Client Case Study: Bidfood
Bidfood originally hired Aide HR for a short 3 month project, but once they discovered the benefits of Aide HR’s flexible offering, they extended the relationship. Aide HR and Bidfood have been working closely together on a variety of HR projects for the best part of three years now.
Bidfood are the UK’s leading suppliers of food, drink & supplies to the catering industry. An award-winning global business with decades of history, the Bidfood business has grown through a series of careful acquisitions.
“Our consultant quickly got to know our business and was able to identify the pinch points in our leave management processes. Aide helped implement a solution that really works for us.”
— HRIS Manager, Bidfood
HR restructuring and process support
As Bidfood had grown through acquisition, its HR services, Payroll and HR systems teams were spread out over multiple locations. Bidfood had already started a major restructuring project, designed to bring all of these functions under one roof, when Aide HR came on board. Originally, the brief was simply to provide HR Analytics support during a period of change, but as the relationship progressed, it became clear that Aide HR had more to offer Bidfood.
HRIS & HR Database Support
Holiday and Illness records were kept locally across 30 different sites, and as part of the restructure, Bidfood wanted to record and manage this information centrally. HR also needed to review and streamline their working practices, and find ways to add more value to the service they provided managers. Bidfood needed a solution that could automate and crowdsource as many HR functions as possible, leaving the team free to focus on adding strategic value.
Aide HR’s consultant sat in the office with the HR services team and quickly became aware of the additional challenges faced by the department. Thanks to this immersive approach, Aide HR were able to highlight procedural improvements, recommend potential savings and advise on HR compliance issues outside of the existing remit. The Bidfood team were soon at ease with the consultant, and together they developed a relationship that could drive real change across the organisation.
A lasting long-term relationship
After seeing first-hand what support was available, Bidfood extended Aide HR’s contract and broadened the remit. Over the past 2.5 years, through a mix of full-time and part-time support, Aide HR have become a valued part of Bidfood’s HR team, joining the Operational Steering Group, reporting to the Bidfood Executive. Successful projects between Aide HR and Bidfood include…
- Delivery of a new absence management process across all sites
- Change management: supporting payroll in the move to a full monthly pay cycle
- Implementation of electronic payslips
- TUPE assistance during an acquisition process
- Management reporting: built a custom suite of reports & bespoke security processes
- Delivered a new appraisal and talent process, significantly reducing central administration
- HRIS upgrades for statutory and functionality reasons
- Launched an online employee and manager portal
- Training process development, enabling accurate & timely course renewals management
An Immersive Approach to Bidfood’s HR Challenges
Our immersive approach to HR gave us the freedom to understand Bidfood’s challenges from a holistic perspective. By embedding ourselves in Bidfood’s offices and sitting with the team on a daily basis, we could see how, behind the immediate need to centralise 30 offices and streamline a series of change protocols, there were big commercial opportunities that Bidfood could capitalise on.
“As well as providing technical expertise, our consultant has become part of the team and supported the function through all the changes we’ve made.”
— Head of HR Shared Services, Bidfood
Join our happy clients list
It’s testament to the value of Aide HR’s immersive approach, and the adaptive and open approach of the Bidfood team, that the Bidfood / Aide relationship is now in its third year. Talk to us about our immersive approach to HR and we’ll show you how you can join our happy client list. Contact us today