Evotec chose ADP to provide a managed payroll service
With the aim of freeing up the internal finance team, increasing efficiency and reducing the risk involved in managing payroll, global pharmaceutical company, Evotec, took the decision to fully outsource its payroll process. Evotec chose ADP to provide a managed payroll service and has since witnessed benefits across the business.
The Challenge
Utilising an in-house payroll software solution for a number of years meant that Evotec relied on an internal resource to manage the payroll. That resource was Oana Shorter, an accountant at Evotec, who was required to spend a great deal of her time administering payroll and answering queries, alongside her main finance responsibilities. Oana was also the only person able to process the payments and Evotec realised that this posed a risk to the company as there was nobody else who could do so in her absence.
"Our auditors raised the issue that if I was away, there was nobody else in the organisation who knew how to manage and run the payroll," explains Oana. "This was a dangerous situation because if I was away for some reason then Evotec's employees would not get paid." To solve the problem, Evotec decided to outsource its payroll and put the three year contract out to tender.
From a shortlist of three companies, Evotec chose ADP and its web based service, ADP freedom on a managed service. ADP offered everything that Evotec was looking for from an outsourcing provider, including the flexibility to manage complex shift patterns and the ability to provide numerous payroll reporting options.
Implementation
"We were very happy with the implementation of the system and any issues were dealt with quickly and efficiently by the ADP team," commented Oana.
The initial payroll service was complimented a few months later with the introduction of Employee Self Service (ESS) and Manager Self Service (MSS). Evotec chose to go ahead with these options in order to empower employees and line managers by giving them the ability to view their payslips online, check and amend personal details and book annual leave. It was hoped that this would not only take some of the administrative burden away from HR and finance, it would also encourage best practice processes by ensuring information is entered in a timely and efficient way.
Results/benefits
ADP freedom has revolutionised the way payroll is managed at Evotec, increasing efficiency across the organisation, freeing up the finance department and ultimately cutting costs.
Whilst the online service delivered more sophisticated functionality than Evotec's previous software system, the finance team have found it easy to follow and have benefited from the increased functionality it offers them, such as the ability to run both standard and ad hoc reports, which can be built to the needs of the company.
"The reporting system is fantastic, allowing us to ask for reports that we couldn't have got with our previous system," says Oana, "For example, ADP now provide us with General Ledger costing reports which can be posted directly into our accounting system - so what used to take me a day can now be done in a couple of minutes." Oana has also been very happy with the quality of service the organisation has received from ADP and feels that ADP's knowledge and expertise has been a huge advantage:
"Our payroll consultant at ADP is absolutely brilliant and his technical knowledge can't be faulted. If we ever have a query, he will always respond himself rather than passing it on to a colleague, and is always very helpful and efficient. We have also attended free courses run by ADP for its clients, which are invaluable for staying up-to-date on legislation, reporting procedures and best practice around topics such as managing year end."
Oana has also noticed a change for the better in her job role since the introduction of ADP freedom, as she now has a lot more time to take care of other responsibilities, reporting into the chief accountant.
Whereas she used to spend several days at a time managing payroll, this has reduced to a maximum of two days a month and this is beneficial to the company as her time is spent more effectively. The cost of outsourcing payroll is less than the company would pay a full time person to run payroll so has also benefited the bottom line.
She explains: "I have noticed that I am under a lot less pressure due to ADP freedom, as it has taken away the time consuming tasks of processing payroll, correcting mistakes and responding to internal queries. I didn't even notice that the tax year had happened this year because ADP managed it all!"
Using ADP freedom, has also led to a happier workforce. Oana has found she now has more time to check the payroll data before it is entered into the system and the number of mistakes has therefore decreased month on month. This has resulted in fewer queries and complaints from staff, which in turn frees up Oana's time even further. The introduction of ESS and MSS has also been a success and following a short implementation and training process, employees were soon updating their address details, viewing their payslips plus booking and approving holiday online. This has eased the amount of administration required of the HR department and again ensured that data is maintained up-to-date and correct.
"Overall, we have been more than happy with ADP freedom," concludes Oana. "Our payroll has been transformed so it is now more efficient, accurate and secure. Plus when the auditors visited last year, they were more than impressed with how the process is being run.
Background to Evotec
Evotec is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs and has established a powerful platform that is applicable to targets across all therapeutic areas, with specific expertise in the area of central nervous system (CNS) related diseases.
Evotec also has significant research partnerships with leading Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies and has established itself as the partner of choice worldwide. To fully exploit the potential of its capabilities, Evotec looks to complement its traditional fee-for-service business with higher value, results-driven projects in core areas by sharing in the customer's risk and success through significant milestone payments and royalties.
Through research collaborations and proprietary projects, Evotec is providing the highest quality research results to its partners worldwide. The company's UK headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is home to 230 employees involved in a variety of job roles.
The Challenge
Utilising an in-house payroll software solution for a number of years meant that Evotec relied on an internal resource to manage the payroll. That resource was Oana Shorter, an accountant at Evotec, who was required to spend a great deal of her time administering payroll and answering queries, alongside her main finance responsibilities. Oana was also the only person able to process the payments and Evotec realised that this posed a risk to the company as there was nobody else who could do so in her absence.
"Our auditors raised the issue that if I was away, there was nobody else in the organisation who knew how to manage and run the payroll," explains Oana. "This was a dangerous situation because if I was away for some reason then Evotec's employees would not get paid." To solve the problem, Evotec decided to outsource its payroll and put the three year contract out to tender.
From a shortlist of three companies, Evotec chose ADP and its web based service, ADP freedom on a managed service. ADP offered everything that Evotec was looking for from an outsourcing provider, including the flexibility to manage complex shift patterns and the ability to provide numerous payroll reporting options.
Implementation
"We were very happy with the implementation of the system and any issues were dealt with quickly and efficiently by the ADP team," commented Oana.
The initial payroll service was complimented a few months later with the introduction of Employee Self Service (ESS) and Manager Self Service (MSS). Evotec chose to go ahead with these options in order to empower employees and line managers by giving them the ability to view their payslips online, check and amend personal details and book annual leave. It was hoped that this would not only take some of the administrative burden away from HR and finance, it would also encourage best practice processes by ensuring information is entered in a timely and efficient way.
Results/benefits
ADP freedom has revolutionised the way payroll is managed at Evotec, increasing efficiency across the organisation, freeing up the finance department and ultimately cutting costs.
Whilst the online service delivered more sophisticated functionality than Evotec's previous software system, the finance team have found it easy to follow and have benefited from the increased functionality it offers them, such as the ability to run both standard and ad hoc reports, which can be built to the needs of the company.
"The reporting system is fantastic, allowing us to ask for reports that we couldn't have got with our previous system," says Oana, "For example, ADP now provide us with General Ledger costing reports which can be posted directly into our accounting system - so what used to take me a day can now be done in a couple of minutes." Oana has also been very happy with the quality of service the organisation has received from ADP and feels that ADP's knowledge and expertise has been a huge advantage:
"Our payroll consultant at ADP is absolutely brilliant and his technical knowledge can't be faulted. If we ever have a query, he will always respond himself rather than passing it on to a colleague, and is always very helpful and efficient. We have also attended free courses run by ADP for its clients, which are invaluable for staying up-to-date on legislation, reporting procedures and best practice around topics such as managing year end."
Oana has also noticed a change for the better in her job role since the introduction of ADP freedom, as she now has a lot more time to take care of other responsibilities, reporting into the chief accountant.
Whereas she used to spend several days at a time managing payroll, this has reduced to a maximum of two days a month and this is beneficial to the company as her time is spent more effectively. The cost of outsourcing payroll is less than the company would pay a full time person to run payroll so has also benefited the bottom line.
She explains: "I have noticed that I am under a lot less pressure due to ADP freedom, as it has taken away the time consuming tasks of processing payroll, correcting mistakes and responding to internal queries. I didn't even notice that the tax year had happened this year because ADP managed it all!"
Using ADP freedom, has also led to a happier workforce. Oana has found she now has more time to check the payroll data before it is entered into the system and the number of mistakes has therefore decreased month on month. This has resulted in fewer queries and complaints from staff, which in turn frees up Oana's time even further. The introduction of ESS and MSS has also been a success and following a short implementation and training process, employees were soon updating their address details, viewing their payslips plus booking and approving holiday online. This has eased the amount of administration required of the HR department and again ensured that data is maintained up-to-date and correct.
"Overall, we have been more than happy with ADP freedom," concludes Oana. "Our payroll has been transformed so it is now more efficient, accurate and secure. Plus when the auditors visited last year, they were more than impressed with how the process is being run.
Background to Evotec
Evotec is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs and has established a powerful platform that is applicable to targets across all therapeutic areas, with specific expertise in the area of central nervous system (CNS) related diseases.
Evotec also has significant research partnerships with leading Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies and has established itself as the partner of choice worldwide. To fully exploit the potential of its capabilities, Evotec looks to complement its traditional fee-for-service business with higher value, results-driven projects in core areas by sharing in the customer's risk and success through significant milestone payments and royalties.
Through research collaborations and proprietary projects, Evotec is providing the highest quality research results to its partners worldwide. The company's UK headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is home to 230 employees involved in a variety of job roles.
