15th December 2023
6CATSPRO Accreditation – Energize Group
We are delighted to announce that our newest client to secure 6CATSPRO accreditation is Energize Group, an award-winning provider of digital and technology talent solutions that operates across Europe and North America.
You can find out more about Energize Group’s solutions, and its commitment to demonstrate the highest standards of international compliance by becoming 6CATSPRO APPROVED, in our interview:
Tell me about your business – a bit of history into your growth globally and future plans?
David Rowland, Finance Director at Energize Group, “Established in 2006, Energize Group is a global staffing and talent search business with a specific focus in providing recruitment solutions for client businesses operating across Europe and North America. Our teams are based in office locations in Manchester, Madrid, Los Angeles and Dallas, and as vendor specialists in SAP and Cloud technology recruitment, providing an array of innovative services and solutions that support customers in building talented teams of experts to achieve their wider strategic business objectives.
In addition to placing full-time, permanent roles, our contracts offering is an equally significant part of our Group revenue, and is delivered across our UK, European and North American clients. During COVID we found our client partners were keen to attract talent from beyond their traditional recruitment location, widening their willingness to search all parts of the world. It was essential to find a solution to make sure that we offered a fully compliant service when it came to engagement, tax, payroll and any local legislation. We had already used 6CATS International for our payroll needs, but we needed to find a service that would offer advice on all compliance matters. After an initial meeting to scope out how their offering might fit with our needs, it was obvious 6CATSPRO were the right partner to help our Group Services and Sales teams to ensure Energize was able to continue offering a fully compliant service to our customers.
Tell me about your relationship with 6CATSPRO? When / how / why did you reach out?
DR: We have been working with 6CATS International as an umbrella company for the last 8 years. They were always the go-to company to ensure compliance with regards to contractor payments. As Energize grew and expanded into Europe, we felt potential risks and exposure to differences in regional and local legislation outside the UK and needed trusted advisors to help us navigate the often-complex world of multi-regional compliance.
It is really important to Energize and our clients that we are able to deliver trusted and exceptional service and a crucial part of this process is having total confidence in our ability to comply with all legislation, wherever this may be across the world. Initially, we had a good understanding of what was required to enable the Group to offer these levels of compliance. As we expanded our services across new territories in which our clients were operating across often complex setups, it was apparent we required external help to enable us to facilitate these cross-border placements. With contract / freelance appointments to our client’s vacancies being a significant part of our mix and strategic growth plans, we looked at an outsourced solution to introduce the expertise we required.
Whilst attending an APSCo compliance seminar that looked at the intricacies of contracting in Germany, I met Jon Clarke from 6CATSPRO. Jon proved to have an amazing wealth of knowledge in compliance and contracting in the recruitment industry. After our initial meeting, we quickly engaged on a retained basis to help bolster our internal and external compliance function. This is now over 3 years ago and the knowledge and skills that have been passed on by Jon and the team are immeasurable. Their service levels are outstanding and this partnership has enabled Energize to scale in different territories across Europe and North America with total confidence.
Why do you feel compliance is so crucial for your firm / the recruitment sector?
DR: Our strategy is to grow our UK, European and North American footprint and our focus on supporting clients with their hiring requirements. This involves employing highly skilled IT professionals on a contract basis. One of our key values is to ‘do the right thing’ and it is in our DNA to make sure we are offering a robust compliance mechanism that gives our clients and Energize confidence and peace of mind in the compliance services we are offering.
Aside from this being an important value, being fully compliant is important to Energize as it confirms we are continuing to operate to the very highest of industry standards and often beyond which ensures the business always operates within the boundaries or relevant laws and regulations of the territories we are in. It also further enhances our reputation in the industry by demonstrating our ethical standards and quality of service through our full commitment to compliance. Internally it fosters a positive work environment for employees demonstrating clear and high standards and guidelines expected from all employees who work for our business.
We see compliance as not just a legal requirement, but strategically it is important for the sustainability and success of Energize.
Why 6CATSPRO?
DR: From a service perspective, 6CATSPRO are always on hand to answer your questions. They have consistently shown a deep knowledge across numerous jurisdictions, and are always happy to discuss our questions or enquiries on the phone as well as providing details in emails, which enables us to share amongst our SLT and occasionally act as a useful point of reference when future queries of a similar nature arise. 6CATSPRO always provides comprehensive feedback and advisory information which enables us to have an informed commercial viewpoint, while also mitigating any risks that may arise.
6CATSPRO have also run workshops on business-critical territories and have been extremely helpful in passing on their knowledge and educating our team. They inform us about upcoming and relevant changes in the regions we are currently operating within which results in 100% confidence in the information they provide, ensuring we know it is not putting us, our customers or contractors at undue risk. Working with 6CATSPRO has been invaluable to the development of our compliance process.
What does being 6CATS APPROVED mean to you?
DR: Being 6CATSPRO APPROVED is so important to Energize as it showcases our intent to operate as a fully compliant service and captures and confirms the efforts of our team internally. It reinforces our confidence in the services and solutions we are providing, which is vital as we continue to operate in a fully compliant space. Gaining 6CATSPRO accreditation not only provides the Energize team with this reassurance but also demonstrates to our clients and contractors that we have their best interests at the heart of every decision we make which in turn helps us to continue to build on the trust we already have with our customers.
Why should others become accredited?
DR: Our experience is that, in a fast-moving world, clients are only interested in working in partnership with suppliers that can demonstrate high levels of compliance. As governments around the world continue to shore up their fiscal positions with increasingly complex tax regulations it is important now more than ever to demonstrate how serious your business takes compliance and mitigating risks for clients. The accreditation shows customers that their best interests are always a priority, and that compliance underpins our entire service proposition.
For more information on Energize Group
Find out more about 6CATS APPROVED
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