Our track record

TUPE in action: Eversheds

The benefits of engaging an outsourcing supplier skilled in TUPE – both in terms of the regulations themselves and how best to implement and build on them– became evident in a contract awarded to Computacenter by law firm Eversheds.

Eversheds is one of the largest full service law firms in the world,with 32 offices in major cities throughout the UK,Europe, Middle East and Asia. Its six main practice areas are commercial, corporate, human resources, legal systems, litigation, dispute management and real estate.

At the time the contract was awarded, Eversheds’ had a three-year business strategy focused heavily on growth – both for the firm as a whole and for individuals.

Investing in people also means investing in their career progression –whether they practice law or work in IT. Technology is a key enabler for the business not only in terms of employee satisfaction and development but also for delivering quality customer service. To develop and manage its IT infrastructure, Eversheds needed to employ a highly skilled team of IT professionals – providing this team with training and career development opportunities was proving a real challenge. As with many firms, Evershed’s limited internal IT resources also made it difficult for the company to accelerate its IT strategy.

Conor O’Brien, head of Service Delivery and Operations at Eversheds, comments: “Following a performance review of the IT department, we realised that although we had excellent staff, we would be able to improve IT service levels by partnering with an external provider.”

This approach would also enable Eversheds to free up its internal team to focus on innovation during the firm’s period of growth.

As the new managed service contract would involve the transfer of staff under TUPE, Eversheds wanted to ensure its staff were being taken on by a company with a similar culture. As O’Brien explains: “We needed to find a partner that could not only meet our end-to-end IT management needs but also had a strong focus on staff well-being.”

As a result, Eversheds decided to partner with Computacenter, which has taken on 78 IT staff from Eversheds as part of the contract that covers 3,800 international users.

Enhanced career prospects

Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals, selected Computacenter services to handle its IT support and facilitate an improvement programme designed to increase service levels and control costs .

Among the reasons the company gave for selecting Computacenter was the latter’s approach to people – particularly Computacenter’s experience in transferring staff from one business to another and the extensive range of development opportunities on offer for transferred staff.

Beat Goehring, head of Professional Services at Thomson Reuters says: “Computacenter has a good ‘fit’ with our customers and a proven track record in TUPE and retaining transferred staff. We are confident that it will be able to provide impacted staff with enhanced career prospects, which was a key factor in our decision to partner with Computacenter.”

Claire Goodman, HR manager at Thomson Reuters, adds: “I was very impressed with Computacenter at every stage. They were extremely dedicated to providing us with a great service. Their structured approach ensured that communication was timely and relevant and the whole project was managed very efficiently”.

 

TUPE employee testimonials

Jamie Nicholson
Business Take-On Manager

Which Company did you TUPE from?
Steria

How long had you worked there?
6 years (but this was via Bull, Spring IT and Integris – all TUPE)

How did you feel when it was announced that you were moving to CC?
‘Just another TUPE’ as I had already gone through the same process with 4 other companies. From those
experiences I did not expect anything to change and I expected the same sequence of events.

What was your experience of the transfer?
There were a lot of people from Computacenter trying to gain a good understanding of the services being
provided and the people providing the services. It was a much more personal transfer than previous
experiences.

How did you find the introduction from the management team on Computacenter?
Some senior people attended and delivered a clear explanation of the company. It was an open discussion and an opportunity to voice negative and positive feedback, comments and concerns.

My initial impressions?
This had been delivered differently to the other TUPE processes so I was open minded about the opportunities
that may become available.

My first role?
Onsite (Goldman Sachs) Service Desk Analyst

My career development including any training that I have received?

• Onsite Service Desk Analyst to Team Leader to Operations Manager
  
• I then moved to the head office into a central team role as a Service Management Consultant and then into
  Continual Improvement as a consultant
  
• Training – ITIL Foundation

What does the future look like?
There are various opportunities for me within Computacenter or externally because of my experiences and
development.

Career Summary
Following numerous TUPE experiences, Computacenter was the most professional and gave the staff a feeling
that they were working for an organisation rather than and not just seeing a different pay slip for coming years.
There are a huge amount of opportunities within Computacenter but if the individual does not want to utilise the
chances then it will be a failed experience.

Oscar Griffiths
Senior Service Manager

Which Company did you Tupe from?
Getronics

How long had you worked there?
Three and a half years

How did you feel when it was announced that you were moving to CC?
Worried and concerned, not really sure what it meant to me and how it would impact my career

What was your experience of the transfer?
On a personal level I felt well looked after and given lots of information and support prior to the move. On the day of the move I was given my own folder with support info and I had a set of objectives by the second day and all of my queries around terms and conditions had been addressed. They did go to a lot of effort to make us feel part of the team – we even got a welcome card and chocolates on our desk when we came in. Overall a very difficult situation was made very easy.

How did you find the introduction from the management team on Computacenter?
There was a lot of information, facts and figures and they were very open about what CC stood for and what we could achieve. They also presented stories from previous TUPE staff showing both good and bad to illustrate that they were still learning. Everyone is going to be nervous when they move in circumstances like this but I have to say that the effort the CC went to did re-assure me.

My initial impressions?
Culturally very, very different – CC seemed really sharp and driven. I felt I could achieve things and that talent was encouraged and developed. I also had access to senior people in a way I hadn’t had before – I found that they actually listened and because I was able to build relationships early on I got opportunities to progress fairly quickly.

My first role?
I came over as an Operations Manager, now called a Delivery Manager, within the Service Support Centre where I was responsible for running an IT Service Desk supporting our largest Managed Service customer.

My career development including any training that I have received?
Since my move to CC I have been given a huge amount of development to assist with my career, from inclusion in the Corporate Top Talent programme to mentoring from Senior Managers.

What does the future look like?
For me personally I feel that I can continue to develop and grow and I feel that there are still more opportunities to progress my career. I am in a really challenging and exiting role now and this is helping me to learn. I am very well supported and am being involved in a really varied set of activities so I am constantly learning. The fact I can see a future and I know I am still on a journey in very motivating.

Career Summary

• May 2004 – Joined as an Operations Manager
  
• Nov 2004 – Promoted to Internal Service Manager
  
• Jan 2006 – Promoted to Head of Service Support
  
• Mar 2008 – Moved to Head of Service Development

Paul Mcaulay
Service Manager

Which Company did you Tupe from?
IBM

How long had you worked there?
I worked for the Bank of Scotland for 3 years, then TUPE’d to IBM staying within BOS. I then worked for IBM for 3 years followed by TUPE transfer to Computacenter with the new HBOS contract.

How did you feel when it was announced that you were moving to CC?
Having dealt with CC for some years whilst working for Bank of Scotland, as a hardware supplier, I was already aware of CC and had some knowledge of the company, which was positive. All in all, I was fairly positive.

What was your experience of the transfer?
Compared to my previous TUPE from BOS to IBM, the transfer from IBM to CC was handled very well. We were always very well informed. I was impressed by the efforts CC made to let us meet the people we would be working for as soon as possible, to let us see what our roles were going to be and how the service was going to be delivered from day 1. That gave us comfort and addressed the main issue people have through the TUPE process, fear of the unknown.

How did you find the introduction from the management team on Computacenter?
We all got to meet the management team early in the process. That approach gave us the impression that CC were making the effort to bring us across successfully, both for us and for CC.

My initial impressions?
My initial impressions of CC through the TUPE process were good, mainly through the meetings with my line management on the HBOS account, and the wider team sessions being used to show people how the teams were going to be put together, who was working for who, etc.. That meant we were informed.  It also gave us the impression that people were available to us, managers were visible and available to speak to. We had the sessions in the Edinburgh branch, which brought us into the CC environment and started the process of bringing us into CC.

My first role ?
My first role was as Team Leader for the Glasgow support team, which is the role I performed prior to TUPE to CC.

My career development including any training that I have received?
Within 3 months of transferring to CC, I was given the opportunity to move from Glasgow to Edinburgh Central, to take on the largest on-site team in the HBOS account, in the highest profile site with the highest call volume. This gave me the opportunity to prove myself on the largest stage on the HBOS account, whilst being strategically involved with the account’s management and development.

Approx. 6 months later, having setup and run the Remote Support model and team, the model having immediately proved successful in both service delivery improvement and financial benefits for CC, I was given the opportunity to take on a new role and promoted to Delivery Manager for Core Services and Projects. This gave me exposure to the internal services as well as to disciplines like ITIL, Prince2 and the OGC on the projects and service implementations.

Approx. 9 months later, I was given the DM role for all of Scotland. This gave me direct service delivery management of 6 teams including all on-site teams in Scotland, the Projects Delivery team delivering projects to the entire account (UK and International), the Remote Support Team delivering remote support to the entire account (UK and International) and the on-site elements of support for the HBOS International sites in Europe and India. It gave me the responsibility for the on-site, project and remote service delivery to approx. 30,000 HBOS staff.

Furthermore I was then promoted to Service Manager and given the opportunity to design and setup the new HBOS International contract. Working with the Account Manager and directly with the customer, I designed the service, agreed it with the customer, recruited the people required, and implemented the service, within 2 months.

I was then given the opportunity to move into a larger SM role, as SM for Shell, which is one of the largest SSBU accounts, with approx 100 team members delivering the service in the UK.

Throughout this time, CC have provided me with various management training, for example Performance Management, Employment Law, a Manage Mentors run 12 week program introducing and implementing the Management Operating System and most recently, ITIL v3.

I’m still SM for Shell now, but have recently taken on SM responsibility for an additional eight smaller accounts in Scotland. These are largely field maintenance style accounts, so I’m now learning about the field side of the SSBU business, having come from a background of on-site services. This only adds to my development.

What does the future look like?
For CC, and therefore for myself, hopefully the future is prosperous.
I think we have the foundations in the behaviours we’re trying to display, the SSF, etc., but it’s all about getting people to buy in and do their bit.

Career Summary

• Team Leader: 2003 - 2005
  
• Delivery Manager: 2005 - 2007
  
• Service Manager: 2007 - present