How this hotel group slashed payroll time from 4 hours to one with Employment Hero

About CEMG

Commerce Enterprises Management Group (CEMG) is the team behind a growing portfolio of service apartment hotels across Australia, including ‘Aligned Corporate Residences’ and ‘Corporate Living Accommodation’. With seven properties and a head office, their focus is clear: provide a premium, flexible accommodation experience for long-stay corporate travellers.

Whether it’s relocating professionals, families with pets, or solo travellers needing a kitchen and a laundry over a hotel mini bar, CEMG’s properties offer a “home away from home.” And behind the comfort and concierge-level service? A hardworking team of around 115 employees – casual, full-time, and everything in between.

Andrea Tuck, HR Manager at CEMG, plays a central role in supporting general managers at each hotel, as well as leading people operations across the head office. When she joined, HR processes were anything but centralised.

Juggling sites, systems, and spreadsheets

Before Employment Hero, CEMG’s people and systems were as diverse as their hotel locations.

“We did not really have an HR system,” Andrea explained. “Each property was running things manually – posting job ads, entering data into a separate payroll system, keeping policies in paper folders. There were no automations, no shared visibility.”

Even simple tasks, like getting a report across sites, meant manually retrieving data from seven different systems. 

“It was hard for me to get good reports or even just consistent data. It was very clunky and time-consuming.”

With most staff paid under the hospitality award, Andrea needed a solution that would simplify compliance, streamline onboarding, and give employees the same quality of support the business delivered to its guests.

Compliance confidence without the headaches

For CEMG, one of the first things that made Employment Hero stand out was its smart, no-fuss approach to award interpretation. Compliance made easy.

“It just took that stress away. I no longer had to rely on managers to correctly interpret the award since it just does that for you,” said Andrea.

From the get-go, Employment Hero’s HR and payroll platform brought peace of mind. Built-in compliance checks, automated reminders, and direct integration with Australian workplace legislation were game changers.

Andrea highlighted the ability to do visa checks instantly, something that was once manual and prone to error. 

“Now, the system reminds you when a visa or a certificate is about to expire. It’s not something you have to chase in your calendar anymore.”

She also praised the embedded legal compliance. 

“Using Employment Hero’s legal team means the documents and policies we use are up to date and compliant. That’s really important for a business our size.”

Onboarding that feels like a warm welcome

With multiple hotel locations and a high number of casual staff, employee onboarding used to be a minefield of paperwork.

“Contracts, tax file declarations, super forms… everything was separate. If someone mistyped a bank account, that was it – manual corrections, delays, frustration,” Andrea said.

Today, the process looks entirely different. Onboarding has been streamlined – from sending contracts through the system to collecting TFN and super details online – all of which syncs directly into payroll. The result? Less room for error, more confidence at every step.

Andrea also pointed out the elevated employee experience during onboarding. 

“It gives employees access to their own data straight away, which is so empowering.”

Payroll processing time cut from half a day to 1 hour

In hospitality, time is precious. Before Employment Hero, each general manager would spend nearly half a day every fortnight running payroll. 

“It was a lot of back and forth correcting errors. Now, it takes an hour,” said Andrea.

The shift to Employment Hero’s clocking system was another huge win. It’s given teams a clear, consistent way to track hours and removed the guesswork from approvals.

“We went from Excel rosters and handwritten timesheets to a fully integrated digital system. Managers can now see exactly how much a shift costs, budget more accurately, and plan staffing around bookings.”

Workforce visibility that checks out

When it comes to visibility and control, Employment Hero’s workforce management tools deliver. Leave approvals that used to involve back-and-forth emails are now handled in a few clicks, with seamless integration into payroll.

“Our senior managers can see everyone’s leave in one place, which helps them make better staffing decisions.”

And employees? They’ve embraced the EH Work app with open arms.

“Once they got their first payslip notification on their phone, they were sold,” she laughed. “They can now submit leave, check their shifts, and access everything they need from their pocket.”

Andrea also highlighted the impact of features like the happiness survey and earned wage access. 

“For casuals whose hours vary, being able to access their earnings early helps with budgeting and financial stress. Feedback on that has been extremely positive too.”

“Just do it… it’s completely transformed the way we work”

For Andrea, the value of Employment Hero goes far beyond ticking boxes.

“I can’t express how much easier things have been since implementing this system. We’re more efficient, more compliant, and better connected across our properties.”

Her advice to others in the hospitality industry?

“Just do it. From the clocking system to automated timesheets to payroll, it’s completely transformed the way we work. For small to medium businesses like ours, Employment Hero saves time, removes admin, and helps us focus on what really matters – our people and guests.”

And importantly, Andrea knows Employment Hero is always evolving: “They’re constantly trying new things and improving existing tools. That means we can keep improving, too.”

Want to experience Employment Hero for yourself?

Employment Hero is an all-in-one Employment Operating System for HR, payroll, and recruitment built to simplify compliance, automate admin, and empower your people. From onboarding to offboarding, we streamline every step of the employee lifecycle so you can spend less time on processes and more time scaling your business.

Want to see how companies like Waterware are transforming their HR operations and driving real business impact? Book a demo with our business specialists today.