NorthgateArinso (NGA) has had a string of recent competitive HRO contract wins in the U.K. First in November was a seven year contract with the Church of England (16,000 participants), followed by a five year award by Gatwick Airport (3,500 participants). In early December the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with 3000 participants awarded NGA a five year contract. Each award was for Resource Link Aurora HR and Payroll services, adding to the more than 500 clients already using the service in the U.K.
I had a conversation with NorthgateArinso’s Jonathan Legdon, Sales Director, and Nick Carlson, Strategic Marketing Director for the U.K. and Ireland to learn more about what is driving success. The answer is not one secret to success, but many that are working together.
NGA is one of the HRO market leaders in the U.K. with reference clients across many verticals in the private and public sectors. Still, there were other worthy competitors bidding for the services, so I wanted to know what else is setting NGA apart.
One secret of success is the sales team structure and environment. (For those of us who go way back in HRO, sales teams were not always the friend of forming client service provider partnerships based on more than price, met expectations and were profitable for the vendor.) The sales team includes a mix of sales and operations personnel and the integrated team can realistically represent NGAs services and strengths and demonstrate the expertise and commitment to client services. Also, NGA uses a unique approach to sales team compensation to incent and reward building client relationships that deliver value for clients and needed margins for NGA.
A reputation for HR expertise and innovative technologies and services that produce results is also important. Gatwick Airport is at the beginning of a ten year transformation plan and it selected NGA as a partner committed to delivering exceptional staff services. Gatwick is also looking to NGA for RPO services that will help attract and engage the highest caliber employees. The Church of England is planning to use the Resource Link Aurora talent management capabilities to improve the efficiency of the selection and training of clergy. LSHTM wants to eliminate bureaucracy with web-based self-serve that will meet the changing needs of a complex workforce.
Clients recognize that the NGA sales teams take the time to listen and understand their needs. LSHTM said NGA was the most intuitive bidder and understood the needs of the public sector. Gatwick cited the match of corporate cultures and values. The Church of England selection team said that NorthgateArinso, through its thorough engagement with the team, had demonstrated a very clear understanding of the Church’s requirements.
Focusing on HRO success is a good way to wrap up the year. Happy Holidays on behalf of the NelsonHall HRO Insight team, Gary Bragar, Amy Gurchensky, and Linda Merritt.
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