When it comes to Schools changing their HR and Payroll provider, the onboarding process may be off-putting. In fact, it is usually one of the biggest concerns and often discourages organisations from changing providers. However, despite numerous myths regarding the process, it doesn't need to be stressful or complicated. Below we tackle the top 10 most common onboarding myths, to address and eliminate your concerns.
1. “It will be extremely time consuming and a huge upheaval”
With EPM, this is not the case. Our specialist onboarding team will work with you to ensure a seamless transfer and minimal disruption. Along with your assigned EPM team, our experts in onboarding will provide you with unlimited support, to ensure that you feel comfortable and supported throughout the entire process. You will have access to a dedicated onboarding section of our website, which contains simple transfer spreadsheets for completion, a supportive process checklist and guidance documents. These all help to ensure the timely and effective transfer of information.
2. “Our live queries and casework cannot be transferred”
In actual fact, any outstanding queries and casework can easily be transferred to a new provider. At EPM, we will provide you with a 'Current Casework Disclosure' document to complete as part of the onboarding process. This enables us to understand and evaluate your outstanding casework and work closely with you to achieve your desired outcomes. Your dedicated HR Adviser or Manager will meet with you to discuss any outstanding queries and ensure that they have a good understanding of the case to enable them to advise you appropriately.
3. “We can’t separate our HR and Payroll services”
Although there are many benefits to using one provider for both your HR and Payroll provision, as outlined here, there is no reason why you can't separate these services. We work with a number of Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts who purely use our Payroll & Pensions Service, or one element of our HR provision, to complement their internal set-up and team.
4. “We can only change providers in April”
Although April is a common start date, we can accommodate Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts joining us at any time. We would, however, advise that you check your current contract to ensure that you give the appropriate notice to your current provider (this is usually between 3-6 months’ notice). It may be advantageous to serve notice with your current provider, allowing you to scope the market with confidence.
5. “We won’t receive wider support if we move away from the Local Authority”
Support will always be on hand, even if you move away from the Local Authority. At EPM, we provide you with a dedicated team, with named emails and direct dial numbers, who have specific responsibility for your School or Multi-Academy Trust. This ensures that your EPM contacts fully understand your terms and conditions and any day-to-day working practices. This also enables us to tailor our support and advice to your specific requirements, allowing for matters to be addressed consistently and enabling your EPM contacts to build a relationship with you that ensures trust and confidence.
6. “We will be charged onboarding fees when we change provider”
At EPM, we don't charge any additional onboarding, admin or data transfer fees – it is all included in our service. We believe that the onboarding process is our opportunity to shine and will provide you with unlimited support to ease any concerns that you may have. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case as some providers may charge you. To avoid any hidden charges, check the Service Level Agreement carefully and ensure you are aware of any additional onboarding, admin and data transfer fees.
7. “I don’t have a bank account, so I can’t change providers”
There is no reason why a School bank account cannot be set up. Setting up a bank account is straight forward, and our onboarding team will be happy to talk you through the process.
8. “There will be lots of mistakes"
The biggest fear that most Schools have, when changing payroll provider, is that people won’t get paid or they will be paid incorrectly. When choosing a new provider, it’s important to find out how they will rectify any mistakes made, which are sometimes inevitable. How quickly can these be rectified? Will there be a charge? Understanding the procedures that your new provider has in place will provide you with peace of mind, should the worst happen.
At EPM, to give you peace of mind, we will carry out extensive payslip-to-payslip checks, before your first month's payroll, to ensure your employees are paid correctly. We will also take the time to understand your unique arrangements and alert you if we find any historical discrepancies. This isn’t about exposing historical mistakes, it’s about ensuring a seamless transition and guaranteeing that we pay your employees correctly from day one. On the rare occasion a mistake is made by the School, Trust or ourselves, we ensure that these are dealt with as a matter of urgency and resolved quickly.
9. “We’ve run out of time to change providers”
We recommend an 8-10 week implementation period, as this allows both parties plenty of time to collate, check and transfer their data. However, we are entirely flexible in our approach and, where necessary, can work within a shorter timescale. There have been rare instances where EPM has transferred a School in less than 48 hours - although we wouldn't advise this unless there are exceptional circumstances! Just check the preferred timeline with your new provider.
10. “Do you carry out ‘Parallel Payroll Runs’?”
We have been onboarding Schools for over 25 years and have learnt from experience, what works well and what risks need to be mitigated to ensure that all employees are paid accurately and on time. EPM carry out extensive payslip-to-payslip checks rather than ‘Parallel Payroll Runs’. This meticulous approach reduces the risk of any errors and ensures that everyone gets paid correctly.
How EPM can help
Our quality-assured and accredited onboarding process ensures you receive unlimited support from our dedicated onboarding team and your assigned EPM contacts.
From our extensive experience, a successful transfer and smooth transition between providers is best achieved through a close working relationship between the key contacts at EPM and the relevant stakeholders within your School or Multi-Academy Trust. We facilitate this through regular contact and meetings throughout the transfer process, building on the customer relationship.
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