4-weeks to find a new payroll and pensions provider
The Challenge
In January we were suddenly let down by our previous payroll and pension provider.
Our main priority was that our 700 staff received their February pay leaving us with the strategic and logistical nightmare of having just four weeks to find a new supplier, transfer the payroll and pension data and train users on the new system.
Complexity and time pressure were added through being forced to make the switch two months before the financial year-end, our local council implementing a Pay and Benefits review and our previous supplier being unable to provide us with any electronic data whatsoever.
The Solution
The urgent need to change supplier forced us to identify what we truly needed from our payroll and pensions provider. Primarily we wanted a secure, easy to use online portal which could be accessed at all times of day for real-time reporting – both before and after pay day. Secondly, we wanted a robust implementation and account management team that could lead and support us through what was an extremely challenging and stressful time.
The Result
Despite only having a 4-week turnaround all members of staff were successfully paid on 23rd February. During the following weeks the team at Strictly Education successfully navigated additional changes to pay rates and back pay adjustments following our local council’s review of Pay and Benefits. They have assisted us with statutory changes to Teachers Pensions’, as well as implement new scales and the living wage all within the timeframe that it would typically take to carry out a basic transition; dummy run and testing prior to going live with a new provider.
“Overall we have been extremely pleased with how the transition to Strictly Education has gone, they have delivered on their promises and we have found that we can always get hold of a member of the team to discuss our payroll matters.”
— Peter Howard, Headteacher, Fairisle Junior School
