“These business owners create their success, they grow,


hire an administrator, a receptionist, another staff member to handle increased demand and all of a sudden this person is employing half a dozen, a dozen, 20, 30, 40, 50 members of staff - because without the infrastructure, knowledge and back office infrastructure, it can all get a bit daunting. What we’re about is helping businesses, their owners and offering support from a HMRC point of view, given all the pressures put on them from that perspective.” So how comprehensive are the services on offer, what


are the advantages for businesses looking to take this one- stop-shop approach and what differentiates Growth Partners from the competition? “There’s always lots of support out there, whether it be


to SMEs or larger businesses,” argues Paul. “The big thing is getting trusted support and actually


one of the things we have been really keen to ensure is that we’re putting our nine core products into one place, one platform. “For an SME to go out and individually acquire those


nine products and services, it could take at least 12 months minimum and the consequences in terms of literal cost, not to mention the time involved, would be phenomenal. Therefore we have aggregated those products into one place so an SME, or a business owner, has one point of contact, rather than half a dozen, to get what they require.” With the nine-product structure in place, Growth Partners


has since added value to its offering, as Paul explains. “What we have done is go out and get the discounts, the


employee assistance programme, the health and wellbeing stuff – such as the online doctors – to ensure that, actually, the portal we’re providing probably gives better products and services to SME clients than a lot of larger blue-chip clients are giving their staff, because we have put everything in there that we can – it’s comprehensive.” But how much of a factor is the current changeable landscape – with political issues such as Brexit looming


large. Can SMEs rely on a proven model for growth as well as tried-and-tested products or does a degree of flexibility come into the mix to combat elements that may lie outside of a business’s control? “Certainly, you have to be flexible but, whether it is


Brexit or wider business uncertainties, legislation is legislation,” says Paul. “So for example, auto-enrolment pension is here whether


we like it or not. When it comes to payroll, employees need to be paid promptly, correctly and with the right


40 business network February 2019


deductions made to HMRC - day-to-day duties don't change. “What we do is keep abreast of changing legislation to


make sure our customers are compliant and we are compliant for them, but at the same time making sure the day job gets done.” The opportunity for SMEs to tap into compliance-ensuring


HR products as well as added value employee engagement elements is, Paul says, part of a bigger drive to create a virtuous circle that, ultimately, benefits everyone. “We’re about making employees happy and making the


employer’s lives easier - the two go hand in hand. The more pressure we can take off the employer, the more time they have to spend with the employees and inevitably, more time put into making sure the end-user, the customer, is happy. If the customers are happy, the employees are happy and if the employees are happy, so are the employers - and we sit in the background and help facilitate that.” This philosophy begins at Growth Partners HQ, with Paul


all too aware that, as a company which specialises in employee engagement, there is an expectation that his business is an exemplar one which demonstrates best practice in this arena. “It has to start here,” insists Paul. “You can quote all the clichés that are out there - happy


people sell and a happy workforce is a productive workforce, the lot. They may seem generic, but these sayings exist for a reason and that’s because there’s a large element of truth in them. “From our perspective, we make sure all our employees


get their lunch paid for three times a week, we have flexible working, we give employees their birthday off and we try to engage the team with suggestion boxes and give them a comfortable, safe environment to work in – we do internally what we pass on to the outside world.” So what advice would Paul give to a start-up or growing


SME? He believes that, while there are many elements - and many ways - to achieve success, there is one common denominator – people. “I stand firm on the fact that great people make great


businesses,” he argues. “Finding good people is difficult, so when you do find


them you need to do everything in your power to keep them. It's the bottom line, if you have good people all driving in the same direction, the business stands a far better chance of success.”


‘We’re about making employees happy and making the employer’s lives easier - the two go hand in hand’


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