We sat down with Graham Clarke, HR Special Projects Manager at Black Mountain HR - a provider of a cloud-based, comprehensive suite of outsourced solutions including HR, Payroll, Employee Benefits, Corporate Services, and Technology Solutions – to discuss his experiences with Access PeopleHR.
As well as utilizing Access PeopleHR internally, Black Mountain HR also partners with us as a trusted reseller of our platform to its clients.
In this unique case study, we discuss:
- How our software is effectively employed by a HR solutions provider, and
- The positive impact it has on Black Mountain’s clients.
About Black Mountain
Black Mountain offers outsourced solutions to support a range of organisations by streamlining their operations to aid successful outcomes.
As a reseller of our solution, Graham is a self-professed ‘PeopleHR Ninja’ and works closely with his clients to ensure they get the most out of the platform.
However, Graham's involvement goes beyond client support. He dedicates significant time to providing valuable feedback to our customer support and product teams at Access PeopleHR.
His insightful input has played a pivotal role in enhancing Access PeopleHR even further.
What challenges made Black Mountain want to seek out new HR software?
Black Mountain decided to seek out new HR software due to a series of challenges it faced with its previous providers.
Top challenges Black Mountain HR faced with previous providers:
- Poor customer support
- Functionality limitations
- Software bugs
These issues hindered Black Mountain’s ability to manage its clients’ HR processes and solve their problems.
We used a variety of HR information systems (HRIS) before adopting PeopleHR. They were quite constrained in the functionality that they offered, and the customer support was universally poor.
As a HR solutions provider, Black Mountain prides itself on being responsive to its customers’ needs. When met with poor customer support from their HR software provider, this has a negative impact on the quality of service they deliver.
Graham cites that good customer support is paramount, and Access PeopleHR fulfils that requirement.
Why did Black Mountain select Access PeopleHR?
Recognising the importance of reliable and effective HR software, Black Mountain proactively pursued a new solution to overcome these challenges and improve their HR operations.
Black Mountain’s previous HR solutions catered more to smaller business’ core HR needs, with little room for advanced functionality.
“There was a definite need to have a better mid-level platform”, cites Graham.
Black Mountain’s clients range in size and location – some of whom have in excess of 600 employees.
This firmly places them within the mid-market range, and PeopleHR’s system functionality adequately allows them to carry out their HR operations effectively.
With notable tools such as applicant tracking, workflow automation and performance review software, Access PeopleHR was a ‘natural choice’ for Graham’s mid-level clients.
What benefits has Black Mountain experienced since using Access PeopleHR?
Since adopting Access PeopleHR for its clients, Graham acknowledged that it provided a better ability to address and resolve HR issues compared to previous platforms.
Graham commented that he now spends “more time than ever” helping his customers with Access PeopleHR’s tools, but insists that’s not a bad thing:
The time I spend supporting my clients has probably increased but that is not a negative. It's only increased by virtue of the fact that we now have them on a platform that's much more capable in terms of defining and producing management information. And that’s the key to a platform: its usefulness.
Access PeopleHR has allowed Graham to support his clients in more positive ways, unlocking functionality that wasn’t available with the previous platforms that Graham had worked with.
Black Mountain’s favourite thing(s) about Access PeopleHR
First and foremost, Graham commented on Access PeopleHR’s offline backup tool, which has been hugely helpful when highlighting the benefits of PeopleHR to his clients.
The offline backup tool is helpful for companies who anticipate future growth. As Access PeopleHR is a solution geared towards SMBs, we acknowledge that there will be times when businesses may require a more bespoke solution.
In such cases, our offline backup tool proves to be essential as it empowers users to securely preserve all their data. This facilitates a seamless transition to our higher-end products which are better suited to larger customers, such as Access PeopleXD.
Graham also spoke highly of our Ripple® workflow automation software and how it simplifies tasks like:
- Managing birthdays
- Probation reviews
- Tracking work permits for non-UK passport holders
The ‘managing birthdays’ Ripple workflow is a particular favourite of Graham’s as it ensures the team at Black Mountain HR never miss a birthday or other significant life events, which has improved employee engagement within the business.
What are your plans with Access PeopleHR going forward?
Black Mountain HR aims to increase its use of PeopleHR by doubling – or tripling - its client base within the next two years. Overall, Graham expresses positive experiences with Access PeopleHR.
Due to the uniqueness of our partnership, we will continue to nurture our relationship with Black Mountain, and lean on Graham for his unwavering and constructive feedback as an avid user of the software.
Do you think Access PeopleHR is a good fit for your company? Perhaps you’re a reseller looking to utilise Access PeopleHR with your clients? Whatever your situation, our experts would love to speak to you today, get in touch.
