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Here at P3, we spend time investing in our team who spend their free time investing in community projects. For the past year our Digital Marketing Associate Kelli has taken time out of her week to volunteer with the acclaimed animal welfare organisation, The Wildlife Aid. Dedicated to the rescue, care, and rehabilitation of sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals, The Wildlife Aid takes on more than 20,000 emergencies every year, making it one of the largest, most well-known wild animal rescue charities in the country. So why this particular volunteer work? When we caught up with Kelli, she discussed that the decision to choose The Wildlife Aid stemmed from a lifelong passion for animal welfare. “Volunteer work of any kind is so important and so relevant, now more than ever. In a world where things are constantly changing at such a fast pace, it's easy to get caught up in our own lives and forget to spare time to causes that deserve our help. It could be anything that you feel passionate about and for me, that has always been animal care. There are thousands of veterinary practices available within the UK, but very few of them have the knowledge or capability to take in sick or injured wildlife. That’s what made me realise that charities like The Wildlife Aid, are very unique in how they operate.” The vast range of cases which the charity takes in can be anything from a litter of orphaned fox cubs discovered by a member of the public to endangered birds of prey with fractured wings who have been found unable to fly. Without the volunteers who devote their time assisting in all areas of the rehabilitation and eventual release of these animals, the charity would be unable to operate.

At P3, we always abide by our core values, one of which is ensuring that our clients have trust in us to provide them with the services which they require. This is why we want to introduce you to our team who are behind the scenes helping to look after you and your business. Today we caught up with Ben Holding, our Sales and Service Manager, to discuss all things P3 and to find out a little more about why he chose to work on ‘building business resilience.’ Before starting at P3 Audit, Ben worked within the fast-paced world of advertising and Data Analytics to help advertisers reach and understand specific audiences. Ben explained to us how Covid-19 was devastating for the industry, with many employers suddenly cutting back and needing to adapt products, services and business-critical functions in the wake of a global economic downturn. ”During my search for a new career path, I came across P3 Audit. I was keen to understand how they aimed to help companies survive and thrive after devastating economic events by applying business continuity and risk management principles. It’s been challenging, but I feel lucky to have been introduced to an industry and a role that looks to help companies reduce their exposure to risk, especially from third party service providers that render business critical functions such as payroll or other data sensitive services. Continuous monitoring of third-party compliance and business continuity readiness helps clients mitigate risk of disruption from their service providers.” We asked Ben how he thinks the ‘new normal’ will look for companies going forward in such an unstable time. “It’s hard to predict given the constantly shifting market conditions and global restrictions. We are now realising that employees can be productive working from home, meaning a huge shift away from centralised offices as well as the economies and infrastructure which were built to support it. This does however introduce a need for greater investment in employee well-being and data security.” We are a team that stretches beyond our core, so aside from the world of business continuity and risk management, what are our team passionate about? Ben is a squash fanatic, having played all throughout his university years and becoming part of teams across London, Surrey, and Sussex. “It’s great physical and mental fitness. Lockdown has meant more adjustment. It’s amazing how trying to maintain work-life balance during these restricted times demonstrates how much we need both. My family is originally from New Zealand, so I have an affinity for rugby. Our local team is the Highlanders, who my Dad and I still get up at 6.30 am on a Saturday morning to watch.” 

As Thought Leaders, our aim is to share knowledge with our clients, partners, and the industry to seek continuous improvement. At P3, we ensure that we have experts in specific fields whose aim it is to continually find you solutions. This is so you know that in our hands, your business can always run efficiently and safely. This week we met with Gary Gray who is an advisory board member of P3 Audit, specialising in vendor management. With forty years of experience in IT sourcing and vendor management practices, Gary has spent his career working globally for a host of multinational companies including Diageo, Barcadi Martini, HSBC, MTV Europe and has even spent time in charge of the major technical souring and vendor management for soft drink giant, Coca Cola. Now residing just outside of Bondi in sunny Sydney, Australia, we asked Gary about what it has been like to live and work in such vastly different locations throughout his career. “I have always really enjoyed travelling and one thing that has always fascinated me most is how different cultures affect the way in which people interact and work. Being able to have experiences of working in places such as Geneva, Sydney, and Miami have meant I have been lucky enough to see so many variations of this. Each location has been so different and rewarding as it enabled me to experience different lifestyles.” Now working freelance, Gary was brought into the P3 Audit fold two and a half years ago when the company first began, bringing with him an indispensable knowledge and experience in the field of third-party service providers and general vendor management. When discussing what would be one of Gary’s greatest passions within his line of work, the answer was simple - “Getting the right results across the board for my clients and also for their suppliers in order for them to achieve the best possible relationship.” And what about activities outside of the office? Having the advantage of Sydney as a hometown naturally comes with some fantastic benefits, one of which is being able to explore the vast coastlines on offer. Gary spends a lot of his free time kayaking or sailing along the coasts of Australia and when he’s not above sea level you can find him under the surface scuba diving, having just signed up to do a Global Underwater Explorer Technical Diving Course, stemming from a passion for sea life conservation. Gary forms a valuable part of the P3 Audit team and is a vital part of our process of building business resilience. 

We always aim to work by our core values here at P3 Audit, one of which is that we strive for excellence. Whether that be by providing impeccable service to our clients or by using our knowledge efficiently to protect your business processes, we make it our priority to ensure that you always get the optimal results you deserve. This week, we sat down with Bruce Macgregor, an advisory board member at P3 Audit to find out more about the part he plays within the company. Bruce has been a practicing attorney for 25 years, having worked for many years in a large commercial firm, he started his own law firm in South Africa in 2008 and has now recently settled in England. Bruce brings his experience in employment and commercial law to benefit P3’s Third-Party Vendors and their upstream clients. With such a vast amount of legal experience and professional knowledge, having Bruce aboard the P3 team benefits clients needing legal guidance relating to employee obligations and vendor commercial relationships; “Service disputes are often prevented from having regular contract compliance and related service performance audits. An impact risk assessment offers to teach an advisory service on how to identify gaps, resolve current disputes, and make all parties aware of how to prevent potential areas of future disputes.” Bruce always takes the direct approach to solve disputes, whether they are an internal employee, an independent contractor, or an external third-party vendor. The ambiguity that can come from cultural politeness is avoided, and significant costs from the prolonged legal process are saved; “Ultimately law is meant to be used by all and not just lawyers. Complex contracts and legal-speak should be replaced by agreements that are easy to read and understand. The whole process should feel as simple as booking a taxi on a ride-sharing app." We asked Bruce what he felt were important factors in how P3 Audit can provide for its clients; “P3 cuts through all the jargon and unnecessary complexity by simply checking whether the service provider is doing what they are supposed to be doing. The great thing about the team at P3 is that they have such vast knowledge and experience, which ensures that service providers are always going to be held accountable. Data and Process Auditing is so important, and now with technology evolving at such a rapid pace it is has become more necessary than ever before.” Outside of the passion, he has for his profession, what else matters to Bruce; “I love travelling and exploring parts of the UK with my wife and children, and I have a real passion for nature and animals. We own horses and dogs and I feel very strongly that a great way of looking after these animals is by mimicking nature and allowing them to still retain their innate wildness and spirit. Also, like most, I am very interested in understanding the huge changes that are gripping the world. Parents are much less dominating and therefore children are becoming more outspoken, with larger spirits and personalities. This is a new approach to life and it is very important for us all to recognise, but at the same time to keep a modicum of discipline and respect in place. It also ties back in with what P3 is achieving. We are trying to simplify procedures; Do we need this contract? If we don’t, then why are we using it? The new normal already seems redundant. It’s time to rewrite the world of business rules in order to be prepared for an ever-changing normal.” Bruce feels energised and excited about what the future holds. “Let’s not lie down and wait for the flood to hit us and hope we’ll survive (referring to the economic woes looming), but let’s learn to ride the wave so we can use the flood to power us into the future”.

At P3 Audit, we take satisfaction in knowing that within our company culture we always have the right team member with the best expertise to help with your business. No matter what part of the world we are from, or what department we work in, at P3 we all share a joint passion for providing a top quality service to you, our clients. This week, we want you to get to know our customer success manager, Jack Meeres. Jack’s professional background has always been customer orientated. For over 3 years his role as Customer Consultant for corporate giant Legal & General provided him with the experience to maximise his expertise within his current role here with us at P3. When discussing how his previous work has benefited him in the present day, Jack explained to us that he owes a lot of his success from being submitted to a wide range of opportunities; “At Legal & General, I worked for a large project team where I first started off doing administration such as liaising with policyholders via either telephone, email or letters for remediation payments. From there, I worked my way up within the team, where I began to get involved in project meetings. This eventually led to me being solely responsible for the outstanding reserves of each project which was a fantastic challenge and achievement for me.” “I’m grateful that throughout my time working for large companies I had been tasked with such varied role responsibilities. For example, one day I could be working independently on projects and the next it could be collectively as a team, whether that be providing training or attending meetings. At P3 Audit, we are a smaller, tight-knit group and it’s encouraged to take your own initiative which I enjoy because it keeps your mind thinking constantly.” With this in mind, we wanted to delve further to find out what Jack feels are his biggest motivations when it comes to his career; “I know that I always do my best work when I am in a sales environment, working towards set goals and targets. In my previous back office and telesales roles, I enjoyed the networking aspect whether that’s encountering new people or building a rapport with regular repeat contacts. My motivation comes from seeking new opportunities to improve effectiveness and efficiency where my opinion matters, and I feel that this has been achieved within my work for P3.” Outside of his day to day working hours, Jack’s main passion lies within Football having played since the early age of 5 years old. Currently playing for Newhaven FC every Saturday, Jack spoke to us in more detail about the importance of having a hobby like his; “Football is not just great physically but also mentally. It takes me away from my working environment and gives me a few hours to switch off. Now more than ever it’s so important to have an equal balance between your work and your personal life. When not playing football, I often go to the gym as I like to keep fit and I have recently also enjoyed playing golf over the summer with my friends. Any sport where a social element is a key part of the game are what I enjoy the most although it can be very frustrating when you aren't playing well!” 

P3 Audit, a specialist managed service provider of Global Third-Party Payroll Business Continuity and Compliance Testing, today announced that it has entered into partnership with Croner , one of the oldest and most trusted employer support services in the UK. Through this partnership, both P3 Audit and Croner bring added value and a connected service experience to their collective clients. Speaking about the partnership, Paul Holcroft, Managing Director at Croner, said: “We welcome the alliance collaboration with P3 Audit whose UK client base can benefit from our HR, employment law, and health & safety services. This cooperation also offers our clients the potential assurance that their third-party vendors are operating compliantly and without risking business continuity.” “ Croner extends compliance and business continuity to our clients who have welcomed work from home as a critical part of their operations, without realising the obligations and risk assumed by employers” said Chris Els, CEO of P3 Audit. “While P3 Audit focus on testing vendor business continuity as well as contract SLA compliance, we are proud of our partner collaborations that ensure extended business resilience for our clients.” To learn more about the P3 Audit expertise in Business Continuity Plan testing, or to discuss how you can maximise and galvanise your third-party vendor relationships, contact us today!

Validating legitimacy of third parties and their own supporting ecosystems

Change is certain. If we can accept the certainty of change then we can be open to its predictability. If we can predict change, we can prepare for it. If we are prepared for change then we will no longer resist it, but rather anticipate it and take advantage of it. In outsourced relationships our success depended on collaborating with downstream professionals to fulfil functions where we were not the experts. It is rare that a client will have contact with a subcontractor or even be aware their services are outsourced further downstream. Regulatory compliance, especially relating to data security and privacy, is shining a light on the need for greater transparency in supply chain relationships. Accepting responsibility for the success of “change” means also taking accountability for user onboarding, user adoption, and successfully implementing new ways of doing things. This invariably means including new technology to empower new processes. When implementing something new, it is as important to sunsets the "old" as quickly as possible. Measures of success remain strategic business ambitions that initiated the change. Change management has been a critical part of any new technology adoption and, most importantly, in any implementation project. Investments in technology, new processes, and new people/talent are made precisely to effect change. If change is not required, then its simple - do nothing. If one is going to invest in Change, lets ensure Change Management is considered and committed to first. Consider Change Managers the Architects of Success. Controversial maybe, but if Change Managers have ownership of design, then let them be accountable for what technology, processes and people will be required to achieve the change. At very least ensure they are included in any proposed investments in change and its associated spend – people, processes, and technology. Change Management is a strategic function. A lack of investment in Change Management will lead to projects failing. Look a bit closer and one might find downstream processes and supply partners are left out of the Change Management process, and can be the point of failure of any new technology and processes being implemented. The basic principles of supply chain can be overwhelming. In any one process, there can be hundreds of downstream suppliers of product and services. These “unknown” participants can introduce threats to a program’s success, and ultimately risk a customer’s business continuity. Neglecting to include participating third parties in any change management program will prove costly. I was fortunate to meet up with Michele De Kreek of Up-Time Consulting. This specialist change management consultancy understands third parties’ impact and the importance of including them in any change management process. I asked Michele to demystify the function of change management for me: