Elevating Offshore Success: Intogreat's Role in Delivering up to $2.5M in Cost Savings and Achieving a 90% Client NPS for Gild Group 

12 Oct 2023

An Intogreat Solutions Success Story: Gild Group

The challenges Gild faced prior to offshoring with Intogreat

Facing challenges in its operational landscape, Gild Group had several internal hurdles to negotiate. As director Brenton Ellis explained, the core issue lay in their "organisational structure, we needed a next level of our structure in order to help our clients." These challenges, extending from process mapping to past offshoring experiences, underscored the need for transformative solutions.

Gild Group Director, Brenton Ellis, explained

1. Process Mapping & Documentation:

Gild Group lacked comprehensive mapping and documentation of their business processes and procedures. Without clear documentation, the potential existed for inefficiencies, errors, and inconsistencies in operations. This gap posed a significant barrier to scaling and streamlining, as it made training more difficult and left room for operational discrepancies. 

2. Culture of Continuous Improvement:

Instilling and promoting a culture of continuous improvement within the team was proving difficult. Such a culture is pivotal for businesses to evolve and adapt to changing market dynamics. Without this culture, stagnation could occur, leading to decreased competitiveness and reduced capability to respond to market changes.

3. Labour Shortage:

Gild Group was grappling with a shortage of labour which had the right skills. This can be particularly daunting in specialised industries such as accounting practices where expertise and domain knowledge are critical. This shortfall impacted service delivery, reduced the quality of services, and impacted customer satisfaction.

4. Previous Offshoring Experience:

Past ventures into offshoring had not yielded the desired results for Gild Group. Negative experiences can lead to scepticism and apprehension about future offshoring initiatives. Without addressing the root causes of past offshoring pitfalls, there was a risk of repeating the same mistakes, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities.

The birth of Intogreat and Gild Group’s offshoring partnership

In accounting practices, strategic partnerships like that between Intogreat and Gild Group are vital for using offshore resources to boost growth and improve customer satisfaction. This partnership led to foundational changes, process improvements, team expansion, and significant investments in their people. Here's a summary of Gild Group’s journey and the impressive results they achieved.

Foundation Services: Building Strong Groundwork for Success

Gild Group's journey with Intogreat was rooted in establishing a firm foundation. Recognising the pivotal role of a balanced workforce in bridging the offshore-onshore divide, a 1:1 staff ratio was instituted between Melbourne and Manila in 2018. This strategy enabled the expansion of roles that seamlessly integrated all departments, from practice management, tax and advisory, and business management, to wealth management and paraplanning. But it wasn’t just about numbers; it was about embedding a harmonious working culture. Introducing the "New Ways of Working and Cultural Training” scheme ensured clear communication and enhanced collaboration between the teams.

Ensuring that this large team operated in a secure IT environment was paramount. With cybersecurity threats on the rise, Intogreat implemented robust IT frameworks, allowing offshore staff to work without compromising data security. Training plans complemented by stringent KPI metrics ensured that the offshore team not only matched but often exceeded their KPIs. In parallel, detailed process analyses were conducted to spot and act upon improvement opportunities.

Key highlights of this service:

Business Improvement Services: Refining Processes and Instilling Continuous Improvement Mindset

Intogreat, recognising the opportunities within Gild Group's operations, embarked on a mission to streamline and enhance its core processes. Repetitive tasks, notably within practice administration, were pinpointed as an area for immediate process enhancement. Intogreat also dived into mapping and streamlining the more complex elements of Gild’s processes like tax, bookkeeping, BAS, and sales invoicing. The streamlined processes not only sped up operations but also eradicated redundancies, ensuring that each task added value to the business. This meticulous approach laid the groundwork for system workflow enhancements that championed consistency and efficiency across the board.

However, the focus wasn't solely on streamlining: Intogreat recognised that for a business to continuously expand, fostering a culture of constant improvement was imperative. To champion this, Gild and Intogreat introduced business improvement training for the offshore staff. This emphasised proper process mapping and procedure documentation, instilling in the team a proactive mindset to forever explore superior methods of operation. Coupled with the implementation of a new knowledge management platform, this initiative guaranteed a consistent customer experience and achieved a Customer Net Promoter Score of over 90%. These measures elevated the quality of services offered by Gild Groupand fostered a culture where excellence became the norm, not the exception.

Key highlights of this service:

People Management: The Backbone of Enhanced Operational Efficiency

Every thriving partnership hinges on a shared dedication to growth and excellence. For Gild, this commitment was significantly reinforced with Intogreat. As highlighted by Gild Group's director, Brenton Ellis, when addressing their primary obstacle: “To fulfil our organisational structure and our vision and how we roll out our team, that is by having the right people in place to be able to support the growth.” One of the most crucial services rendered was the provision of a dedicated Intogreat team manager; this was no ordinary role. The appointed manager was not only well-versed in issue management but was also an accounting subject matter expert.

Gild Group Director, Brenton Ellis, when addressing primary obstacle

Intogreat's dedication to Gild extended well beyond initial expectations. Valuing continuous learning, Intogreat launched comprehensive employee engagement and development training programs. The outcomes were evident with the staff Net Promoter Score surpassing 90%. This achievement was bolstered by the advent of comprehensive productivity and performance metrics aimed at elevating team performance. Additionally, the rollout of Xero certification and Receipt Bank training equipped every team member with essential skills, facilitating more direct interactions with clients due to enhanced technical and interpersonal proficiencies.

This proactive investment in human capital yielded many benefits, one of which was an impressive spike in retention rates. On the operational front, the inception of the 'Emerging Leaders Program' stood out. Designed to cultivate potential leaders, it focused on shaping their leadership traits and mindset beyond designations; this approach was further exemplified when Gild revamped TGG Manila's structure. Replacing the previously flat framework, a distinct hierarchical system was introduced, providing clear career advancement paths across diverse departments.

Training became an operational foundation. Comprehensive schemes were developed, with the emphasis firmly on empowering knowledge. To boost team spirit, a monthly engagement budget was allocated, sponsoring activities ranging from scavenger hunts to annual celebrations. The strategic people placement and initiatives resulted in substantial annual savings of between $30k-$60k per employee, totalling an approximate $2.5M annually. This significant saving enabled Gild to further invest in its prime resources: its people and infrastructure.

Key highlights of this service:

The Offshore Team's Expansion in Five Years

Since Gild’s Manila offshoring team began operations in 2018 with just two members, the Gild team at Intogreat expanded to 49 by 2023 — reflecting steady growth. This team now brings robust support to Gild's multiple services and functions via:

• Business Management
• Internal Finance
• Operations
• Practice Management
• Tax
• Wealth Management
• Royalty Accounting
• Virtual CFO
• HR - People and Culture

The roles within the team include:

• Accountant
• Accounting Assistant
• Intermediate Accountant
• Junior Royalty Analyst
• Management Accountant
• Senior Accountant
• Senior Tax Accountant
• Tax Accountant
• Junior Tax Accountant
• Client Services Administrator
• Senior Administrative Officer
• Administration Support/Office Assistant
• Administrative Assistant
• Senior HR Coordinator
• Accounting Service Manager
• Assistant Manager — Business Management
• Assistant Tax Manager

A Partnership Defining Success in Offshoring

Gild Group's pioneering approach to accounting services in the creative, sporting, and hospitality sectors was enhanced exponentially through its strategic alliance with Intogreat. Embarking on this journey in 2018, they’ve been excellent in transforming challenges into opportunities, leveraging offshore potential to its fullest.

Three pivotal aspects showcase their successful collaboration:

Moreover, with Intogreat's expertise, Gild Group has transformed its offshore team since 2018 to where it stands in 2023: Almost 50 staff, covering an array of vital roles. This expansion signifies not just growth but a deep-rooted belief in collaborative synergy.

Gild Group and Intogreat’s partnership stands as testament to the fact that with the right alignment, shared vision, and unwavering commitment, offshoring can be a game-changer. As Gild Group director, Brenton Ellis said, "I guess I would summarise it by saying anyone who has a progressive mindset and wants to take their business to the next level Intogreat provides a solution that can help you achieve that". Their story offers inspiration and a benchmark for businesses worldwide looking to unlock offshore potential for unparalleled growth.

Gild Group Director, Brenton Ellis, said