How Simpsons Flooring Xtra outsourced its HR so they could get back to core business

Industry: Retail | Size: 19

Flooring Xtra is New Zealand’s largest flooring retailer in the country with over 60 stores nationwide. Each store is owned and operated by a local with experience in the flooring industry.

This case study focuses on one of these locally operated businesses: Simpsons Flooring Xtra. We virtually sat down with Ross Weaver, General Manager at Simpsons Flooring Xtra to discuss this fantastic business and his experience with HR Assured.

Background

Before becoming a Flooring Xtra member, John Simpson ran an independent flooring business – the original business was built from the ground up, and he set up his first storefront in 1988 in the tight-knit South Canterbury community of Timaru. Now, three generations later, John’s two sons, Ben and Patrick, are part of the team, and the company has 19 staff working across two locations.

Ross told us about the business and the types of work they do. “We service clients from private houses, new housing estates, and local builders to schools, hospitals, and government contracts – it’s a great mix of business. And having people behind us who understand what we do, and why we do it and support us with the time-consuming HR tasks makes it all worthwhile.”

Finding great HR advice as well as workplace safety support

The team at Citation HR has been working with Simpsons Flooring Xtra for the past 18 months, advising, guiding, and supporting the business with its end-to-end HR needs. So how did Ross discover Citation HR services?

In 2021, Ross began looking to outsource HR after being faced with a situation outside the expertise of the company. Ross and his team decided that paying for 24/7 expert advice and help with contracts and employment law compliance would return many benefits.

Searching around New Zealand outsourced HR software and service solutions, Ross’s team created a list of must-haves and found that Citation HR was the best – and most efficient – fit for the business.

Ross says, “We were looking for something simple, easy to use that gave us the confidence to trust our HR and safety processes,” and that’s exactly what Citation HR offered.

“Identifying this weakness in our processes wasn’t something we initially thought was too big to handle, but adding the Citation HR layer of defence has been one of the best things we’ve done because, at the end of the day, you don’t know what you don’t know.

“Knowing that we now have a team of people that we can call at any time day or night for clarification, advice, and support gave our team the peace of mind we needed to be confident in our processes and know that the steps taken were the right ones.”

Everything all in a single safe and secure place

Simpsons Flooring Xtra has particularly benefited from using Citation HR’s HR software, to provide legally sound documentation including policies, contracts, templates, and agreements.

“We now have the software in place to strengthen and streamline our people management, from water-tight policies and legally compliant templates for contracts and agreements to a simplified performance review process and proper storage of employee records, we have everything in one – very secure – place.

“Introducing Citation HR has helped bring our business decidedly into the digital age, and leaving behind paper files has helped us say goodbye to the stress and worry of missing key dates and information. Instead, we’re saying hello to being on top of training and development and important anniversaries.

“It’s incredibly handy having all this information at our fingertips. Having access to tools we didn’t have before has helped shore up our processes and defences,” Ross says.

Award-winning support, ready when you need it

Tricky HR or safety situations don’t wait for a convenient time to arise, often happening without warning – and that’s where award-winning support can make every bit of difference.

“Being prepared for anything is something we’ve learned as a business recently, and with Citation HR’s Advice Line, we know that when we pick up the phone, we’ll have an expert guiding us step-by-step through whatever issue we’ve got.

“Whether navigating the disciplinary process, sorting through cultural issues, or attempting to correct poor behaviour, we’ve got people in our corner who know their stuff. They explain in plain English what we can and can’t do, and how far to take or push things to resolve the situation,” Ross says.

Streamline your people management. Use Citation HR’s industry-leading software and support

Staying on top of compliance and people management can be a time-consuming, admin-heavy task for any business – and this is where a complete, compliant, and cost-effective HR and H&S solution can give business owners the peace of mind they need to get back to what really matters, running the business.

Join Citation HR and make the most of industry-leading HR software, 24/7 Telephone support and expert advice to help you identify any areas for improvement and stay compliant so you can focus on what your business does best.