Welcome to the latest edition of the CluneTech Newsletter. As always, this newsletter aims to inform, empower and entertain you. This issue includes everything from business news to important workplace updates, and some more light-hearted moments from across the Group. We hope you’ll enjoy the read.
Note from the Editors
What a few months we’ve had at CluneTech! For many of us, we’ve gone from not seeing our teams for 2+ years to now being able to meet and celebrate together again. And wow, have we had SO many reasons to celebrate! From TransferMate reaching unicorn status to CluneTech being recognised as a Great Place to Work for the 7th year running, the good news just keeps on rolling in.
Most importantly, the last few months have seen a hugely positive shift in our culture and the way that we work. In May, we announced a number of new and improved benefits, including Summer Flex Hours, Lifework days, and Meeting Free Days. These new initiatives aim to empower you to decide what works best for you. The good news kept coming in as we’ve recently found out our new Milestone Recognition Program is coming into effect on January 1st, 2023!
2022 has certainly been a monumental year, as, after 25 years of operating under the name Taxback Group, we made the decision to rebrand to CluneTech. Our new name reflects our industry-leading offering as a group of software technology companies while simultaneously acknowledging our roots. Technology innovation and entrepreneurship remain at the heart of everything we do, and our new brand enables us to better represent the breadth and depth of solutions offered by our companies.
We’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where we are now and going forward we will continue to place the voice of our people at the core of everything we do. We couldn’t do any of what we do without each and every one of you!
Fiona MacCarthy
Head of Communications
Rachael O'Shea
Head of Employee Experience
Kristina Ilieva
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Lauren Cleere
Marketing & Engagement Specialist
Debora Dancheva
Junior Marketing & Communications Specialist
Message from Terry
Hi everyone,
As we head into the festive season and towards the end of another fantastic year for CluneTech and each of our companies, I’d like to thank you all for your ongoing support and dedication. This year has certainly had its fair share of wins, from TransferMate achieving Unicorn Status to Taxback International winning Product of the Year at The BIG Awards 2022 for Comply. Culturally, it’s been great to see our new flexible way of working really take shape, and we’re delighted to be in a position to empower you to work in whatever way works best for you. With every challenge comes great opportunity, and the pandemic has played a massive role in our evolution towards a culture of flexibility that places you and your wellbeing at the core of the CluneTech employee experience.
After what has been an incredibly challenging two years, it looks like we’re finally coming out on the other side. It’s been incredible to celebrate together again after such a long time, and I hope you’ve all enjoyed reconnecting with your colleagues.
Looking ahead to the next year, I hope it is full of many memorable celebrations. On behalf of CluneTech’s leadership team, I hope you all enjoy the festive season and get to truly relax, unwind and enjoy spending time with those closest to you. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!
Best wishes, Terry
Company Updates
Company Update
Success for New Benamic Website
In Q4 we launched the new Benamic site, and it is already showing positive signs that we are off to a great start. Organic search engine visits, one of our largest traffic sources and therefore an important indicator, are up by 28% year on year so far. The good news doesn’t stop there. Visitors are also spending longer on the site while visiting more pages, contributing to an increase in the site’s conversion rate. We designed the new site focusing on user experience and organic traffic growth, and we are pleased to see our efforts pay off as we grow and improve Benamic's online presence.
Innovation Boosts Business Efficiency
Over the past year, we have put innovation and automation at the forefront of our operation to fine-tune efficiency, better serve our clients and their customers, and position ourselves as an innovative promotions company; and we've made great strides. Thanks to the improved accuracy of our ASV (Automatic Submissions Validator), we can now process twice as many claims automatically in comparison with last year. This is a major boost for our business efficiency and means that customers can experience shorter overall processing times for their claims. We've also invested in building brand new technology to automate parts of our promotional payments process. This has been hugely successful so far and means that customers can get their money faster and with less hassle for our team. It’s been a win-win. Looking forward, we’re excited to launch even more innovative projects in 2023.
Expansion Leads to a Strong Year
We're over the moon to be finishing the year strong, with remarkable expansion from several of our major clients. Acer, LG, Glanbia, Miele and Panasonic have all increased their business with us by 100% or more in just twelve months. This success would not have been possible without the efforts of our entire team, who are always working hard to deliver outstanding results. We're looking forward to continuing this momentum into the new year and further cementing our position as a leading player in the industry.
Read more
Close Story
It has been a busy H2 here at Taxback.com. Throughout early 2022, the number of working holiday makers traveling to Australia began to rise – following two years of COVID border closures.
And while it will take some time for the volume of backpackers in the country to return to pre-pandemic levels, it has been fantastic to see so many working holiday makers jetting down under once again.
On 1st July, the Australian tax filing season opened – with a tax filing deadline of 31st October.
Having worked in Oz, many backpackers will have a tax-filing requirement and the Taxback team were on hand to support them with this. And we are delighted to report that we enjoyed an 100% increase in Australian registrations year-on-year.
Changing focus to Ireland, no doubt you’ll have caught the wonderful Marian Ryan sharing her tax tips across Irish media outlets – including Virgin Media’s Ireland AM and Newstalk FM.
The team also successfully navigated a chock-a-block Budget 2023 period. Taxback branding could be seen on TheJournal.ie where we were lead sponsor for all of their Budget coverage. We were also active with an advertising campaign on the Irish Examiner website. Thankfully, our efforts were rewarded with our most successful Budget campaign ever – with huge numbers of new leads secured.
So what’s in store for 2023?
Well, Q1 is always an eventful time for Team Taxback! After all, tax seasons in a number of markets swing into action – Ireland, the UK and Canada to name a few. The team is already buzzing with activity, gearing up for the busy season and planning various campaigns that will undoubtedly make the season a success.
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It’s been a busy and productive H2 for Team Sprintax!
We have been traveling the length and breadth of the US, networking and exhibiting at conferences - such as nine different NAFSA Regionals!
Our attendance at these events is always invaluable and provides us with an important opportunity to meet potential partners.
And on that note…
As always, the Sprintax team has been playing a blinder! In fact, we have agreed on a number of deals to welcome huge new partners on-board. Firstly, for Sprintax Calculus, we have won a massive RFP for the University of Texas at Arlington and we are also in the process of welcoming the California State University System on-board.
Other significant new partners for Calculus include Elmhurst University, Davidson College, Elon University, Colby College and Vassar College.
Meanwhile, for Sprintax Returns, we have agreed partnerships with Midwestern University, Lewis University, Roberts Wesleyan College, Southern Connecticut State University, University of Michigan Flint, Brooklyn Law School, and lots more!
Many of these leads have come as a direct result of our exhibits at the NAFSA conferences mentioned above.
A special shout-out must go to our team in Lima – Marcelo Tanaka & Diana Yanac Cardenas (accompanied by Ryan Ludden!) – who have been getting back out to in-person orientations across South America. They have been on the road meeting partners in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and more!
We are also delighted to have launched a number of key developments to our Calculus software – such as an enhanced user experience and improved ADA compliance. Feedback from our partners has been very encouraging since we went live.
Finally, with a new tax season on the horizon, the team has already kicked into gear in preparation.
This year we helped more than 200k individuals with their tax documents. We hope that, by the next time we are writing for this newsletter, we will have eclipsed this figure for tax season 2022.
Over and out for now!
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So what’s new with Visa First?
Let’s start with some numbers…
In February 2022, Australia reopened its borders, following COVID-19 restrictions, and began to welcome increased numbers of working holiday makers once again.
As a result, we are ecstatic to report that Visa First has enjoyed a 654% increase in Australian visa applications (compared to 2021).
We have also seen a massive bounce in the number of Tourist Visa applications in 2022.
Not bad, right?
Visa First has also exhibited at a number of recent travel events around the country with our partner NexVentur.
Events took place in Cork, Kilkenny, and Donegal (where 200 people joined and the event was featured on RTE 2!) and we have been thrilled with the volume of engagement and visa applications as a result.
Our very own Nune Troy also hosted the very first Travel Series webinar. The session – which was a collaboration with NexVentur and the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce – covered everything a prospective backpacker would need to know before traveling down under. Nune did a fantastic job as host and it won’t be long until RTE are on the phone!
Finally, we are tremendously excited to highlight a number of new key partners who have teamed up with Visa First in H2.
For starters, we are thrilled to have reconnected with Cassidy Travel to support them with tourist visa applications. We have also agreed exciting deals with a number of new partners including Rugby Recruit, Work in Australia (which handles up to 3,000 WHMs each year), The Adventure People and Crowleys DFK.
Looks like there is a MEGA 2023 in store for Visa First. We can’t wait!
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Q3 and Q4 is always an eventful period for PTI.
Over the last number of months, our team has been working to navigate tax-filing deadlines in Ireland, Spain, Germany and France.
Changes in local tax rules have meant that investors with property in Germany are required to file additional tax documents in 2022. With this in mind, our team has been busy supporting our clients with the preparation and submission of this new special property tax return.
There have also been reforms in Polish tax rules and our team has been working to adapt our service to the new conditions.
Meanwhile, in France, we managed to secure a massive purchase price refund of €79k for a new client – hopefully they will leave us a nice review!
We have also successfully on-boarded a number of new partners who will be sharing PTI services with individuals who purchase new real estate.
Finally, we are delighted to report that we have enjoyed a 6% revenue increase year-on-year. Not a bad result!
And, as we move towards 2023, our focus will shift to the Spanish, Polish, French and Hungarian markets and their respective deadlines throughout H1.
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Immedis: Reflections 2022
Collectively over the course of 2022 we have all been working together to ensure we consistently deliver for each other, for our customers and for our partners.
Our 2022 business priorities included:
1. Customer Focus 2. Develop Our People 3. Profitable Growth 4. Improve & Simplify Our Business
Partner Portal: Partner Portal is in Production, and we have started piloting with our first round of partners.
Ideal Customer Profile: We refined our ideal customer profile
MI Dashboard: We rolled out a new MI dashboard for the Operations team to use for insights and to review payrolls.
Improved PCF: Technology, Product, and Operations teams have worked closely to develop an improved PCF.
Customer Success Champions: We are highlighting weekly Customer Success Champions
Customer Advisory Board: CAB Sessions run in Ireland and the US.
Service Managers: The addition of two new Service Managers in Operations who are helping standardize the way we work.
Customer Focused Communications: We launched our Customer Focused Communications Series.
Events: Attendance at industry events and engagement with our partners
Customer Upgrade: We rolled out our customer upgrade project and achieved our 2022 goal
Notifications: Delivered new automation of notifications to customers
Ticketing: Ticketing system workflow improvement project underway
GTN Project: Reduced the GTN error rate- realizing 5231 mins (87 hours 11 mins) per month because of the Gross to Net project.
New Employee Benefits: As a direct result of your feedback, we announced new and improved employee benefits this Summer.
Team Events: This year saw the reemergence of in person events across the world.
We Celebrate Our People: Ongoing celebrations around our people. We continue to find ways and opportunities to celebrate our people on Workvivo.
Office Visits Worldwide: With the world opening, employees were once again able to travel resulting in more office visits around the world
New Performance Management Framework Launched
Weekly Wins Communication: Weekly communication launched in June to showcase what's happening across our business and to celebrate our wins.
New Employees: We have welcomed over one hundred new employees to our business globally this year.
Launch of WeLearn: WeLearn is a fantastic addition to our learning and development resources which is readily available to everyone.
Immedis Gives Back: As part of CluneTech Cares Immedis has been able to support charities and causes across the world.
We Are Actively Recruiting: We continue to actively recruit for open roles.
Increased Training & Development Supports: We are working to provide employees with a range a L&D options.
Review of customers: We looked at our existing customers to see if they were the right fit for us going forward.
We refined our ideal customer profile
Identified efficiencies and improved delivery costs
We created a new Workforce Services Team
We created new revenue streams
Expansion projects with existing customers
We identified new cross-sell opportunities
We signed new customers: DuPont, Jump Trading, Scott Bader, Swift, Celonis, Wellbore and Temenos
Rolled out a GTN Error Reduction Project
We Updated the Immedis Brand
Biggest Ever Production Release Took Place in March
Performance & Scaling Team Improvements
Technology Partners: Building strong connections to support HCM demands.
Business Processes: Introduction of new business processes to further strengthen our audit and defense structures.
File Integration: 5,000 files via integration- In August, for the first time, we received over five thousand files via integration in a calendar year.
New Platform Services Team
New Regional Structure in Operations
Quality Assurance: Introduction of Quality Assurance and improved business reporting
Business Processes: Introduction of new business processes to further strengthen our audit and defense structures.
Payments API: Payments API for Cambridge & WU benefit realized for July (Delivered and embedded).
Automation: Automated EE Accounts Release - so far, we have automated 77% of all pay live groups (which is 88% of total HC)
Business Reporting: Consolidation of Information for business reporting (capture, gather and refine).
ISO 27001: Audit complete Aug 2022
SOC 1: Recertification – Nov 2022
SOC 2 : New Certification – Nov 2022
Quality Assurance Checks: rollout of further QA checks to enhance security, quality, and compliance
We are on a mission. We find the best way. We always show respect. We love what we do. We are Immedis.
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It’s been a very busy second half to the year for TransferMate!
Between new partner signings, awards and recognition, product enhancements and of course the high number of events attended – the teams have been traveling the world meeting each other, partners and potential new clients.
Catch up below on the big stories from Q3 and Q4.
TransferMate Becomes the Official FX Partner of Leeds United
We are delighted to announce our partnership with Leeds United to be their Official FX Partner for the 22/23 Premier League campaign. As part of the newly signed partnership, TransferMate will operate as the club’s exclusive foreign currency provider, providing cross-border payments services through its unrivaled payments infrastructure.
Executive Director at Leeds United, Paul Bell, said “Their unique global payments solution will be a huge asset to our club.”
TransferMate is partnering with delaware International to continue our mission of adding value to the SAP S/4HANA community. delaware works with businesses to simplify processes, optimize technology and achieve their business goals through harnessing the power of SAP S/4HANA.
Through the TransferMate partnership, delaware will be able to link their clients to the most advanced international payment network in the world, helping us all elevate the SAP S/4HANA platform to even greater heights.
Podcast: Transforming International Payments for Businesses with TransferMate
Last year, transaction volumes through the SAP Concur PaymentsHub increased by over 800% as customers looked to optimize their payment processes. But why?
Jeanne Dion from the SAP Concur Conversations podcast sat down with Michael Cullen, Vice President of Sales at TransferMate, to discuss how we’ve became instrumental in the international payments space (including on the SAP platform itself), providing businesses with the ability to make and receive payments anywhere in the world, in any currency, at any time – with utmost security and cost efficiency.
TransferMate CEO, Sinead FitzMaurice Featured in the Fintech 15
Fantastic to see Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO of TransferMate, included in the Fintech 15.
Put together by Charlie Taylor in the Business Post, it’s a great insight into the exciting Fintech community in Ireland, and how the sector will play a vital role in Ireland’s economic future.
TransferMate Listed in Business & Finance Top 100 Companies Index 2022
It was fantastic to see TransferMate listed in the Business & Finance Top 100 Index 2022. This is recognizing the top 100 companies in Ireland today and we are thrilled to be listed as one of them.
TransferMate Listed in Business & Finance Top 100 Companies Index 2022
There have been historically significant movements in the currency markets over the last year. The big headline is that the euro and dollar have reached parity for the first time in over 20 years, with the euro dipping below the strong dollar in July.
We sat down with Ann-Marie Carrigan, Strategic Account Manager at TransferMate, and explored what this means for cross-border payments and money transfers, who stands to benefit, and how businesses can protect themselves from these currency shifts.
How TransferMate Education Is Supporting Sustainability
We are promising to plant a tree for every international student that uses TransferMate to make their payments this year.
Since we launched our Plant a Tree initiative, TransferMate will be supporting the planting of over 30,000 trees in partnership with Self Help Africa.
Over the coming months our team will also be on the ground involved in the planting of these trees which we are very excited about.
Product Updates October 2022
We’ve got plenty of product updates and enhancements to share with you, including the addition of 3 more new currencies to Global Accounts, UI updates, new functionality added to PaymentsHub, and lots more!
The second half of the year was packed with events. The teams traveled the world meeting existing partners and potential new clients.
The events covered partner; SAP Fusion Exchange and TouchNet COMTEC to industry; ICEF, Eurofinance and Accounting & Finance in Singapore to the biggest event of the year; Money20/20 USA where we were joined by Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen.
Well done to all the teams involved and bring on 2023…..
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Comply & E-Invoicing Partnership
Comply 2.0 was launched on the 28th November. This latest version includes increased coverage on MVP countries, Intrastat & Intrastat rules, VAT groups, VIES/EC Sales and Purchase. Additionally, it features improved data validation and enhanced user functions.
As we move into 2023, our new partnership with Pagero will enable e-invoicing solutions alongside Comply’s existing suite of services.
Advertising Partnership with 2020 Innovation
Taxback International is delighted to offer Foreign VAT Registration, Filing and Compliance to Accountancy businesses with Direct Selling and eCommerce clients.
We partnered with 2020 Innovation, a marketing leader in the UK Accountancy Training Industry. Their members include some of the largest Accountancy firms in the UK and can now utilise TBI’s cutting-edge technology to streamline their clients’ VAT requirements.
e-Books
In August, we published ‘VAT Compliance Managed Services are Essential’. This e-book from Global Director of VAT Compliance and Advisory, Barbara Barcsik, discussed the current VAT compliance landscape and offered her expertise on the future path for businesses.
‘The Rise of the Tax Technologist’ launched in September. Our experts Lisa Dowling, Senior Global Director – Head of Indirect Tax, Advisory and Compliance, and David Keating, Chief Technology Officer, explored the role of the tax technologist and its increasing importance in the modern tax team.
Expert View
To wrap up the fifth and final episode of Series 2 of TBI Expert View, we collated the best bits from Series 2 and launched our ‘Seasonal Wrap’. This recapped on Brexit, SAF-T, Outsourcing & Onboarding and Continuous Transaction Controls.
Keep an eye out in 2023 for more exciting guests in Series 3!
Awards
We are pleased to announce that Taxback International has been selected as a finalist for the ‘Fintech Innovator Award & FS Challenger Award’ by the Business & Finance Media Group in association with KPMG.
Additionally, we have also been selected as a finalist for the internationally recognised ‘Elevation Award 2022’ by the Business & Finance Media Group in association with Enterprise Ireland
IDLF closes out 2022 with a €3.1 million reinvestment in Cork’s 4 Star Luxury Vienna Woods Hotel and 2 new significant hotel investments currently being finalised. In Q3, IDLF launched a new “Why Ireland?” brand campaign on google ads platform, generating a 600% increase in potential leads compared to 2021. In Q4, IDLF launched a new initiative called ResideInIreland.com to expand the proportion of US investors in the fund.
This new Reside in Ireland brand gained extensive coverage in the Investment News and Irish Central online, among other national publications. To commemorate the conclusion of 2022, IDLF awarded each of the current investment portfolio with a plaque recognising the Dept of Justice’s contribution to the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme.
Joanna Murphy, CEO of IDLF, was also invited to join a Department of Justice steering committee and had an exclusive meeting with Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in October to discuss the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme and further develop this positive and beneficial relationship into the future.
Furthermore, by the end of 2022, we expect to have applications totalling €20 million pending approval from the Department of Justice. With a 100% approval rate, we are very optimistic about 2023. Aside from the applications waiting for approval, our extremely strong pipeline of advanced investment projects will guarantee that we will be extremely busy in 2023. This is wonderful news for both the businesses we support by investment and the families looking to relocate to our wonderful country. In turn, these companies go on to generate employment throughout Ireland.
IDLF reinvests €3.1m in Cork’s Vienna Woods
The 4 star luxury family-owned hotel to build an additional 22 new bedrooms while also refurbishing the ballroom and reception facilities.
Meeting with Minister of Justice Helen McEntee
Joanna Murphy, CEO of IDLF, had an exclusive meeting with Minister of Justice Helen McEntee in October to discuss the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme and further develop this positive and beneficial relationship into the future.
New brand domain Reside In Ireland
IDLF created and launched a new brand domain Reside In Ireland www.resideinireland.com in America to attract USA investors to Fund 2 including coverage by Investment News and Irish Central.
“Why Ireland” - New Google Ads Campaign
IDLF successfully launches new google ads “Why Ireland” campaign generating a new pipeline of potential investors to their Fund.
Special Recognition
IDLF awards their portfolio of investment with an honorary plaque to acknowledge the Department of Justice’s contribution to the Immigrant Investor Programme.
Partnership Agreements
IDLF signs up partnership agreements with several new immigrant partner agencies worldwide.
Workplace Updates
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CluneTech Cares Q3 and Q4 Recap
Our CSR Programme - CluneTech Cares, is a fantastic representation of what we are - a team of truly caring individuals giving our best to support and add value, not only to our customers, but also to the communities in which we operate.
CluneTech Cares is employee-led and has three key pillars: Wellness, Culture & Community, and Sustainability.
With this brief, but also very important reminder in mind, we would like to bring forward our latest CSR and volunteering activities. Learn more below.
Cois Nore Charity Event, Kilkenny
On July 29th, Kilkenny Rotary held its inaugural Golf Challenge in aid of Cois Nore Cancer Support Centre. As part of CluneTech Cares, we were absolutely thrilled to sponsor this amazing event which turned out to be an incredible success for both organisations.
Thanks to the proceeds and success from events like this, Cois Nore can continue their important work providing confidential support and professional & voluntary services to people of all ages affected by cancer, along with raising awareness of cancer services available in our community.
Kilkenny Rotary's Golf Challenge in aid of Cois Nore Cancer Support Centre
Race for the Cure #RFTC2022
Race for the Cure is Europe’s biggest sporting event for women’s health. RFTC helps breast cancer organisations and hospitals collect funds and raise awareness. With 500,000 new diagnoses and 125,000 people who die of breast cancer in Europe every year, these funds are of vital importance. Now more than ever.
For the second year in a row, our team got involved and this year our CluneTech team donated a total of €1180 in aid of breast cancer organisations. We are so proud of our team members who made a difference and got out there to support this amazing cause!
Race for the Cure 2022
Twomey Family Remorial Weekend & Teac Tom
Founded by Elber Twomey, The Twomey Family Remorial weekend honours Elber’s family who were involved in a fatal crash that claimed the lives of her beautiful son Oisin, Elber’s unborn daughter Elber Marie and her husband Con. The remorial weekend is an annual event that ensures Oisin, Elber Marie and Con will always be remembered with the love and honour they so deserve.
Kilkenny based Teac Tom was selected as one of the four beneficiaries from the 2022 Twomey Remorial Weekend. Teac Tom was founded in 2014 by Angela Hayes. Angela and her team have been at the heart of the community supporting hundreds of families and thousands of individuals who have been courageous enough to seek their help. Teac Tom provides a safe and nurturing space for people to get support for their mental health. Their open door policy allows the charity to be accessible to everyone in the community, whenever they may need it.
CluneTech employee Nigel O’Donovan presented Teac Tom with a cheque for €2,990 on behalf of the Twomey Remorial Weekend, €500 of which was donated by CluneTech. This is our fifth year supporting this incredible cause.
Teac Tom Presentation and Twomey Family Remorial Weekend Poster
Self Help Africa x TransferMate
TransferMate, a CluneTech company, is delighted to support the planting of over 20,000 trees in partnership with Self Help Africa in Q3 of this year.
In Africa, the people least responsible for climate change are feeling its worst effects. Self Help Africa supports communities to plant trees: which provide shade, shelter, food, fertilizer and income. We chose to partner with this organization because of their mission to plant trees, reduce carbon and combat poverty.
Self Help Africa XTransferMate
Lucy’s Basketball Journey
Lucy Coogan from Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny has always been fanatical about basketball and has been an upcoming star from a young age representing her school Loreto in many team events and matches over the years. She has been part of Ireland's International teams from U16 level and last year she played a key role in the FIBA European Championships in the Czech Republic.
2022 has been a very busy year of studying and training for Lucy and after many years of hard work and focus on the goal she has been dreaming of since she can remember, she has now secured a four year Basketball and Academic scholarship offer to America to further her already incredible Basketball career.
We here at CluneTech were thrilled to make a donation of €500 towards Lauren’s basketball journey. We wish Lucy the very best of luck with all her future endeavours.
Lucy Coogan, Lucy's Basketball Journey
Help Efrem Fight Cancer
Last month, we learned about Efrem, a 5 year old boy who had been diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Although there are treatments available to Efrem, they are private and extremely expensive. These treatments are costs that Marcela, Efrem’s mother and the family cannot possibly cover on their own.
We wanted to use CluneTech Cares as a way to contribute to Marcela’s fundraiser for her little boy by donating €2,000 to help Efrem and his chance to battle this cancer. You can support Efrem’s battle here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-little-efrem-to-get-better.
LittleEfrem, aged 5
Griffeen Junior Parkrun
In Q3, CluneTech got involved in the Griffeen Junior Parkrun. Parkruns are free, weekly, community events all around the world.
Saturday morning events are 5k and take place in parks and open spaces.
On Sunday mornings, there are 2k junior parkruns for children aged four to 14. Parkrun is a positive, welcoming and inclusive experience where there is no time limit and no one finishes last, which is why we wanted to help this initiative by making a €250 donation. This donation will go towards equipment for the Griffeen Junior Parkrun.
Marie Collins and friends at the Griffeen Junior Parkrun
I Believe and Help, Varna
This October, our very own Georgi Stanchev and Rumyana Hristova brought 43 kg of plastic caps for the initiative ‘I believe and help’ in Varna, Bulgaria. Not only are the plastic caps going to be recycled, but the money collected from the initiative will be used for buying vital medical equipment and ambulances for children.
“I believe and help” is a well-known Bulgarian initiative which is run biannually - once in the spring, and once in the autumn. It promotes plastic caps collection and recycling as a way to gather funds for buying vital medical equipment for children’s hospitals while also supporting the planet and recycling tons of plastic each year.
Well done to all CluneTech employees for acting as #OneTeam and for supporting the cause for so many years.
Georgi Stanchev and Rumyana Hristova who brought the plastic caps to the collection point in Varna
CluneTech Cares: Plant the Planet Games with Self Help Africa
Plant the Planet games took place in Kenya from the 19th to 27th November. The concept of the games was created by Warriors for Humanity founder and former Galway dual player Alan Kerins.
We were delighted to announce that as part of our CluneTech Cares programme, CluneTech sponsored Plant the Planet Games in partnership with Self Help Africa, Warriors for Humanity and the Gaelic Players Association. We were also proud to have sponsored Kilkenny hurling legend, Paul Murphy during this initiative to support his journey and work in Africa. These sponsorships resulted in 25,000 trees planted in Africa, providing a source of food, income, shelter and improved soil for thousands of African families, as well as removing up to 625 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year.
The event featured 50 male and female Inter-County Gaelic Games players from all four codes. An array of talent from Gaelic Games joined forces during the games, including Limericks Sean Finn, Wexford’s Matthew O’Hanlon, Kerry’s Stefan Okunbor, Kilkenny’s Grace Walsh and Niamh O’Sullivan of Meath, amongst others.
In total, CluneTech donated €10,000in aid of Self Help Africa to support this campaign. By doing this, we wanted to highlight the impact of climate change in these areas of the world while also helping raise significant funds to plant one million trees in Africa.
Look out for information on how you can get involved in a Kilkenny tree-planting day as part of this initiative in the new year!
Plant the Planet Games with Self Help Africa
FAST Heroes 112: A million kids with one grand mission - to save our grandparents!
FAST Heroes is an award-winning educational initiative aimed at raising awareness of stroke symptoms and the need for speedy action, supported by the World Stroke Organization. It leverages children’s amazing enthusiasm for learning and sharing, encouraging the spread of knowledge to the rest of their family, particularly to their grandparents. The campaign offers educational resources to inspire learning in Kindergartens and Primary schools, and to facilitate the transfer of that knowledge to families at home.
2022 is the first year CluneTech has taken part in this project by donating over €2,000 which will allow the program’s ambassadors to roll out the FAST Heroes educational campaign for the first time in Varna.
Following World Stroke Day on October 29th and our special presentation for this occasion, CluneTech’s employees nominated a school of their choice which will later be enrolled in this program. Following a public vote, the “Geo Milev” School, nominated by Iliyana Stefanova from the Irish Accounts Team in Bulgaria, was selected to be the first school in Varna that will take part in the FAST Heroes 112 campaign.
Keep an eye out on Workvivo to see the progress of our FAST Heroes 112 Mission!
Illiyana Stefanova, FAST Heroes 112 Winner
Black and Whites GAA Club
Recently, CluneTech made a donation to help support the Blacks and Whites GAA club from Skeoughvosteen who successfully won the Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship (1-17 to 0-17) against Windgap in UPMC Nowlan Park on Sunday, 23rd October. This was a huge achievement for the rural club and we were extremely proud to have had the opportunity to support the Black and Whites in their victory. Well done to all involved on this amazing win, from everyone here at CluneTech!
A special mention for Emma Doyle’s nephew, Seanan Doyle who was part of the winning lineup and whom some of you may remember from his transition year work experience with The HR Department a few years back.
Children’s Health Foundation: Temple Street Hospital
We were absolutely delighted to present Temple Street hospital with a donation towards their Speech and Language Department in November. This donation was dedicated towards the purchase of some much needed books for babies in Temple Street’s neonatal wards.
Having a sick baby is very stressful for families. Parents don’t always get the opportunity to have a ‘normal’ parenting experience when their baby is sick. Because of this, Temple Street has introduced some time on the ward daily for a ‘Baby Readathon’ where parents are encouraged to read to their baby and have some quality time together, aside from when their child is being treated.
Our donation of €522 has been used to purchase 30 packs of books, that will last 3-6 years, for babies diagnosed with Trachea-oesophageal fistula (TOF) and Oesophageal Atresia (OA).
We were so honoured to support such an amazing cause and to highlight the wonderful work Childrens Health Foundation and Temple Street do so well.
Giving Tuesday 2022
Giving Tuesday is a day that encourages people to give back in whatever ways they can.
This year's Giving Tuesday, we were honored to support three amazing charities who work incredibly hard to make a positive difference within their communities and beyond. We were delighted to have the opportunity to make a donation to each of these causes to mark this global generosity movement.
Take a look at our three charities below that we chose to celebrate our #GivingTuesday with this year:
Coalition for the Homeless - Through CluneTech Cares, we were honored to make a donation to Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. Enda Kelleher, VP of Sprintax, volunteers in their soup kitchen every week and brought the amazing work that they do to our attention. The Coalition’s Grand Central Food Program (GCFP) was founded in 1985, the day after a homeless woman died of starvation in Grand Central Terminal. Since then, the program has grown to become the largest mobile soup kitchen in America. Each night, their vans deliver between 800 and 1,200 healthy meals of hot stew, bread, fresh fruit, and juice or milk — as well as coats, hats, gloves and blankets in the colder weather — to those struggling to survive rough on the streets at 25 stops around the city.
One To World - Established in 1977, One To World was founded by a group of foreign student advisers committed to building bridges between international students on campus and the broader New York community. This work quickly grew into a set of programs aimed at creating strong international relationships through intercultural awareness and understanding by creating multiple opportunities where people can come together face-to-face and share their perspectives, experiences, and lives.
Cultural Vistas - Founded in 1963, Cultural Vistas has grown into the leading exchange organization of its kind. The organization focuses on providing professional experience – now helping more than 6,000 students, professionals, and emerging world leaders to make the world a better, more peaceful, and collaborative place each year.
One to World, Cultural Vistas and Enda Kelleher, VP of Sprintax with Coalition for the Homeless, NYC.
Volunteering at CluneTech
Introduced in 2021, our CSR Volunteer Day empowers each employee to give back to the charities and causes closest to them. Since the start of our Volunteer Days, 58 CluneTech employees have contributed to causes which they find meaningful, and this number keeps growing. See what some of them shared with us about their experience:
Maria Collins used her Volunteer Day helping her local athletics club, Lucan Harriers, in West Dublin.
“Getting ready for our 5 mile road race on Sunday for Lucan Harries”
Kalina Vakova volunteering at Varna’s Municipal Shelter while making a few furry friends along the way!
“I know that spending time and playing with these creatures couldn't be enough for them, but it is still something amazing in their monotonous day”
Clogh Village Pub
In Q4, Mark Hender from Immedis went on a mission to save the Clogh village in north Kilkenny from becoming another statistic of derelict villages in Ireland.
To support the last remaining pub in the village and to help raise funds and restore the large Christmas tree in the center of the village, Mark organized a pub quiz and raffle, selling 2 euro raffle tickets or 3 for 5 euro which includes a prize of a voucher for Kilkea Castle. Furthermore, #CluneTechCares matched all donations raised by CluneTech employees and contributed 10 euro to anyone that participated in the quiz.
“Myself and few other members of Clogh Village in north Kilkenny are determined to help Clogh become an active community once again and not be another statistic of derelict villages of Ireland. A precursor to this was the community pulling together to save the last remaining pub which has only thrived under new community ownership and we believe we can do even more as a community by providing more amenities and celebrations in the coming years.
We are onto the next ventures of making Clogh a real place to visit, which is to restore a Christmas theme around the village. We have big ideas but because we are very low on time (and even lower on money), we are aiming to achieve phase 1 of the Christmas project this year which is to restore a large Christmas tree in the center of the village and decorated with lights and remembrance slips of paper of people we would like to remember.”,Mark shared about his project. Well done, Mark!
Clogh village, Kilkenny
Saplings School Goresbridge, Kilkenny
During October, local volunteers gathered together for a DIY SOS project in aid of the Saplings School in Goresbridge, for some much-needed improvements.
Saplings helps support parents and their children with disabilities, giving them a space that is safe and compassionate to their needs; however, their biggest problem was that the spaces they had weren't fit for purpose.
Our TransferMate volunteers Ian Hayes, Brendan Coughlan, Emma Doyle and Gareth McLoughlin from CluneTech gave their time to help with five projects that were undertaken on the day.
Together, they tackled Sapling’s outdoor classroom and their sensory area, which was previously just a parking lot and outdoor storage area respectively. Both of which were totally unsuitable for the children and their care.
Take a look at what Brendan Coughlan, Head of Process Re-engineering at TransferMate had to say about their volunteer day with Saplings:
“A big thank you to CluneTech for the CSR Day that enabled us to give back to our local community. We believe we made a big difference in the lives of the children and their caretakers, who can now let the kids explore and use all the space available to them.
Well done to Ian Hayes for his work with Saplings and bringing this amazing initiative to all of our attention. Thank you also to Brendan, Emma and Gareth for putting their volunteer day to great use and for the incredible difference they have all made towards these children's lives.
Emma Doyle, Brendan Coughlan, Gareth McLoughlin and Ian Hayes at Sapling Special School, Goresbridge
CluneTech hosts Irish Ambassador to Bulgaria, Martina Feeney, at our Bulgarian offices
Twice this year, the Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria, Martina Feeney, visited the CluneTech’s offices. During her first work visit after the pandemic, she visited our office in Veliko Tarnovo, and most recently - at the end of November, we hosted Ambassador Feeney in our largest office in Varna.
During both her visits, Ambassador Feeney met representatives from CluneTech, which is the biggest Irish employer in Bulgaria.
At the meetings, senior managers from different divisions of CluneTech shared the latest achievements of their businesses with the Ambassador. Our guest was curious to understand how the pandemic changed our workplace and was also keen to learn more about our recent employee benefits and company culture improvements, which has contributed to CluneTech being listed as one of Bulgaria’s top 100 employers. Ambassador Feeney and the CluneTech managers discussed the importance of attracting and retaining the best talent, as well as our long-term CSR partnership with organizations like Karin Dom in Varna.
Following her visit in Varna, Mrs. Martina Feeney said:
“I’m really impressed by the incredible teams that I met in both Varna and Veliko Tarnovo’s offices this year. All of the people at CluneTech seem to be really passionate about what they do. I have no doubt that putting people at the center of the business, something that CluneTech is dedicated to doing for its over 21 years of presence in Bulgaria, is essential to being successful. I`m looking forward to continuing our partnership and supporting you.”
Ekaterina Hristova, HR Manager of CluneTech in Bulgaria, added:
“We were delighted to host Ambassador Feeney, who was curious to learn more about our businesses, but also about our company culture and the people who work here. Ambassador Feeney is open to supporting us in every possible way and to strengthen the relations between the business and the authorities in the country, as we look to grow our workforce here.”
Ambassador’s Feeney first visit to Veliko Tarnovo
Ambassador’s Feeney first visit to our Veliko Tarnovo
During her first working trip in the country after the removal of Covid restrictions, Ambassador Feeney visited our office in Veliko Tarnovo. There she spoke to Chris Henry, Zhana Zhivkova, Desislava Chervenkova, Desislava Teneva, and Tsvetanka Ivanova, who are all senior managers in the group. Back in June, our managers told Ambassador Feeney more about TransferMate entering a massive growth phase and becoming the first Irish tech unicorn represented in Bulgaria, as well as the recruitment plans for other CluneTech companies such as Immedis and Taxback.com, who are continuing recruitment in the country.
About Ambassador Martina Feeney
Ambassador Feeney started her position as Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria in October 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic limited her ability to meet people and host the usual events that are traditional for the Irish embassy in Bulgaria. This year saw the Ambassador’s first visits to both Veliko Tarnovo and Varna since the removal of the Covid-19 restrictions in the country this spring and we were delighted to host her. We look forward to the next visit from the Ambassador to our Bulgarian operations.
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CluneTech’s most recent awards
Career Show Awards Winner
We are delighted to have received 2 awards from the Career Show Awards in Bulgaria in September.
First place in the Employee Benefits Strategy category for actively listening to employees' feedback and reimagining their experience to deliver an even better work-life balance.
Second place in the Rebranding Strategy category in recognition of our creative and consistent rebrand, designed and managed fully in-house by our talented Design and Communications Teams.
The Career Show Recognition is a huge achievement, especially given the number of applications hit a record 457 this year. This recognition is testament to our dedication to employee wellbeing which is driven by our fantastic Leadership, HR, Comms and Design teams.
Platinum status for CluneTech at Deloitte Best Managed Company Awards
At the end of September, at their first in-person event following the pandemic, we were recognised as one of Ireland’s Best Managed Companies at a Gala Awards ceremony held in the Convention Centre, Dublin.
First recognised as one of Ireland’s Best Managed Companies back in 2010, this is the seventh consecutive year that CluneTech has retained its Platinum Status - the highest accolade in these awards. This year, Deloitte recognised 136 indigenous companies at the awards representing 25 of the 32 counties across Ireland.
Ireland’s Best Managed Companies Awards programme promotes and recognises excellence in Irish/Northern Irish owned and managed companies and is the only awards scheme on the island of Ireland that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Entrants to the programme compete for the designation in a rigorous process that evaluates the caliber of their management abilities and practices in addition to the strategy, capability, innovation, culture and financial performance of their companies.
Ekaterina Hristova is among the Top 100 HR Professionals in Bulgaria
CluneTech would like to send massive congratulationsto our very own Ekaterina Hristova who was among the winners in the Career Show's ranking Top 100 HR professionals in Bulgaria.
Working in the company for over a decade now, Ekaterina is the driving force behind motivating our large Bulgarian workforce and is dedicated to ensuring that each employee, regardless of their position, feels empowered and valued. We were absolutely thrilled with this recognition of Ekaterina’s work.
Well done, Ekaterina!
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WeLearn – CluneTech’s brand new Learning Management System
We’re delighted to share that in October, our Learning & Development Team rolled out WeLearn – CluneTech’s brand new Learning Management System.
WeLearn provides the technology we need to handle all aspects of the learning process; from new hire onboarding to compliance, internal business-specific training, to our catalogue of nearly 700 business-general bitesize learning modules.
WeLearn is able to house, deliver and track learning throughout our businesses. The platform allows us to provide more work-specific content, aiding performance development and offering practical career growth. You can access it from anywhere in the world, even on the go through its mobile-enabled feature. Every employee receives a license, thus allowing you to track your own progress, with points and trophies on offer to motivate you on your educational journey.
Overall, WeLearn will help us improve our learning and development across the group for all employees, connecting learning with positive business impacts!
All about WeLearn
First time being introduced to Welearn? Fear not, we have just what you need to get started. To give you a proper introduction, Kaylyn Burke from our Learning and Development team has created a fantastic article that highlights the ins, outs and all the need-to-knows around our new learning management system.
After its launch, our Learning and Development team wanted to keep the momentum going with a ‘Welcome to WeLearn Competition’ to encourage everyone to discover the new content WeLearn has to offer, along with getting accustomed to the platform itself.
By completing modules and tasks on WeLearn, like setting up your profile or completing multiple modules at a time, our employees gained points and rewards putting them in with a chance of winning some great prizes!
At the end of October, Stoyan S Stoyanov, came out on top of our WeLearn leaderboard with an amazing total of 1925 points. Because of this, Stoyan won his very own brand new Amazon Echo Dot, and Miroslava Nyagolova and Iskra Dimitrova-Mineva each won a €25 book voucher. We chatted with all three to learn what they liked most about our new platform….
Stoyan S Stoyanov, Immedis
The WeLearn Platform is user friendly and accessible. The fact you can access it through all your devices makes it handy. Most of the courses are divided into short modules and you can always come back to them later if you have to finish something else. The course Emotional Intelligence is my favourite course on the platform as it is something I personally find very interesting and is something I would love to develop further as a skill.
Miroslava Nyagolova, Immedis
I really liked the courses under Management & Leadership - although some videos are repetitive, it is very easy to follow the information and learn. The platform is easy to navigate and has user friendly interface. There is a big variety of different topics that might be interesting to you and you can listen to the videos on the go. You can always learn more and grow while doing your everyday chores and listening to the videos on your phone.
Iskra Dimitrova-Mineva, Taxback.com
WeLearn platform’s biggest strength for me are management and leadership courses. Although short, they tackle different real-life situations in the workplace and give answers to questions I`ve been asking myself. Everyone can benefit watching these, as communication is something we all do daily. I`d love to see more in-depth professional courses and better course organization.
This is only the beginning for WeLearn here at CluneTech. Our Learning and Development team will continue to make more purchased, off-the-shelf courses available to our team and continue to work with different departments across the company to create internally relevant content to help us all grow in our roles and careers.
Work-Life Balance
What do you call Santa in your country?
In CluneTech, there are employees worldwide working from all over the world.
As part of our #OneTeam culture, we encourage and involve our colleagues in activities that spread our uniqueness throughout the company.
Here, we catch up with our colleagues from different countries to tell us what the most common symbol of Christmas, Santa Clause, is called in their language.
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CluneTech photo competition winners Q3 and Q4
Back in January, we launched our brand new Quarterly Photography Competition! Each quarter we are giving you the chance to win some great prizes by simply posting the best pictures that you have taken. Besides getting some great prizes, our winners have their picture featured as the background of Core for the remainder of the quarter. See what our two latest winners had to share about the photos they have taken.
The picture is taken at Nikolaevka village near Varna. The location is extremely popular with its clean environment and lovely nature but is best known among the fishermen as there are a few dams and the one in the picture is the biggest of them. The shot is taken with a DJ mini drone, with this being one of the first ones as I needed a spacious place to learn to navigate it.
Ivelin I Yordanov
TransferMate - Q3 winner
Both my sister and I love traveling and exploring new countries. The picture was taken at Hallstatt when traveling was much easier back in the summer of 2019. Although a day trip is more than enough to explore the whole town, its view is just breathtaking and we stayed for hours staring at the sights. A fun fact is that the population of the town is just about 800-900 people, but it became a tourist hot spot in the last few years, getting visitors from all around the globe. Plus, the pictures taken need no Instagram filter, they speak for themselves.
Miroslava Nyagolova
Immedis - Q4 winner
If you want to be part of this, make sure to check Wirkvivo for the next round of our competition. The winner of each quarterly photo competition receives a pair of Apple AirPods and has their photo displayed as the background of Core HR so get entering!
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Real Stories of Meaningful Christmas Gifts
Christmas is the holiday we love the most, with the cozy atmosphere, family gatherings, fairy lights, and pretty decorations. Presents, of course, are an indispensable part of the holiday!
We asked our colleagues to share the most meaningful gifts they received over the holidays.
Gareth McLaughlin Learning and Development Partner, Group Services
I have lots of memories of Christmas, as a child Christmas was a big time for our family, as it is for many others! One toy does stick in my mind more than most but for all the wrong reasons, this is a confession all these years later!
I have a twin brother and for most years, we received the same presents from Santa. I was also a curious child, so I rarely slept the full night and I would often get up very early and explore Santa's presents before anyone else and then go back to bed before the official reveal!
This particular Christmas - me and my brother both received a Boeing 747 toy plane and I got my usual early access and started playing with the plane. Being a curious child, I had no patience for the landing gear to open so I forced it and broke the spring – it wouldn’t close properly again after. Panicking, I swapped this broken plane with my brother’s and went back to bed. My brother (and my parents) couldn’t understand what happened to his, and I have never mentioned what really happened… until now!!
In December 2006, I decided to have the tallest Christmas tree I could ever buy to celebrate the imminent arrival of my first baby boy.
Before he came to earth, I remember looking at his empty bed every day and thinking how lucky I was: in a few days, my son would sleep there. The most significant event that can happen in the life of a woman and her husband too. It was a magical time during the holiday season. My dream was about to become a reality; I was so focused on my career over the past few years that the likelihood of having children had become increasingly low.
Alexis was born on January 7, 2007, 7.7lbs 20 inches. Lots of happiness but also lots of sudden responsibilities and sometimes I felt totally panicked when he was bathing or when he was screaming for his bottle as if he was close to starving.
His sister Léonie was born two years later.
Today, I cannot believe that they are almost 16 or 14 years old. Time flies but all the happiness of this Christmas is still anchored in my head like yesterday!
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