How a UK multi-office professional services firm upgraded from legacy Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR

CASESTUDY

From Vizual Personnel Manager to a modern HR platform:

How a UK multi-office professional services firm upgraded from legacy Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR — improving absence tracking, holiday accuracy, and HR reporting (without thin-client headaches).

Delivered by PeopleFirstHR — UK HR software implementation specialists

---

Results at a glance

Accurate holiday + absence allowances (even with complex rules), reducing manual admin

Absence and training management in one system, with clearer reporting across teams

Improved performance on thin-client / remote environments, removing reliability issues

More functionality for better value, with responsive support when needed

---

BACKGROUND

Client snapshot

Organisation: UK professional services firm (multi-office)

Location: East Midlands (with multiple regional offices)

Scale: 200+ employees

Previous system: Vizual Personnel Manager (legacy HR software)

Reason for change: Reliability and performance issues in a thin-client environment, plus absence/holiday tracking limitations

Solution implemented: People Inc. HR (with Absence Management + Training Management)

---

THE CHALLENGE

Legacy Vizual Personnel Manager struggled in a thin-client environment — and absence tracking was too manual

This organisation had been using Vizual Personnel Manager for several years, but over time the HR team ran into two compounding problems.

First, the system was struggling to cope in a thin-client setup, creating frustration and slowing down day-to-day HR work across multiple sites.

Second—and more importantly—the team couldn’t reliably record and report on absence allowances, or track entitlements against absence taken. With multiple absence categories and complex rules, the HR team were forced into time-consuming manual work just to answer basic questions like:

• How many days are left for this employee, for this absence type?
• What’s been taken so far, and what’s still available?
• Can we confidently report totals across offices and departments?

The result: an increasing admin burden, and reduced confidence in the data.

---

THE SOLUTION

Upgrade from Vizual Personnel Manager to People Inc. HR for accurate absence management and stronger functionality

The HR team chose to upgrade to People Inc. HR because of one key differentiator: its comprehensive and accurate absence management.

Even with complex allowance rules, People Inc. HR can calculate entitlements and track absence consistently—removing the need for manual calculations and side spreadsheets.

As the HR lead put it:

“Finally, we can accurately keep a track of how many days holiday our employees have at any given time. I didn’t think it would be possible due to our complex absence rules, but the fact that it accurately calculates our allowances is saving us a huge amount of time and effort”.

In addition, People Inc. HR offered a wider range of functionality to support a multi-site HR team, including areas like:

• Absence management
• Training management
• Improved reporting and visibility across the business

Just as importantly, People Inc. HR was designed to work reliably in a thin-client environment, making the decision to upgrade straightforward.

---

IMPLEMENTATION

Stress-free upgrade, excellent value, and practical support

As part of this upgrade, the organisation received a free upgrade licence available through PeopleFirstHR’s partnership with the People Inc. HR developers.

That meant the move wasn’t just smoother—it was also extremely cost effective.

The HR team’s feedback was clear: they felt they gained significantly more capability without the kind of disruption or cost often associated with replacing an older HR system.

They also highlighted the importance of responsive, practical support during reporting and rollout:

“Not only do we have a great deal more for our money, but PeopleFirstHR have provided an excellent level of service and support and are always at the end of the phone if we have any queries. They even dial in to our PCs to help when we are struggling to produce a more complex report for example”.

---

IMPACT

A faster, more accurate HR function — with better reporting and less admin

The immediate impact was a shift from “making the system work” to trusting the system to do the work.

Key outcomes included:

• Accurate entitlements and tracking across complex holiday/absence rules
• Less manual effort managing allowances across multiple categories
• Improved HR efficiency across multiple offices and locations
• Stronger reporting, including support for more complex requirements
• A platform with room to grow, supporting additional HR functionality over time

---

Why PeopleFirstHR for a Vizual Personnel Manager upgrade?

PeopleFirstHR helps UK organisations move away from legacy HR software like Vizual Personnel Manager—without losing control of their data or running into long, disruptive projects.

If your Vizual setup is becoming unreliable (especially in thin-client or modern environments), or you’re spending too much time manually managing absence and holiday rules, we can help you upgrade to a system that’s accurate, efficient, and built for how HR teams work today.

---

Ready to upgrade Vizual Personnel Manager?

If you want to discuss upgrading from Vizual Personnel Manager to a modern HR system (while keeping your historical data and improving absence tracking), speak to PeopleFirstHR.

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

---

FAQ’s

Why do organisations upgrade from Vizual Personnel Manager?

Common reasons include reliability issues in newer environments (including thin-client setups), limited reporting, and the growing admin burden of manual processes—especially around absence and holiday tracking.

Can complex holiday and absence rules be handled accurately?

Yes. A key benefit of upgrading is having allowance rules calculated consistently by the system—reducing manual effort and improving confidence in the numbers.

Does PeopleFirstHR help with complex reporting?

Yes. PeopleFirstHR supports HR teams not only through the upgrade, but also with practical help producing more complex reports when needed.