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Three months ago we were delighted to welcome our new National Accounts Manager, Claire Martin, to the Payme team. Here we catch up with her as she settles into her new role and find out how she has found her first three months at Payme.

Q: How have you settled in, Claire, and what have you been doing?

A: Very well, thank you! I’ve really enjoyed my first three months with Payme. As I came from within the industry the move wasn’t a big shock but as I always like to develop myself I’ve taken the opportunity to learn more about certain aspects of what Payme offers its recruitment partners and contractors, such as our Construction Industry Scheme CIS, so that I can make our recruitment partners more aware of all the products we offer. 

I’m also proud to say that I’ve brought on board a number of new agencies and as a result of that we’ve had lots of new contractor referrals.

I’ve been busy having lots of meetings too and have travelled to London, Manchester, The Wirral and St Helens speaking to clients and learning what they need from us. 

It’s been great so far and I’m very happy that I made the move.

Q:  Tell us some more about your role as National Account Manager. 

A: So far I’ve been concentrating on servicing some of our existing accounts – making sure that they know who I am and what I can offer them in terms of products and support. They know that they can ring me up and ask me a question, any question, and if I can’t answer it there and then I’ll either find out the answer and get back to them or put them in touch with someone who can!

I’ve been helping our existing recruitment partners with some questions on legislation, and advising them on calculations to make sure their contractors’ take home pay is spot on, updating them as to the status of our contractors’ joiner process to guarantee they’ll get paid on time, and helping to make sure that any new contractors they’ve referred to us are fully registered so there’s no delay in getting their money to them as soon as possible. 

And I’ve been bringing in new business, which is fantastic! In terms of our new recruitment clients, for me, it’s all about building a relationship and rapport with them and developing a partnership. I’ve been doing a lot of listening to find out exactly what our new partners need and want from us. 

One exciting new client has invited Sean, our White Collar Sales Director, and me to a very prestigious networking event in the next few weeks so I’m really looking forward to meeting their team and seeing how much difference our input can make to their success. 

Q: Was there a difference between what you expected when you started with Payme versus the reality of it?

A: It’s a lot different! Because I previously worked for one of the larger umbrella companies I was pleasantly surprised at how much simpler things are here at Payme. The processes here are a lot more streamlined so it was a revelation that we can actually get our contractors paid the same day! The back office team may be smaller but they’re far more responsive, and fewer departments mean that changes can be implemented a lot faster. I’ve actually suggested a couple of adjustments based on my past experience that have been implemented to streamline our processes and they've already changed things for the benefit of our recruiters and contractors. 

Q: You mentioned giving recruiters advice. What kind of conversations have you been having?

A: From very basic questions like, ‘What is employers’ NI?’ and ‘What is the apprenticeship levy?’ to ‘What’s in a payslip?’ and ‘What’s IR35?’ through to ‘Why is it a risk for me to work with Sole traders directly?’ and ‘What are mini umbrellas?’. I’m always happy to try and answer any question our recruiters have, especially if they’re relatively new to the business and need some guidance.

I’ve been training new recruitment consultants, which I love, but I’ve also been doing some work with more senior level staff too, just to keep them abreast of what’s going on in the industry.

We’ve brought on board several brand new recruitment agencies recently so it’s been great to connect with them and get to grips with the real nitty gritty of how it all works and how we can be of help to them.

Q: What about the Payme culture? Has everyone been welcoming?

A: Oh, yes! Everyone’s been amazingly welcoming. Payme has a great teamwork culture and everyone’s very supportive and approachable. It’s great to know that if I can’t answer a client’s question there will be someone on the team who can! Because I’m working remotely I was worried that I’d feel a bit isolated but the Payme team has been marvellous, welcoming and supporting me through those first couple of weeks when I needed questions answered fast. As you know I worked with Sean before and he’d already told me what a great bunch of people they are. Now that I’m here I understand exactly what he meant!

Q: Give us three highlights from the last three months.

A: There have been quite a few but I suppose the top three are:

1. Being invited to our client’s networking event – that’s a really prestigious invitation so I’ll be very proud to represent Payme there.

2. The amount of agencies that I’ve managed to bring on board so far. It’s actually very promising because it shows that there’s light at the end of a rather long tunnel after a long period of stagnation in the recruitment market.

3. Talking to agencies about their Preferred Supplier Lists (PSLs) and how important it is to make sure they refine their PSLs and minimise their risk, especially when they get busier in the future. I’ve been explaining exactly what they need to be aware of in terms of compliance, which is absolutely vital, and the due diligence they need to carry out when they’re doing their six-monthly or annual audits.

Q: What does the future hold for you and Payme?

A: I’m still very excited about the future with Payme. I’m planning to get even busier and I can already see that there’s growth ahead. Lots of established and new agencies are getting in touch so I’ll be out on the road meeting with them and explaining the benefits of using Payme for them and for their contractors. Our sales team is set to expand in the next 18 months so that will generate lots of work for me too! I can’t wait to see what happens.

If you’d like to see how Claire can help your agency grow compliantly call us on 0333 200 0845, email us at [email protected], or fill in the contact form here.