From ad hoc to organised HR at Australiz

A growing business in need of structure

Australiz Pty Ltd, a small but fast-growing engineering firm in Tasmania, had recently reached a turning point. With a team that had expanded to 15 employees, their HR processes were no longer sustainable.

Ruth Rowlands, the company’s People and Culture Manager, stepped into her role full-time this year, bringing decades of experience in people management. However, she soon recognised that there was room to improve and formalise the company’s existing HR practices

Before Employment Hero, managing essential HR functions such as onboarding, policy compliance and employee performance was challenging and inconsistent. “It was really ad hoc. Once we started growing, it became clear we needed a system that could ensure we didn’t miss anything,” Ruth shared.

Employment Hero provided that structure, giving Australiz a centralised, easy-to-use platform that streamlined HR processes, reduced administrative burden and enhanced transparency across the business.

Strengthening compliance with structured policy management

With compliance and safety being critical in engineering, Australiz needed a better way to manage policies & procedures. Employment Hero allowed them to store, update and track employee acknowledgments of important policies in one place.

“Policies form the foundation of what you’re doing in a workplace. If you don’t have them right, things unravel quickly. Having all our policies in one place means we don’t have to second-guess compliance. Employees can easily access and acknowledge policies like the new ‘Right to Disconnect’ legislation, ensuring everything is up to date.”

To ensure engagement, Australiz took a proactive approach. “We don’t just send out policies for people to read and tick a box,” Ruth explained. “We discuss them in our Monday team meetings, so they’re actually understood and followed.”

A game-changer for the employee experience and HR efficiency

Since implementing Employment Hero, Australiz has seen a dramatic reduction in admin time and stress, while also improving the employee experience.

“For employees, it’s easy to use and gives them a confidential, professional platform. It shows them that we’re serious about supporting them in their role,” Ruth said.

For management, the ability to track HR activities, such as performance reviews and policy acknowledgments, has been extremely helpful. “If someone asks, ‘Did we do that performance review two months ago?’ we don’t have to go searching through emails or files – it’s all there in the platform.”

Australiz has also leveraged performance management features to facilitate one-on-ones, 360-degree feedback and performance improvement plans. “The ability to document performance plans in real-time, with full transparency for employees and managers, has been a huge time-saver,” Ruth shared. “Before, something like this could take days. Now, it’s all structured and we don’t waste time on back-and-forth communication.”

Significant time savings and a stress-free HR process

While Ruth acknowledges that she’s still learning everything Employment Hero offers, the impact is already clear. “I would have spent hours – if not days – on things like performance plans in my previous roles. Now, Employment Hero has cut that time significantly.”

Beyond time savings, the reduced mental load on both employees and managers has been invaluable. “HR processes can be stressful, but having everything structured and transparent removes so much of that pressure.”

A seamless approach to employee transitions with the exit interview feature

One of the standout features for Ruth and the team has been the platform’s exit interview tool. When Australiz offboarded its first employee through the platform, Ruth saw firsthand how much smoother and more professional the process could be.

“The exit review gave them time to really think through their responses. If you run face-to-face exit interviews, people don’t always get the chance to reflect properly. But with Employment Hero, they could go through the questions in their own time and it was all securely stored in one place.”

Not only did this process maintain confidentiality, but it also provided valuable insights. “We had a meeting with his manager and one of the directors after the employee they left and we could go through his responses together. It gave us good insight into areas we could enhance our policies and procedures. The fact that it’s all in one system makes it so much easier.”

Why other engineering firms should take note

For other engineering companies considering Employment Hero, Ruth has one key piece of advice: “You need someone to champion it internally, but once you do, it makes everything around people management easier.”

In an industry where precision and structure are essential, having a centralised, reliable HR system has been a game-changer for Australiz. “It actually enhances the business rather than adding more stress,” Ruth said.

Ready to transform your HR processes?

Australiz Engineering has seen firsthand how Employment Hero saves time, reduces stress and enhances the employee experience. If you’re looking for an HR solution tailored to the needs of an engineering business, it’s time to book a demo and see the difference for yourself.