Nilorn Calmon

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Sage HR Advice Case Study

Based in Keighley, West Yorkshire, Nilorn Calmon supplies complete garment branding solutions to some of the UK’s leading high street stores. The company manufactures a range of woven labels, swing tickets, security tags and other accessories and employs 73 staff across its administration and manufacturing sites. The business appointed its first full-time HR & Facilities Manager, Kevin Young, in February 2005. From the outset, Kevin knew that an outsourced advice service was essential to his new role, not least because of the legal bills the company was racking up: “Over the years, our spending on professional services has risen sharply as employment law becomes more complicated,” he reflects, “So the need for a costeffective alternative was obvious.” The company had already been offered the services of several HR advice systems, but decided to look at the new Sage HR Advice service as soon as it became available. ”I felt comfortable with the brand,” explains Kevin simply.

A demonstration of the system convinced Kevin to implement Sage HR Advice almost immediately. “Around the time I took over the HR function, the company was undergoing some re-structuring,” he recalls. “It was our first real test of Sage HR Advice and it passed with flying colours, helping us to make decisions and deal with employees fairly and responsibly. Since then, we’ve never looked back.”

Kevin believes that taking the option of Sage HR’s telephone advice-line has been one of the keys to success: “The ability to discuss an issue on the phone is a massive help,” he says. However, Kevin also points out that it’s the quality of advice that really makes the difference: “It’s one thing having the convenience of advice ‘on tap’, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” he remarks. “I’ve found the advice I get from Sage HR, both on the phone and on the website, is excellent. It’s always succinct, to the point and action-oriented. Plus it gives you added confidence that you’re doing the right thing.” As well as backing up his decisions on specific cases, Kevin finds that the service highlights wider HR issues: “Things change so quickly in HR these days,” he notes. “Sage HR Advice allows us to keep bang up to date with the latest information and keep our policies and procedures in line.” For example, Kevin intends to use Sage HR document templates to overhaul Nilorn Calmon’s Employee Handbook in the near future. Having used the service for six months, Kevin sums it up neatly, saying: “The two most important things that Sage HR Advice gives me are more time and greater confidence. It allows me to do things far quicker and with less anxiety than would be possible without it. The fact that it’s very cost-effective is an added bonus. We’ll certainly be using the service on an ongoing basis.”

Website http://www.snowdropkcs.co.uk/
Email snowdropkcs@sage.com