“Becoming a Breathe Gold Level Partner has been hugely beneficial to us and key to our ability to support our clients. We would certainly recommend Breathe to anyone looking for a simple-to-use system."
SYLO Associates is an award-winning HR consultancy, supporting businesses in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, with the aim of “Making HR Work for you”. With a 21-strong team, SYLO provides tailored people solutions, including everything from ongoing HR and Legal Advice to tailored training, recruitment and Psychometric Assessments, or, help in managing complex issues and conflicts.
The company was founded by Sally White and Sarah Stevens in 2009 and is proud to say it’s the first HR consultancy to be named SME of the year in South Oxfordshire earlier this year, receiving praise from the judges for their in-depth understanding of business needs. They and their team help with all areas of people, policies and planning, developing partnerships with organisations which contribute to their ongoing growth and success.
SYLO pride themselves on being able to provide a solution for any HR challenge their clients might have, whether a SME or large PLC or put another way, to Sort Your Life Out.
Breathe Gold Level Partners
Sally and Sarah joined Breathe’s Partner programme in 2014 and have since achieved Gold Level status in recognition of their many achievements and successes. Breathe’s Partner programme was established to help HR consultants by providing them with software to help them support their clients and manage their employees.
Having evaluated a number of HR management systems for their own use and as a potential solution to provide to other small businesses, Sally and Sarah were pleased to find Breathe.
“We liked the simplicity of the system. It’s very easy to use and the fact that it is hosted in the cloud means people can access it from wherever they are working. This was a key feature for us as we need a system that allows for flexible and remote working. Sarah and I regularly work remotely at our clients’ premises so this is fundamental.
We also like the fact that Breathe provides us with comprehensive support and our own dedicated Account Manager, Bethan, she is always great. We love the fact we have full access to our clients’ accounts as this provides the visibility we need to support businesses and – if needed – manage all aspects of HR on their behalf.”
Sally White, Managing Director
Reduced admin and improved security
Breathe automates time-consuming manual HR processes to help people reduce admin, thus enabling them to focus more time and energy on supporting their colleagues and helping them grow.
The software also includes self-service tools, which enable employees to log holiday requests, record absences and access company documents. Administrators can set different levels of user access privileges to ensure that people only see what they are permitted to, further preserving the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information.
“Security is vitally important, especially since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in 2018. Our clients are reassured by Breathe’s system and the fact that directors, managers and their teams each have different levels of access depending on their responsibilities. The fact that Breathe is hosted and maintained on our behalf is also a relief for our clients and ourselves.”
Sarah Stevens, Managing Director
Breathe is hosted securely in ISO 27001 data centre facilities meaning that Sarah, Sally and their clients can rest safe in the knowledge that all employee data is safe and protected at all times.
Many small businesses rely on software held locally on their own equipment and thus face the added challenge of ensuring their software servers are properly guarded from cyber-attacks such as phishing, viruses and ransomware.
Breathe, on the other hand, is hosted by Amazon Web Services in a state-of-the-art data centre, which is ring-fenced by highly sophisticated security systems. HR consultants and their clients can therefore side-step the costs and practical challenges of managing hardware in-house.
Breathe and GDPR
Since the introduction of GDPR in 2018, businesses found guilty of customer and employee losses - even accidentally - now face substantial fines.
The combination of variable access privileges and secure managed hosting means businesses are, in many cases, far safer using Breathe than recording information locally on their own systems and in spreadsheets.
“GDPR rules became stricter in 2019, when legislation around Subject Access Requests (SAR) changed giving every employee the right to ask for a copy of all documents, emails and personal information ever recorded and stored on the company’s system. For most businesses, who have yet to invest in a cloud-based HR solution like Breathe, this is no mean feat...Businesses that fail to manage an employee’s SAR within 30 days face considerable fines, regardless of company size. Breathe helps us help our clients comply with legislation and avoid costly penalties.”
Sally White, Managing Director
Supporting recruitment and employee retention
Sarah, Sally and their team are very much involved in helping businesses shape and manage their recruitment strategies. In today’s highly competitive market, this has never been more important. Thanks to a now-exhaustive list of online job-boards, recruitment agents and social media, candidates and employees have more choice than in previous years.
“For many small businesses, recruitment is a challenge as they seek to compete with larger organisations who may well be offering larger benefits packages. There are, however, many benefits of working with smaller organisations, such as a more progressive and nurturing family like culture and a less hierarchical structure. For business owners who are new to recruitment, it can be daunting. We help businesses develop effective strategies for finding and keeping the most talented people. Breathe is key to helping us achieve this.”
Sarah Stevens, Managing Director
“Breathe allows managers to take ownership of every step of the recruitment process, making it easy to create and share new vacancies, assign applicants and track every stage of applications. This is key to effective recruitment and ensuring all applicants are treated fairly and sensitively throughout the process. Instant access to candidate information can facilitate recruitment drives, helping business owners and their teams make informed decisions about applicants.
Effective recruitment is key to business growth and also central to the service we provide. Breathe is integral to our ability to support our clients, especially the smaller ones who may be struggling to find top talent.”
Sally White, Managing Director
Feeling inspired by Sally and Sarah? Book a Partner demo to find out more about becoming a Breathe Partner. Or, contact our helpful team today.
