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HR Advantage
5th March 2007
Riverbank IT Management came on board early in 2004 when “HRA was having problems with its existing support company. The individual, hands-on service has been a great improvement, according to Campbell Ritchie, Managing Director, HRA.
It became obvious late in 2003 that our existing IT support system wasn’t living up to expectations,” he says. “Our supplier was very focussed on selling hardware and maintenance contracts, but there was no real ownership or continuity; neither was it delivering on its post-implementation promises. It just wasn’t the way we wanted to do business. With Riverbank, we now have a supplier which focuses entirely on our needs, with all the obvious benefits.”
| “We are all about providing a more hands-on, flexible and consistent service which guarantees continuity and Riverbank mirrors us in this respect” |
Ritchie is adamant that a robust IT support is crucial to support a successful and expanding business. “When we realised the problems we were experiencing an increasing amount of our time, which could soon impact adversely on our customers, we decided that a more hands-on service was what was needed.”
A leading provider of flexible and practical human resource management services, HR Advantage matches packages and solutions to organisations of all sizes, but particularly businesses employing up to 1,500 people. Set up by Ritchie in 1999 in High Wycombe, it now employs 14 people, four of whom operate from smaller offices in Shrewsbury and Honiton, managed by Mark Shortell and Stuart McKellar respectively. The company services approximately 100 clients each year, the majority of whom are UK-based, with a small percentage operating out of Europe. Business continues to thrive. In 2006 HRA reported a turnover of £700,000 and Ritchie expects the 25% annual growth rate to continue.
Following a successful background in HR within large organisations, Ritchie saw an opportunity in the market to supply HR solutions to companies who wanted HR expertise but were too small to have their own HR facility.
“It might be a cliché, but people really do make a difference to a company’s success. That’s the bottom line,” Ritchie says. “Increasingly, companies of all sizes are recognising this.” HRA has now developed five main product areas, ranging from change management, employee law, recruitment, training and development, to everyday HR outsourcing services. Flexibility is key and programmes can be run either from any one of HRA’s three offices or from the client’s own offices.
“We are all about providing a more hands-on, flexible and consistent service which guarantees continuity and Riverbank mirrors us in this respect,” continues Ritchie. “Whenever we need to redefine our own strategy, we can meet up with Riverbank and talk about our IT needs.”
Malcolm Newdick, Managing Director, Riverbank IT Management Ltd., agrees: “We see ourselves as business partners to smaller companies of between say five and 50 personnel. With us they have their own outsourced IT department.” Riverbank was set up by Newdick in 1997 and now employs seven people. “We look at each company, consider what it wants to achieve and what it might need in terms of IT,” he says.
| “Our business just wouldn’t exist without 21st century technology, effective data storage solutions and the ability to communicate efficiently and quickly” |
Riverbank, which has operated from offices in Little Haseley, Oxfordshire, since 2001, has seen companies increasingly prepared to invest in efficient IT systems, which will not only cater to their particular requirements, but help them to compete in an increasingly competitive business environment.
“Our dedicated helpdesk and instant remote support enables us to provide a better service. Not only have we helped HRA link its three offices into a single network using low-cost VPNs, but we have also improved its wireless office network.”
Ritchie confirms this. “Our business just wouldn’t exist without 21st century technology, effective data storage solutions and the ability to communicate efficiently and quickly with our clients,” he says.
“We also now have access to top-notch professionals. With the changes we’ve made to our IT platform, we can now deliver a wider range of services with more speed and breadth of turnaround.” One of these services involves the ongoing changes in employee legislation which are creating potential headaches for employers. HRA has been quick to respond.
“There are far greater penalties now for not being compliant,” Ritchie continues. “This has resulted in an increasing need for practical advice and guidance which we can provide, either as part of an HRA support package or as a stand-alone service.
As to the future, expansion is already on the cards and HRA is currently in the process of discussing plans for a new strategy with Riverbank.
“We’re outgrowing our current system and need to establish faster connectivity,” Ritchie continues. “Interactivity is crucial, as is the need to update speedily and effectively as and when necessary,”
Ritchie is clear that it’s as important to keep pace with changes his own industry as it is to keep up with IT developments which will help companies like his improve the way in which they do business.
“IT requirements are also constantly changing and successful companies need to be aware. With Riverbank as a business partner, we expect to do just that,” Ritchie concludes.
