Depending on the type of call there may be time to talk about things outside of payroll.  This is always a nice change of pace and can make the day go much quicker.  On other calls there is no time for conversation so it’s just a case of entering the notes then onto the next customer.

At the end of the day it’s a case of finishing the call you are currently on before you go home.  It might be time to go home, but it’s not a matter of passing the call to colleague to finish it or ringing the customer back the next day; what matters is taking the time to help the customer no matter how long it takes.  Once you’re done and it’s off home to relax and enjoy the evening before getting up to do it all again.

For our customers I’d say don’t worry if things aren’t going smoothly for you. The important thing about Payroll Year End is to just not let it get on top of you.  Yes you’re busy, yes it can get stressful, but if you do have a problem there is someone like me at the end of the phone to help you.

Useful links:

• Visit our Payroll Year End website for updates and information
• You can find P60s, Payroll Year End training and Payroll software at the Sage Store

Andrew Redhead, Payroll Software Support Team

In my role at Sage as a Technical Support Advisor I talk with customers on a daily basis; if you’ve got SageCover and have ever called for support maybe I’ve even taken your call!  Whether I’m talking to the MD of a large company or to a sole trader they all have one thing in common, they are all people. 

Andrew Redhead, Technical Support Advisor

I find the one to one communication of my phone based role to be the most satisfying thing as it allows me to really get to know the customer.  I have over the years really enjoyed the way calls have naturally flowed while working through calls.  If there is a section of the call that allows it I often have a conversation around how their business is doing, the challenges they face and what their interests.  I have heard about the good and bad parts of their life, we have laughed but thankfully never cried. 

The feeling of working through a problem with a customer to find out what has happened, and then giving a solution that the customer is happy with really makes me feel valued.  I also have the power to change someone’s day for the better. 

If a customer has been trying to solve a problem for hours before they ring us taking the time to get them back on track and make sure they know where they went wrong can save them from hours more problems that can be avoided.  

The thing that makes talking with customers interesting though is they are all different.  They have to be treated differently and have different needs.  You can never assume that you can answer the same question twice in the same way and get the same outcome.  This means no two calls are the same and there is always a new challenge just around the corner.

Written by Andrew Redhead, Technical Support Advisor