Browne Jacobson, one of the most successful Midlands based commercial law firms in England, has significantly streamlined its human resource (HR) and payroll processes as a result of implementing a Human Capital Management (HCM) system from COA Solutions. This HCM system – HR Pro – with integrated HR, personnel, self-service intranet (SSI) and .NET Workflow modules, has also improved Browne Jacobson’s recruitment strategy whilst enabling the firm to become greener by making employee information available electronically rather than storing and processing paper records.
Kelly Tatton, HR Systems Advisor for Browne Jacobson, says, “We had outgrown our previous basic HCM system and had to maintain separate spreadsheets and paper records to hold HR information which wasn’t very efficient. We therefore sought a flexible, scalable and customisable solution to cut our reliance on paper and store all of our HR information centrally for improved efficiency. The system also needed to provide us with improved reporting functionality.”
COA Solutions’ HCM system is now enabling Browne Jacobson to easily store, update, access and process HR and payroll information, improving efficiency and the accuracy of employee records. By reducing paper, the firm is also moving towards its goal of becoming paper-light and thereby supporting its environmental agenda. In addition, the HCM system is allowing Browne Jacobson to complete its complicated pay review more swiftly than ever before, without the need for unnecessary manual intervention.
Tatton comments, “Our previous pay reviews had to be manually processed and checked using a restrictive payroll module. COA Solutions’ system has streamlined this process so it can now be completed by one person in half a day rather than three people over the course of three days.”
Tatton continues, “COA Solutions’ HCM has also saved time on processing pay changes and adding new starters as this information is automatically calculated and generated from the system at the touch of a button, minimising errors. This has reduced the processing of pay changes from 30 minutes per change to just five minutes, relieving the burden placed on the HR department so that they can concentrate on more value-adding activities.”
Using the SSI module, employees at Browne Jacobson’s three sites can also ‘self serve’ to access their current HR records and book, cancel and amend holiday requests. This is going to be expanded to allow employees access to automated probation period reviews and information relating to absence and self-certification.
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Tatton adds, “With the system’s intelligent and user-friendly reporting capabilities, management is able to more closely monitor HR issues such as absenteeism. We have also tailored the HCM system to assist with recruitment. By recording the assessment scores of potential trainee solicitors at our Open Days, we can easily produce a series of reports which analyse their performance and suitability for our business. This has helped us to shape our recruitment strategy and make more informed employment decisions, ensuring we remain a leader in our field.”
