As snow dusted the UK this November, Nicola Johnson, Director of People and Culture at Prince Albert Community Trust (PACT) was sharing how integrated HR and payroll has impacted the trust.
Back in April 2023, PACT started using our school HR software, Every HR By IRIS. The system also integrates with Dataplan Education By IRIS , the payroll provider used by the trust. Ian Davidson, a Senior Commercial Manager at Dataplan Education, sat down with Nicola for a 45-minute webinar to discuss:
- What Every HR and Dataplan Education look like in action at PACT
- The benefits the integration has brought to the trust
- Advice to schools/trusts on the features to look for when selecting an integrated HR and payroll solution
We’ve wrapped up the key insights below, which you can also watch on-demand by clicking here.
School payroll issues in Birmingham
Opening the session, Ian asked Nicola what PACT’s key drivers were for an integrated HR and payroll solution. But Nicola couldn’t get started on these without giving some background on PACT, a trust made up of seven schools based in Birmingham.
Nicola: “The city is infamous at the moment for its local authority and some of the things that are happening with support for schools and bankruptcy. For some time, the city council (who we used to have our payroll with) has been making noise about removing their [payroll] provision for academies.”
The need for integrated HR and payroll
Nicola joined PACT around two and a half years ago before these issues came to light. At that time, the MAT was using one system for HR and relying on the LA system for payroll.
“The two systems didn’t work together. I had a very overwhelmed team. Making changes to payroll involved putting information into a spreadsheet and sending that across [to the LA] very early in the month. We had payday on the 28th of the month and we were sending things over on the 7th, usually. If we had things like bulk uploads, we had to do these by the 3rd of the month. We’d be working at the end of the summer holidays to get September pay rises in.
“There were a lot of things wrong with it, but there was a huge fear of changing payroll because people still got paid at the end of it. No-one really wants to change their payroll provider – you have to be pushed. Our LA increased prices to academies, with the aim of ‘we’re going to withdraw’. In the last few months, they’ve put a notice out to maintained schools and academies that they’re pulling their services.”
Integrated HR and payroll: Where to start
PACT was one of the lucky ones, having made the decision in 2023 to look for a new payroll provider. They’ve not been impacted by the issues other Birmingham-based schools and academies are now having to contend with.
So, where did Nicola start when it came to looking for new HR and payroll providers? (For context, Nicola had only recently joined PACT when this activity – and changes to the status-quo – became her responsibility.)
N: “Having spent a little bit of time with PACT’s HR team, my non-negotiable was the HR system needed to integrate with payroll. To have a system that doesn’t integrate with payroll in this day and age just doesn’t make any sense. We needed to have a system where we input things once – that’s where a lot of our errors were coming from, having to input things twice.”
School payroll, from Dataplan Education
Ian: “How did you come across Dataplan Education?”
N: “We had to do a tender process. Dataplan Education had a really good reputation and our Finance Director was very keen to speak to them. They’d heard good things from other finance people.
“I went into it closed-minded – I wanted something that was all-singing, all-dancing! [In the end], we chose Dataplan Education because of its reporting, links with pensions, and term-based systems. It felt like a better organisation to work with, and their education specialism and knowledge were key.”
Dataplan Education’s fully managed payroll service:
- Processes of PAYE, pension, and other deductions
- Provides an online review of employees’ payslips (current and historical periods)
- Produces month end reports or payroll journals for a school or trust’s finance systems
And much more!
Integrating payroll with Every HR
When developing Every HR, we were keen to make ease of use front and centre of the system. Its self-service side is one of the biggest draws for schools and MATs, because it empowers staff with their individual HR information. They can update personal information, track their professional development, and find out about their pay-related activities – rather than request this from the HR team. For instance, overtime payments that are due.
N: “[The integration between our Every HR and Dataplan Education systems means that] overtime and expenses are done on one system that automatically feeds through to the other. So far, all expenses claims have been paid correctly!
“Staff are booking leave [in Every HR’s self-service employee portal] for appointments themselves, without the HR team having to go down a spreadsheet and see who’s booked time off for a dentist appointment and working out if it’s paid or unpaid. It’s massively streamlined processes.”
Advice for choosing school HR and payroll solutions
Purchasing new HR and payroll systems isn’t cheap. Nicola said she felt ‘overwhelmed’ when she joined PACT and buying these systems was one of her first responsibilities.
I: “We know that school HR and payroll solutions are an expense. What makes them worth the money? What advice would you give to schools/MATs going through the procurement process now?”
N: “You really have to get those endorsements and references. Phone people – other schools and MATs – and have a conversation. Ask them about the relationship [with the HR or payroll provider] and find out what happens if you make a mistake – because you will! When people say they don’t make mistakes, I don’t believe them.”
I: “What differentiates one payroll provider from another?”
N: “Choose a provider who understands schools, that’s really useful. A lot of payroll providers out there are commercial – they provide to schools, but sometimes they’re trying to fudge schools into a commercial system.”
I: “What sets Dataplan Education apart from other payroll solutions?”
N: “Many of us [schools and MATs] will be with LA payroll providers. What Dataplan Education has done is maintained that link with the local government pension scheme and the teacher pension scheme. Having pensions experts and a pensions department is key, and people who understand schools.”
Ian: “And finally, what happens if you notice an error?”
N: “We don’t feel like we’re bothering you [Dataplan Education] or we’re a nuisance. It feels like we’re part of the same team.”
Integrate HR and payroll at your organisation
Thank you to Nicola for joining us to talk through her experience of integrated HR and payroll for PACT!
You can watch the full conversation back by clicking here. And, to see how your school or MAT could benefit from integrated HR and payroll by speaking with our specialist team.
