TGt Meets...Daniel White, Owner of Elevate Umbrella

Meet our latest TGt Meets...Daniel White, Owner of Elevate Umbrella. We asked him about what life is like working in payroll and why Elevate Umbrella should be your first port of call when looking for a payroll provider for the temporary recruitment industry!

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I come from Cheltenham, now live and work in Swindon, and later this year I’ll be celebrating my 30th birthday and my first wedding anniversary – so I’m hoping social distancing rules will have been relaxed by then!

I’m a football fan, both watching and playing, and the first game I went to was Arsenal v Manchester United. My Dad took me and planned to turn to me into an Arsenal supporter but I’m Man U through and through.

When I was at school my ambition was to own a sports shop. I decided not to go to university and started off working in sports retail (this seemed a step towards my goal). I worked in various departments and then moved into payroll. I turned out to be quite good at it, really enjoyed it, and I have been in payroll ever since.

Describe your business in one sentence…

Elevate Umbrella is a payroll provider to the temporary recruitment industry. Our clients include recruitment companies, businesses which employ contractors, and temporary workers themselves. We provide a cost-effective payroll service which is fully audited and fully compliant, while at the same time offering a wide range of benefits to the contractor, over and above simply running their payroll.

What advice would you give anyone looking to do the same?

My advice would be do your research first, be patient and choose your suppliers carefully. Above all, focus on compliance. There are payroll umbrella companies out there which claim to offer a great service but they simply aren’t compliant. Before we even launched Elevate Umbrella we had a full audit carried out of all our processes and procedures.

How do you like to spend your time off?

I split my time between my two great loves: my wife Lydia and football (not necessarily in that order!) I have played football at a semi-professional level and I now coach at the New College and play for a team there as well.

I also love cooking and can make a mean chilli – you can do so many things with it – and I love any form of French or Italian cooking.

What have been your key challenges and how have you overcome them?

The first challenge was getting our compliance right. It is a hugely rigorous process, which is as it should be, and to get that in place and right first time was challenging but also rewarding.

Our second challenge was ensuring our processes are slick and lean, which means we can offer a really cost-effective service to our clients.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

Passing our professional passport audit first time. This gave us the peace of mind and confidence that we could trade from week one as a fit and proper service.

What are your plans for the future?

We plan to grow the business and are looking to take on more staff, for example additional client account managers. We are always looking at ways to improve, for example we are about to launch a new website. We are also introducing a fuel card for contractors, which is yet another benefit for them. We are really proud of our benefits package, which is superb.

What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

I like being hands on in every aspect of the company. I am enjoying being involved in the new website, I like getting stuck into the marketing, and above all I love the interaction I have with clients, whether that is the companies or the contractors. I have a really good relationship with all my clients and speak to them regularly. About 20 of our contractors work here in Fig Offices and it’s great to be in touch with them so often. It’s important to me that we are very hands on and provide a great customer service, and as our business grows, I want to make sure we keep this ethos. And, of course, I still enjoy running payroll.

What are your professional goals?

I want Elevate Umbrella to grow and be successful while remaining true to our core values. I believe we will succeed because we have invested so much time into making sure we have the foundations right.

Find out more about Elevate Umbrella by visiting their website, https://www.elevateumbrella.co.uk/