Benefits
The Business...
Red Rock Consulting was established mid 2005 by Dean Harte. To serve the IT and telecommunications sector. The company deals in both contract and permanent staff and also offers clients a range of strategic HR services comprising talent attraction and retention, resource utilisation management, interim management and work packaging.
The Challenge...
Red Rock’s management had not originally considered outsourcing the back office function of their new company. Dean Harte’s own experience had included working for companies which ran their own accounts departments or used shared service centres which provided support to companies within the same group. While these models were generally successful, the business realised there would be a far greater chance of success for Red Rock if the management and staff were able to dedicate themselves to their work rather than be distracted by financial processes.
“As a start-up it was very important for us to concentrate on our core business activity,” says Harte. “We needed to make sure we could provide the best possible service for our clients and focus on that alone.”
Taking this into consideration, the company met with three possible service providers. From these they selected Hydra BPO Services to maintain their sales and purchasing ledger, run credit control, manage both the external and internal payroll and to produce management accounts for the business on a monthly basis. “I was very attracted by the service Hydra BPO were offering,” says Harte, “whether it was financially viable was obviously a consideration and in that sense it has proved to be very good for the company.”
The Outcome...
Hydra-AHL takes care of the day-to-day accounting activities while Red Rock maintains complete financial control, enjoying access to the information it needs to manage and grow the business. With communication occurring between finance staff in both companies on a daily basis, Dean Harte describes the arrangement as “a professional relationship with a level of communication that gives us the comfort we need.”
Red Rock use Hydra-AHL’s electronic time sheet and billing system which offers consultants real time information about which candidates are working, and where. The system also means Red Rock’s contractors receive confirmation by SMS when a time sheet is received and when funds are transferred to their account. “Anecdotal evidence would suggest that this has been well received by our Contractors,” says Harte, “the efficiencies of the system have also reduced our DSO.”
Importantly for Red Rock Consulting, the Hydra-AHL relationship has provided a level of financial information that may not have been otherwise possible; “We’ve had access to some helpful and sophisticated financial and performance monitoring tools,” notes Harte. “We have real-time information so from week to week we have a clear picture of exactly how well we’re performing.”
Learning Points...
Red Rock Consulting’s success can be seen clearly in the rapid expansion of the company. Today it has a staff of 12 and a projected first year turnover of £5 million. Dean Harte believes without the flexible support from Hydra-AHL securing this level of growth would have presented far more challenges and may have distracted Red Rock from their core business.
“In my experience, rapidly expanding a business can put tremendous strain on the back office,” he says. “Our business has grown at an incredibly rapid rate and it would have been difficult to maintain that level of growth if we had to contend with bringing the back office up to speed with the front office.”
NEWS
- Hydra-AHL launch new brand and website
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In July 2008, Hydra-AHL launched their new brand and website.
More» - Hydra BPO acquire AHL Management
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In November 2007, Hydra BPO Services Ltd successfully completed the acquisition of the AHL Management Ltd to form one of the largest dedicated UK Recruitment Industry Back Office Outsource Service Providers
More» - Hydra-AHL to re-locate Kingston and North London offices in August 2008
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As a result of the recent merger between Hydra BPO Services and AHL Management, Hydra-AHL has taken the opportunity to consolidate all staff and operations in a single office location
More»