J B Leitch LLP Delivering expert legal solutions for a wide range of clients in the property sector

Property law experts J B Leitch LLP provide a diverse range of specialist services to their broad base of clients in the property sector.

Their meticulous approach to client care, providing regular case reports and setting clear expectations of service and associated legal fees, is paralleled by their honest standing with their employees.

“We’ve realised time savings of up to 50% on generating reports and 20% on appraisals”

Andy HullOperations Director

The challengesThe management team at J B Leitch, of which Andy Hull is Operations Director, recognises the contribution of its employees to the firm’s success and as a result, HR, learning and development are key areas of focus. However, the existing set up was a heavily paper based manual process which provided insubstantial support for management, appraisal and training of personnel.

Three principal issues were identified. First, the outdated methodology was a drain on resources, both people and supplies, in the recording and storing of documentation.

Second, reporting from a myriad of spread sheets was unreliable and time consuming. With data held in different formats across a variety of sources, subject to manual calculation and analysis, J B Leitch lacked a unified, centralised and automatic reporting solution.

Third came staff self-sufficiency and engagement. Limited visibility of HR records ran the risk of staff becoming disengaged with their development programmes.

Ambitious plans for future growth and expansion of staffing levels meant that a review and upgrade of HR processes was accorded urgent priority. A 6-month timeframe, from initial order to implementation, was allocated to the project.

“We reviewed our existing HR operations with a view to bringing them in line with recent and forecast growth”, explained Andy Hull. “A decision was made to search for an electronic, automated solution to improve access to records, accuracy of reports and generally speed things up”.

The journeyDriven by Andy and with the staunch support of the HR and payroll team the budget was set, objectives defined, timescale decided and

Industry Legal

Geographic Liverpool

Employees 85

Solution SelectHR SelectPay Self-service Training Recruitment

consulting | software | solutionswww.theaccessgroup.com/legal

0845 345 3300 tellmemore@theaccessgroup.com www.theaccessgroup.com/legal

search begun. The investigation was comprehensive, with a review of 7 systems, their features, ease of use, price, configuration, back-up services and support, and overall company culture.

“Our criteria was extensive”, stated Andy. “The bar was deliberately high to ensure we made the right choice. As potential business partners, the company and its people was as important to us as its software. We attended trade shows, consulted the trade press, took references from law firms and even visited one site”.

“Subsequently, rival systems were dismissed for a multitude of reasons, however, Access fitted the bill with its reporting tools, self-service format, .Net platform, competitive pricing, on-going development, payroll and recruitment integration, system configurability and service, service, service! Access convinced us that, not only was its SelectHR and SelectPay solutions best suited to our needs, the company was a good cultural fit too which is fundamental to the establishment of a long-term relationship”.

The solutionAndy and the management team chose SelectHR for software assistance throughout employees’ period of employment, integrated with SelectPay for payroll processing.

“We’re currently using the recruitment, appraisals and training modules to standardise and streamline the processes for hiring new staff, assessing competencies, identifying development requirements and monitoring

training”, added Andy. “In addition, we manage payroll-related activities for new starters, existing personnel, leavers and retiring staff”.

The implementationProject completion was accomplished in just 5 months – a month less than deadline – with no downtime or disruption. Implementation included the add-on training module which wasn’t part of the original project plan, yet was still accommodated within the designated timeframe.

Andy Hull attributed the project’s success to the efficiency and professionalism of Access’ staff and his hardworking HR and payroll team.

“The energy of the staff and their enthusiasm for the products is palpable”, said Andy. “I found the whole team – sales, project management, training and helpdesk – straightforward to deal with. I was impressed by their excellent sector and product knowledge”.

“I can name numerous instances where they’ve gone out of their way to indulge us, especially in the early post-implementation stage when you need it the most. We wanted the software up and running for the start of the new tax year in April and we achieved this”.

The resultsAs part of the implementation process, staff records and accompanying documents were uploaded into the systems, replacing paper files with electronic document management.“We had access to electronic records straightaway, so benefits were immediate”, Andy added. “A further 2 months down the line, training was completed and self-service rolled out to our entire firm. This has opened up the HR department to all 85 colleagues which is integral to our overall engagement strategy and policy of transparency”.

“We had access to electronic records straightaway, so benefits were immediate. A further 2 months down the line, training was completed and self-service rolled out to our entire firm. This has opened up the HR department to all 85 colleagues which is integral to our overall engagement strategy and policy of transparency”

Andy HullOperations Director

consulting | software | solutionswww.theaccessgroup.com/legal

“Staff now have ownership of their files to update personal data, book holidays, log absences, self-certify sickness, request training and prepare for appraisals, with the guarantee that confidentiality is maintained. It’s been an excellent driver in accelerating the appraisal process and ensuring staff reach the mandatory levels of CPD training, maintained in the correct format”.

Addressing J B Leitch’s other main identified issues, that of reporting and archaic methodology, the use of SelectHR and SelectPay has brought personnel data together into one central location with ensuing automated processes, automatic report production and e-working capabilities.

“Using both systems simultaneously opens up the exchange of information between our HR and payroll departments”, commented Andy. “Gone are the days of paper filing and wasting hours of time compiling statistics for management reports. Now, reporting is done automatically, using a combination of system generated and bespoke reports. We have a far better set of data and one place to look for it. We’ve saved up to 50% generating reports”.

“More processes are automated too. Where before we relied on manual interventions, which were inevitably prone to human error, we now have automated alerts for items such as absences, new starters and probationary reviews. On average,

the time it takes to produce appraisals from beginning to end has been reduced by 20%. That’s a huge amount of time saved which can be better spent elsewhere”.

Post implementationWith the software fully installed, J B Leitch receives on-going account management and technical helpdesk support.

“Our account manager is very good. He has a CIPD background and is in tune with the needs of a growing HR department like ours”, clarified Andy. “The helpdesk is superb, a definite asset, patient, knowledgeable and willing to go that bit further when occasion demands. This continual backup is reassuring”.

The futureSelectHR contains a wide selection of optional modules to support J B Leitch’s growing and changing business.

“With SelectHR and SelectPay, we’re far better equipped to handle the larger volumes of staff that we’ve recruited and expect to recruit over coming years”, concluded Andy. “We plan to add further modules in the future, including one for recruitment to link the software to our website and various third party channels, and we’ll be investigating the health and safety module. We know that we have a system that will comfortably cope with projected growth and look forward to a long association with Access”.

T: 0845 345 3300 E: tellmemore@theaccessgroup.com W: www.theaccessgroup.com/legal

About AccessAccess is an established software solutions provider to the Legal sector. We help organisations improve performance, increase cost efficiency, and make the most of their people by delivering integrated organisation-wide solutions spanning finance, HR and payroll, professional services automation, including project costing, and document management.

“Gone are the days of paper filing and wasting hours of time compiling statistics for management reports. Now, reporting is done automatically, using a combination of system generated and bespoke reports. We have a far better set of data and one place to look for it. We’ve saved up to 50% generating reports”

Andy HullOperations Director