Member Article

New HR strategy to support onward growth of insurance franchise post-MBO

Huntingdon-headquartered insurance broker Coversure is on track for further growth, following the business hitting the headlines with news of its private equity-backed MBO.

Photo caption L-R: Emma Thoday (HR Manager), Ben Dalgliesh (Resource & Estate Manager), Josh Ward (HR Assistant)

A fresh HR strategy will now prove crucial to the onward success of the brand as it looks to continue bucking the industry trend with its continually successful high-street presence.

Acknowledging the complexities of the ever-changing employment landscape – not least within the insurance industry – Resource & Estate Manager Ben Dalgliesh has helped spearhead an approach that will provide new and existing franchise owners with greater access to Human Resources and employment law knowledge and advice.

And, with the help of employment law firm and HR business partner esphr, Coversure is now geared up to support even further acquisition growth.

A newly-launched internal ‘HR Mentor’ service averaged 300-500 visits a month in 2017, before peaking at 600 at the start of 2018 when key advice was shared regarding the outlook for the year ahead. These figures are expected to rise by a further 50% over the next 12 months.

Explaining why strategic HR support is so pivotal to the organisation, Ben said: “Before our HR revolution began, we set out a five-year plan to go from ‘good to great’. Key to this was helping business owners to negate the HR ambiguity that often comes with running a new or growing team, without distracting them from operating a successful franchise. We therefore knew that HR support for these businesses would prove crucial for their continued growth and success.”

Coversure had previously engaged the services of a law firm, but found the approach burdened with heavy costs.

“There was definitely reluctance to seek help for seemingly minor matters,” continued Ben. “We had ad hoc access to an online HR service, but in the absence of a strong strategic relationship, there was a limit to the commercial benefits that this support could offer.

“Now, we offer a teleconference with esphr at the start of each franchisee journey, to instil a personal touch and steer best practice from day one. Franchisees are not only able to fully understand their TUPE responsibilities and options for incoming and outgoing staff, for instance – there is also a trusted voice available for really high-level business calls.

“This approach gives our stakeholders peace of mind that franchisees are equipped to be professional, diligent employers who will uphold the values of our brand.”

Having grown from 1.5 FTE to 3 full time staff in the last 18 months, further expansion is on the horizon for Coversure’s own HR team, with the appointment of another HR Assistant planned for October.

Coversure marks 32 years in business in 2018. The brand now has over 90 franchise offices across the UK and counting.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .