Our task
It was in this spirit that, working in proximity with the Bank’s HR team, PPA worked to define the framework of what the ideal employee would look, sound and think like. Once this framework was established, PPA was responsible for:
Conducting Due Diligence
In an effort to understand what functions were to be taken over, a period of due diligence was undertaken before signing an agreement with the client. PPA was taken through the functions and processes that the client was looking to outsource and PPA was asked to create, adapt and adopt processes that it would employ during the relationship.
Transitionary Services
A critical step in the process, the client and PPA worked in tandem to clearly articulate to the 80+ staff of the decision being made, all that would be entailed in transitioning from being permanent employees to outsource staff, answer any and all of the staff questions and, in some cases, counsel the staff through the process.
Onboarding
Collection of necessary identification and payroll related documents as well as important personal information, preparation and signing off of contracts, non-disclosure agreements and other necessary onboarding documentation.
Training
Staff would be taken through an annual, soft skills training that would focus on key skills utilized in their work, irrespective of their positions.
HR Management
Provided auxiliary support to the client’s HR team in the day-to-day management of staff and was responsible for the management of HR related matters as the staff’s employer; which included but were not limited to; disciplinary issues, issuing recognition awards, investigation on non-legal issues that staff may have been facing etc.
Payroll Management
Preferred Personnel Africa was responsible for the entire payroll cycle, which includes; billing and invoicing of client; ensuring timely receipt and release of staff salaries, issuance of payslip, remittance of statutory obligations and third-party charges (loans, contributions to pension/insurance etc.) and preparation of payroll reports.
Offboarding
The issuance of the documentation associated with the termination of a relationship with the contracted staff which included; notification of non-renewal/termination letter, certificate of service (where applicable), issuance of P9 tax forms etc.
What we learnt
As our first foray into outsourcing was with a major multinational, it established the foundation of our principles as an outsourcing provider. The standards that we were expected to adhere to were to the highest level possible which gave us a great platform in which to build PPA’s outsourcing department from. Two key lessons that we carry with us to this day as an outsourcing provider are:
Trust is key
Establishing trust with your outsource staff from the very first interaction is vital as a foundation to our relationship with them and their relationship with our client, especially when they are arriving with a pre-existing relationship with our clients. From our very first conversation with staff that fit within this category, PPA is focused on trying to establish a relationship built on trust and mutual respect, rather than a more authoritative, hierarchical, employer-employee relationship.
Standards set the foundation of a relationship
Standards set the absolute floor of how a business is expected to operate. Ensuring that your businesses standards; the guidelines, criteria, processes, procedures and practices that you employ from the onset of any relationship are robust is vital in ensuring that a strong relationship is maintained between our outsource staff, our client and ourselves as PPA. This is also a vital component that was employed to ensure that we could establish trust with the staff that were eventually onboarded into PPA.
