Workpay’s Newest Team: Partnerships!

The Partnerships Team is the newest member of the Growth Department, helping push towards profitability and growth by developing partners who will be incentivized to sell our product for us, enabling us to increase revenue at a lower cost than direct sales. The team is pursuing two main types of partnerships: referral and reseller.

In the referral model, individuals refer clients to Workpay. Once the referred company subscribes to an annual plan with 15-100 employees, the individual earns a 5% commission. For companies with more than 100 employees, the commission increases to 7.5%. In the reseller model, other B2B service providers agree to sell Workpay's services to their own clients. As a benefit, the reseller receives Workpay's system for up to 15 employees for free, and they get a 50% discount for any additional employee.

The team has made significant impact already, with Cynthia boldly stepping up to lead and Gifted joining soon after.

Challenges & Opportunities

Wokpay’s recent migration to a global system has opened up opportunities in new African countries for the Partnerships and other BD teams to grow Workpay’s user base. For example,the team’s Q1 efforts in Rwanda led to successfully closing deals with six Rwandan partners who have since brought on a total of five new clients and 76 employees through reseller partnerships.

These opportunities also bring challenges. The language barrier in Francophone countries, for example, as the team seeks out partners who operate in Kenya and D.R.C as a new strategy being tested. Currency, financial calendars, and general business cultures also present challenges. A country like Zambia has a less trusting business culture for new businesses, for instance. A personal on-the-ground touch, official location, and brand visibility are all critical to closing deals, and partners will  be critical to our success, as will a referral network as we grow.

Cross-Team Collaboration 

To be effective, the Partnerships team will need to collaborate with various Workpay Teams, leveraging their expertise, resources, and networks effectively. These include but are not limited to:

• Global SaaS BD Team: this sales team will benefit from Partnerships’ penetration of new markets, such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, D.R.C, and Tanzania. Collaborating with Partnerships will also ensure that BDRs and BDEs focus much of their time closing deals with high-potential qualified leads which Partnerships provides via its referral and reseller agreements.
• Marketing Team: The Marketing Team works with Partnerships Team to design and execute campaigns, expanding reach and engagement. Collaborating with partnerships in markets such as Kenya and South Africa, they use joint content assets like webinars and events to access target audiences and promote partner offerings. The team ensures consistent brand messaging and positioning across marketing materials and channels. Conversely, the Partnership Team is able to generate feedback and insights from strategically positioned partner organizations and individuals, which can help shape marketing strategies.
• Product Team: Similarly, the Partnerships Team will contribute market insights and customer feedback to guide product development. Partners participate in beta testing, offering early feedback on new products and features based on real-world scenarios. Similarly, Partners advise on features and enhancements that should be prioritized to meet specific needs or pain points in their areas of work. An example of this is the recent Xero integration in South Africa, which was based on partner insights that this would be essential for Workpay to be locally competitive. 

What’s next?

Exciting upcoming initiatives include a collaboration with Women in HR Kenya for an upcoming webinar, offering a great platform to engage with the HR community and share valuable insights. Dates and more info on this will be shared soon!

Conversations with Wylde International may also open doors to more African markets and new business opportunities at minimal cost. Wilde International is a Kenyan consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs worldwide seeking to grow and scale their businesses. With a presence in African markets that Workpay is trying to enter, the Wylde partnership involves them sharing SME profiles with Workpay and recommending Workpay to their SME clients as the preferred HR software, in exchange for commissions on those new clients. Another exciting project involves Melanin Kapital, a fintech working on climate initiatives with SMEs. This partnership is significant, as they bring even more partners on board, expanding the network and reach.

In conclusion, the Partnerships team is key to Workpay's growth by building smart collaborations and reaching into new markets. We're excited to see them achieve even more through continued support and upcoming projects and events!