Success story: N Brown Group

N Brown Group is a Top 10 UK clothing and footwear digital retailer, with a home proposition, serving customers across a portfolio of retail brands including JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo.

Its ambition is to become the most inclusive retailer in the UK across fashion and home, which is relevant and accessible to all. N Brown’s Financial Services offering supports accessibility by helping customers to spread the cost of shopping.

As a Manchester-grown business, N Brown celebrates a heritage spanning over 10 years, and currently employs over 1,800 people across the UK.

Without any digital system – or HRIS implemented – N Brown looked to digitalise its HR processes and move away from paper-based systems.

“We had pieces of paper going from one employee’s desk to another, waiting to be filled out and/or signed. To get anything done or approved, it was a slow and laborious process. It also posed a risk of error, which we needed to mitigate as a financial services business,” says Megan Weedon, People Manager for Policy Systems and Reward at N Brown Group.

Without all HR information stored centrally, N Brown lacked a holistic picture of what employment looked like. Without a single source of truth, this – if not addressed – could result in:

• Data inaccuracy and duplication
• Compliance risks and security concerns
• Inefficient processes and a lack of strategic HR
• Increased costs
• Poor employee experience.

• Providing all employees with the same experience

“We wanted to give all our people the same experience at N Brown, regardless of where they’re based in the UK. We therefore knew that whatever solution we invested in, that it would need to be seamless, engaging, and easy-to-use to allow our people to focus on their day job,” says Megan.

• One source of truth for HR data and analytics

“A big part of my role is reporting. So, it was important for us to find a system that could give us access to our HR data and analytics, in real time, from one source of truth. We knew this insight would provide us with a complete overview of our people to allow us to make better-informed decisions,” says Megan.

• A fully integrated solution with unified payroll for UK and Irish employees

“We knew the value of seeking a fully integrated solution so we wouldn’t need to input the same data twice, be it for HR or payroll purposes. We have a small number of colleagues in who work in Ireland – where the HR employee laws differ slightly – so this also needed to be taken into consideration,” says Megan.

• Effortlessly track and manage time and attendance

“We have a number of employees who aren’t in hybrid roles and are therefore required to clock-in. The HR solution also needed to cater for this need, ideally offering a flexible approach for employees to clock-in and out from both a mobile app and work computer,” says Megan.

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Since launching Access PeopleXD, employees can conveniently access their data, payslips, and absence requests digitally, at any time, from wherever they are via the mobile app.

“Technology is improving and developing at an exponential rate, and even in the last 3-4 years, we are a completely transformed business. We’ve established ourselves as a digital retailer, so it makes sense for our employees to work digital first. Access PeopleXD supports that, and makes things simple, quick, and streamlined,” says Megan.

The XD self-service mobile app features that allows employees to perform tasks on their own, reducing the need for time-consuming interactions with the HR team. Employees can now access and update personal information, submit expenses, and request leave.

“The feedback from employees has been that the PeopleXD mobile app has been almost life changing. If they are booking a holiday, for example, they can make the request conveniently on-the-go which managers can then approve instantly. Booking the time off is then out of their mind, and they can start to think about their day-to-day activities – and how to fit everything in their suitcase!” says Megan.

Access PeopleXD’s Workforce Management module has provided employees with the ability to track and manage their time. Office-based employees can clock-in and clock-out quicker and easier via the mobile app.

From a HR team and management perspective, all time information that has been inputted into the system can be viewed holistically.

“Once employees’ working hours are recorded, time calculations are seamlessly and automatically pulled through to PeopleXD’s payroll software. Its massively reduced the manual admin involved for the team. Access PeopleXD manages UK and Irish payroll for us, and ensures our people are paid right and on time, every time,” says Megan.

As PeopleXD’s Payroll Software is integrated with the HR suite, N Brown can avoid data duplication and ensure the working hours entered are consistent and accurate. This minimises the likelihood of data entry errors and/or miscalculations which could result in payroll discrepancies and employee dissatisfaction.

“With Access PeopleXD, we now only need to input the data once and we know we’re using the most up-to-date information and working from one source of truth. It’s really worked well for us, and this has personally enhanced my role for the better, especially when considering the real-time reporting and analytics now available to us,” continues Megan.

Working from one source of truth, with all HR information centralised and stored in one place, has given N Brown access to a wealth of customisable and easy to use reports and analytics in real time. The HR team can now make better informed decisions based on the most up-to-date information.

Reports can be exported in Microsoft Word, Excel, pdf, html and/or csv format to build a holistic picture of N Brown’s employees, providing insight into absence, salary, and performance, etc.

Since investing in Access Learning, N Brown can track mandatory compliance training for employees, including topics such as anti-money laundering, data protection, cyber security, etc. The HR team can now store and manage training records to demonstrate compliance during audits.

“As a financial services business, we’re highly regulated by the FCA. And as part of that, there are certain rules and regulations, including annual training, that all employees need to complete. We issue and manage training through the learning management system, so we have a trail of who has completed the mandatory courses. And the information can easily be exported for reference,” says Megan.

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Access Volcanic is a recruitment website, powered by a secure SaaS platform, which is fully integrated with Access PeopleXD. Access Volcanic helps the HR team to engage and attract the most qualified candidates for job roles.

The in-house recruitment platform provides a customisable experience, enabling N Brown to showcase its brand right through the employee’s journey, from the initial moment when a candidate wants to work for N Brown.

“From the candidate’s application, we can gather data in Volcanic which is seamlessly and automatically pulled through and accessible via PeopleXD. So, by the time the candidate starts their new role with us, we have all their employee information readily available,” says Megan.

Since integrating Access PeopleXD and Volcanic, N Brown can access personal and contact information, workforce analytics such as employee demographics previous employment details, and employee documentation, such as CVs and contracts.

N Brown’s investment in a Premier Customer Success Plan (CSP), provides access to:

• A designated Customer Success Manager (CSM),
• A named Technical Support Engineer,
• Knowledge base advisory services and community forums,
• Success services, including an action plan, review meetings and briefings,

FlexPoints are the currency that allows the consumption of Access Services on a prepaid basis. With FlexPoints, N Brown can browse, search and book value added services (such as training new employees, new feature adoption, 3^rd party application integration, etc) against any product to meet its business’ needs.

N Brown has 7440 FlexPoints per annum (for every year of its 3-year contract, totalling 22,320) allocated within its Premier Customer Success Plan. These inclusive FlexPoints allow N Brown to deliver strategic HR projects in the most cost-effective way, whilst adding the most value to the business.

“The FlexPoints allow us to tailor how we best use consultancy work and/or additional training that we might need to maximise our return on investment. In the past, we’ve used FlexPoints for training on Volcanic, as well as how to get the most out of Access Learning. It’s in the name – the points are flexible in terms of their use,” says Megan.

Following a business planning session in early 2023, the HR team made the decision to purchase an additional 24,999 FlexPoints (equating to 8,333 each year, for the three-year period).

From these additional FlexPoints, N Brown made the decision to utilise 8,333 – its first years’ worth - to implement and integrate DocuSign into Access PeopleXD and Access Volcanic, as well as integrating Grosvenor Clocking In and Out with PeopleXD’s Workforce Management and People Management modules to enhance N Brown’s time tracking abilities to pay employees.

The DocuSign integration into Access PeopleXD allows the HR team to obtain an e-signature for contracts and job offers, all from the click of a button. Having DocuSign as part of an integrated system ensures all necessary stakeholders at N Brown receive a copy of DocuSign, as well as notifications, to automate and streamline its processes.

Further, N Brown has redeemed its FlexPoints to successfully execute additional strategic projects, which have included:

• Access PeopleXD module health checks and process reviews across Payroll, and also Access Volcanic,
• Process improvements to a new employee sickness scheme,
• Advanced insights training for its payroll and recruitment teams,
• Enhancements to its career website powered by Access Volcanic, such as applying new branding, and improving the candidates’ journey to attract top talent.

“The Customer Success Portal has also been highly beneficial to us as it contains many useful resources, such as user guides and on-demand webinars, for example. It’s really easy to self-serve if you have a question. And on the off chance you can’t answer your question with the available material, you can raise a support ticket, and someone will come back to you,” says Megan.

All three customer success plan levels – including the Premier Plan that N Brown is on – include access to Community Forums, a comprehensive Knowledge Base (including Google search), and a powerful, intuitive Success Portal for case management.

“As part of our Premier Customer Success Plan, we have a cadence of informal meetings with our CSM. This time enables us to reflect on internal projects and business outcomes, look at additional training, and discuss any open support tickets. We can also set actions to ensure we are delivering on any outcomes,” says Megan.

“Our experience with the team has been incredibly positive over the last 5-6 years. We have a great relationship with our account manager and customer success manager – it’s a really easy relationship to have. I hope to continue in the direction – and pace – that we have been traveling with Access. The world really is our oyster,” says Megan.

“Using Access’ solutions has made my life easier; it’s made our managers’ lives easier, and it’s made our employees’ lives easier. I would definitely recommend working with the Access team,” concludes Megan.

The Access Group's HCM division, Access People, offer an unrivalled suite of solutions for businesses, including HR and Payroll, Absence Management, Workforce Management, Compliance, Recruitment, Talent, Learning, Employee Benefits and Engagement, Health & Safety, all of which are underpinned by the powerful Access Workspace platform. 

The Access Group is one of the leading providers of business management software to small and mid-sized organisations in the UK, Ireland, and Asia Pacific. We help over 100,000 customers across commercial and not-for-profit sectors become more productive and efficient.