How a Greater Manchester Charity Modernised HR with People Inc. HR

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CASESTUDY

From Vizual Personnel Manager to a Supported HR System:

How a Greater Manchester charity upgraded from legacy Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR—without losing years of HR data.

Delivered by PeopleFirstHR — UK HR software implementation specialists

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Results at a glance

Upgraded from discontinued legacy HR software to a fully supported platform

Full data migration completed (including historic records and attached documents)

Reduced data-loss risk by moving away from a single-PC setup

Added DBS tracking using custom fields (replacing a separate spreadsheet)

Automated reminders for critical expiry dates via an action list trigger

Minimal disruption: migration completed remotely, plus just one day of training required

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BACKGROUND

Client snapshot

Organisation: UK social inclusion charity (anonymised)

Location: Greater Manchester (UK)

Scale: 40+ employees, plus significant volunteer involvement

Previous system: Vizual Personnel Manager (legacy HR software)

Used for: employee records, absence tracking, training records

Reason for change: rising operational and data risk due to an unsupported, outdated platform

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THE CHALLENGE

A legacy HR system created growing risk—and limited what HR could track

This charity supports the vocational, personal, social, and academic development of people across Greater Manchester and the North West. With a workforce of 40+ employees and a strong volunteer community, accurate HR records and training compliance are business-critical.

For several years, the organisation relied on Vizual Personnel Manager to store key HR information such as absence and training records. But over time, the setup became increasingly fragile:

• The system was installed locally on a single PC, creating a single point of failure
• Vizual Personnel Manager had been discontinued, with limited support available
• Compatibility issues with newer Microsoft platforms created uncertainty about ongoing access
• The team wanted to avoid re-entering years of HR data and documents

They needed a practical, affordable upgrade that would protect the data they’d built up over years—without turning into a long, resource-heavy implementation project.

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THE SOLUTION

Upgrade from Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR (with full migration)

The organisation chose People Inc. HR as a supported replacement for Vizual Personnel Manager—one that would give them a stronger foundation and additional capability beyond basic record-keeping.

Key reasons People Inc. HR was the right fit:

• More functionality than Vizual Personnel Manager (including better reporting and workflow options)
• Secure, server-based storage so data can be backed up reliably
• Full data migration included—handled remotely by PeopleFirstHR to reduce disruption
• Easy to use, keeping training time (and cost) low

Timing also worked in their favour: the upgrade aligned with a newer release of People Inc., including an improved interface and additional built-in screens and workflow tools.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Remote migration, minimal disruption, and a tidy-data start

The priority wasn’t just moving systems—it was moving safely, quickly, and without breaking anything.

PeopleFirstHR delivered:

• Full data migration from Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR
• Transfer of attached documents alongside employee records
• A data audit as part of the process, ensuring information was clean and consistent from day one
• One day of training, so the HR user could work confidently immediately

Client feedback highlighted the practical benefits of the approach:

“I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy the upgrade was. All our existing data was transferred from the old system—even the attached documents. The data audit meant the system was tidy from the outset.”

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IMPACT

Better control, better reporting, and no more spreadsheet workarounds

Once live, the organisation had immediate peace of mind: their HR data was no longer dependent on an ageing, unsupported system installed on one machine.

But the upgrade also unlocked improvements in day-to-day HR administration.

1) Custom DBS tracking (without spreadsheets)

The charity needed to record additional DBS-related information that wasn’t captured cleanly in the old setup. People Inc. HR’s flexibility made it possible to add custom fields—so DBS data could be stored alongside employee records, rather than maintained separately in spreadsheets.

2) Automated reminders for expiry dates

PeopleFirstHR configured an action list trigger to automatically highlight critical expiry dates—reducing manual chasing and helping keep compliance tasks visible.

3) More meaningful reporting

With cleaner data and improved structure, the organisation gained more useful reporting capability—supporting visibility over key statuses (such as DBS) across the workforce.

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Why PeopleFirstHR for a Vizual Personnel Manager upgrade?

PeopleFirstHR (formerly agathonhr) has 25+ years of experience supporting organisations using Vizual Personnel Manager—and helping them migrate safely when it’s time to upgrade.

That experience matters when you need to:

• Preserve years of historic HR records
• Migrate attached documents accurately
• Reduce disruption and avoid long implementation projects
• Move from “it still works (for now)” to a supported system with a reliable future

If your Vizual Personnel Manager setup is becoming risky—or no longer works well with modern Microsoft platforms—we can help you plan a straightforward upgrade.

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Ready to upgrade Vizual Personnel Manager without losing your data?

If you want a supported replacement for legacy Vizual HR software—with full migration included—talk to PeopleFirstHR about upgrading to People Inc. HR.

☎ 0330 223 6180	✉ enquiries@peoplefirsthr.co.uk

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FAQ’s

Is Vizual Personnel Manager still supported?

Vizual Personnel Manager was discontinued, and many organisations now face limited support options and growing compatibility risk. If access is becoming unreliable, it’s usually time to plan an upgrade.

Can you migrate historic data and attached documents?

Yes—PeopleFirstHR can migrate existing employee records and attached documents so you don’t lose valuable history.

How disruptive is the upgrade?

For many organisations, the migration can be carried out with minimal disruption—often remotely—so day-to-day HR work can continue.

Can People Inc. HR track things Vizual couldn’t (e.g., DBS)?

Yes. People Inc. HR is flexible and can often be configured with custom fields and reminders (such as expiry-date triggers) to replace spreadsheet workarounds