Shining a spotlight on our Hillcrest heroes – the finance team
Continuing to shine a light on our Hillcrest heroes, we’d like to introduce a team that often goes under the radar, but whose work is hugely important for the whole organisation – the finance team!
The lockdown meant systems and processes had to completely change to overcome the usual paper-driven processing with the team now working remotely. However, their can-do attitude meant no challenge was too big! The team pulled out all the stops in getting a new electronic system of dealing with invoices tested and over the line. One day before the official lockdown started, the team succeeded in getting everything launched, and due to this hard work, the organisation now operates with digitised workflows for many processes.
With new processes comes new problems however, and even at the weekends the finance team were creating step by step videos showing others how to navigate the IT maze of the new systems. Together as a team, they managed to resolve the majority of the problems themselves, leaving only the technical issues with IT to resolve. This tremendous team spirit is what characterises Hillcrest, with both the finance teams and IT working hard on the new system despite their overwhelming workload as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The finance team have adapted fast, with paper processes becoming digital, and meetings and face-to face becoming WhatsApp groups, Webex and phone calls to minimise emails.
Every area of the finance team has had to face new challenges to deliver an excellent service, with new information appearing almost daily impacting the finance department. The payroll team had to react fast to new information and legislation when Furlough salary was introduced. Deadlines were still the same but with the support from the HR team, they introduced new processes to cope with this.
Despite the challenges, the team has still made sure that all staff have been paid on time, suppliers have been paid weekly instead of twice monthly to ensure their cashflow is supported, and ensured Hillcrest Futures projects and services have funds to support them.
Finance director Lindsey Dryden, said: “I am so proud of my team and all their achievements to date. Due to the amazing team spirit that has been displayed, there have been no compromises to their standards and they have continually delivered an excellent service to our customers both internally and externally.”