activpayroll: A New Chapter
by activpayroll
activpayroll has been called “the best kept secret in global payroll” but with new investment, and new leadership, the next chapter in our story has begun to be told
Where We Are
Over two decades of hard work have brought activpayroll to the industry’s cutting edge. We now serve over 1200 clients, in 154 countries, with an offering that includes global payroll, global mobility and global HR. In 2021, we opened offices in Dublin, Manchester, and Orléans, and launched a suite of global HR compliance, support, and advisory services.
We’ve charted new frontiers in every corner of the world, and created new opportunities in an array of markets - but our journey is only just beginning.
In 2022, we’re ready to begin the next chapter of our story. We want to build out our products and services in new territories, explore new parts of the world, reach new enterprise customers and enable them to take the same international journey that we’ve taken over the past twenty years.
Taking the Next Step
All growth brings challenges. To seize the opportunities that we created for ourselves, and build on our team’s remarkable achievements, we always knew that we’d need to find great partners to join us on the journey.
activpayroll was founded on principles of innovation, dedication, and exceptional customer service. Approaching the next chapter of our story, we needed an investor that understood those principles, as much as it shared our ambition. That’s where private equity investor Tenzing came in.
After meeting the Tenzing team members we knew we’d found the right match: not only did they understand our ambition, but why activpayroll’s offering made such a difference for our clients. Tenzing Investment Lead, Mike Reynolds, drilled down on what makes activpayroll’s customer relationships special:
“When activpayroll is having a conversation with a large enterprise customer, it can find a solution for them. The key thing is labour laws are different, payroll, tax - everything is different. and activpayroll is able to tell a customer ‘If something goes wrong, we’ll help you’. It’s all about loyalty, service, and integrity with the customer.”
Since Tenzing became the majority shareholder in 2020, activpayroll has transformed its management infrastructure, starting with appointing a new Non-Executive Director and chair, and a new CFO each of whom specialise in the shape and strategy of continued international growth. Tenzing have also helped develop and implement an acquisition strategy - a crucial component of our global growth goals.
“It’s exciting,” says Anna Jackson, Tenzing’s ‘Sherpa’ at activpayroll. “It’s been a founder-led business up until this point but it’s grown at such a fantastic rate. Over one hundred countries, thousands of payrolls being completed. There’s already an ambition for more. There’s the new PE-backing, Tenzing is involved, and we’ve got a new C-Suite that comes with payroll experience - that’s helping us unlock what the company can achieve.
Creating that new C-Suite included the appointment of new CEO Jason Allen, who replaced activpayroll founder Alison Sellar in 2021. With a background in global growth, outsourcing and recruitment, and a track record in achieving significant transformational change, Jason was the right fit to lead activpayroll’s crucial next steps. In driving the company forward, Jason emphasised the strength of the company’s identity:
“The culture of activpayroll is critical. An entrepreneurial spirit, a real family culture within the organisation. We want to hold on to that but we want to have a broader look at the horizon of opportunity - and that will take support. That’s the great thing about our engagement with Tenzing: we get a broader spectrum of skillsets.”
Where We’re Going
Our sights are set firmly on that horizon - and we’re not planning on slowing down. In fact, we are planning on speeding-up.
Our industry-leading payroll and mobility products and technologies already serve customers across almost every industry, in every part of the world - but we want to do more things, for more people. While we’ll continue to broaden our payroll and mobility offerings, and serving our customers with the care they rightly expect, we will also take our global HR service to the same world-class level as those established services.
With that goal in mind, activpayroll’s Global HR Services division was specifically designed to meet the needs of modern, multinational workplaces - and cater to companies, of every shape and size, seeking country-specific HR. Just like our payroll and mobility services, we’re aiming to offer clients the trust, confidence, and support they need to reach out across the world.
We are also working hard to let people know just how we can help. Activpayroll has built a unique combination of deep expertise, international reach, flexible service and personal support, delivered by brilliant people who do their best every day to help our customers thrive. As our customers find their feet on the world stage, we want to be right there by their side to help them navigate their new environments, and achieve their own growth goals.
“There’s a rising tide, and there’s no-one really dominating this market yet.” says Mike Reynolds. “The vision is we’re going to help activpayroll be a global powerhouse - and we’re on the way to doing that.”
Tenzing are as proud of activpayroll’s people and success as we are: watch this video that they produced recently to learn more about us and them, and why both sides are excited for the future.
Find out more about activpayroll global payroll global mobility, and global HR services here, or get in touch with us at enquiries@activpayroll.com.