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By Daniel White, Operations Director of Elevate Umbrella Ltd which provides payroll services to the temporary contractor industry.

Summarise how Covid-19 has affected you? 

Like all businesses, COVID-19 has had an impact. We closed our Swindon office and all our staff have been working from home.

With reduced employment opportunities because of coronavirus, work for contractors has also reduced, with a knock-on effect on our payroll services, as fewer contractors need to be paid.

What has been your plan to continue?  

We have spoken to our team about their thoughts and they are all currently happy to carry on working from home.

We also know that, in the new economic environment, we need to be as flexible and supportive as we can towards our staff and our contractors and clients.

How has business changed for you over the last few months? 

Our business model has remained the same – we still provide a cost-effective payroll service which is fully audited and fully compliant, while at the same time offering a wide range of benefits to the contractor, over and above simply running their payroll. 

We have not needed to pivot our business, as others have. We have, however, seen a reduction in volume but we have been able to make other economies to ensure our business remains robust.

As lockdown eases what measures have you put in place to get back to business? 

We have carried out a thorough risk assessment of our offices and working practices and will keep this under constant review.

Changes we are bringing in include social distancing, hand sanitisers at each workstation, office cleaning twice a day and rearranging our office space, according to the risk assessment plan. 

What has been the most challenging aspect of all of this? 

I think the uncertainty has been unsettling, both for our staff and our contractors and clients. We are also concerned for our clients about their future, and whether they will all get through this. On a personal note, I have missed the face-to-face interaction of seeing our staff and clients regularly and hope to get back to this when possible safely. 

What has been the most positive aspect? 

This has been an opportunity to look at our business, to reassess and make any necessary adjustments. Our goal was always to build our business slowly and on solid foundations, and this has really paid off. The business has been able to weather the storm. By being able to offer clients reduced margins and extended payment terms, our relationships with our clients have become even stronger.

We have also used the time to redevelop our website and to upgrade and relaunch our rewards package for our contractors.

How important is this phrase to you – ‘buy local, supply local’? 

Very! Working with and for people who are local means they can pop in (once we are allowed to, anyway!) and also boosts the local economy, in which we operate.

I find that you can get better service, value for money and advice if you are dealing with a local supplier. Local suppliers are often more reactive to demand and offer greater certainty and predictability, plus they are closer to their customers. 

What are your top tips at this time?  

1. Think about the mid-term - is something changing in the way your customers are thinking that you need to plan for?

2. Keep up to date – this is a fast-moving situation and the government is constantly introducing new measures.

3. Plan for the unexpected – this (or something like it) will happen again.

Do you have a service, product, or special offer you'd like to flag up? 

We have an excellent benefits package for our contractors, one of the highlights being a 24/7 GP Helpline. This gives our contractors round the clock access to a qualified GP via a telephone helpline, where GPs can provide advice, reassurance, or guidance on a wealth of medical matters, at a time to suit. 

Contractors can also book in virtual face-to-face consultations with a GP, to get a more in-depth and specific diagnosis, from the comfort of their own home or workplace. An electronic private prescription service is also available, authorised by a doctor and delivered to the home.

Your parting thought? 

This has been tough, but it was a challenge the Elevate Umbrella team rose to. I and our team would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to all the NHS staff and carers still working hard to help people through this extraordinary crisis.

For more information visit www.elevateumbrella.co.uk   

Fiona Scott Media Consultancy Swindon

Scott Media

Scott Media is run by a UK-based journalist with more than 20 years' experience in the media - print, radio and television.

6 Gold View, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 8GZ

Elevate

Elevate

Elevate provides payroll solutions to the temporary recruitment industry.

Fiona Scott Media Consultancy
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