From the sandpit to the spreadsheet: How Global Sky is making childcare HR less chaotic
At a glance
Company
Global Sky Education
Location
Capricorn Coast, Gold Coast and Adelaide
Employees
180+
Product
Premium Payroll and Platinum HR
Read this case study if:
- You’re juggling multiple HR and payroll systems and need one place for everything.
- You want to empower local leaders to manage staff while maintaining compliance.
- You work in childcare or a similar compliance-heavy, multi-site environment.
A childcare provider with growing needs
Global Sky Education is a thriving childcare organisation operating eight centres across Australia. With 180 – 200 staff and a need to remain compliant, connected and consistent across all locations, the HR admin burden was growing. The team relied on multiple systems; Kronos, Xero and others to manage their people data, payroll and compliance – making daily operations disjointed and time-consuming.
“We had three separate programs to do what Employment Hero now does in one,” said Billy Smith, Talent Advisor at Global Sky Education. “It was incredibly manual and I was constantly switching tabs to get the information I needed. It was time-consuming and just wasn’t scalable anymore.”
A single platform for everything HR and payroll
When Billy and the team made the decision to move to Employment Hero, they were seeking more than just a better experience; they needed a platform that could support their pace of growth and provide visibility across all locations.
“I was part of the implementation from day one. It was very involved but incredibly worthwhile,” Billy shared. “Now, all the information I need such as contracts, pay levels and certifications, is in one place. It’s saved me so much time in my role supporting the centre managers.”
From employee records to rostering, time sheets and onboarding, Global Sky Education now runs its entire HR and payroll function on one centralised platform. “The ability to have everything in one place is a massive win,” Billy said.
Every day efficiencies through smart features
For a business managing a mobile and dynamic workforce, daily admin tasks can pile up quickly. That’s why rostering, time sheets and clock-in/clock-out features are some of the most valuable tools in Employment Hero’s toolbox.
“We use rostering and timesheets every single day. Having that integrated with the clock-in/clock-out feature in the same app has made a big difference,” Billy explained. “It’s helped us manage staff who work across different centres and made our day-to-day smoother.”
The digital nature of the system means Billy can quickly assist centre managers from afar, troubleshoot issues and oversee all staff movements with a few clicks.
Empowering managers and decentralising HR admin
One of the most significant shifts Billy noticed was how Employment Hero helped transfer ownership of HR tasks to individual centres.
“Our centre managers now have the tools and access to monitor their team’s compliance, pay level progressions and onboarding,” Billy said. “It’s significantly reduced the amount of chasing I need to do – they’re taking ownership themselves.”
By allowing the managers to track certifications like Blue Cards and ensure their teams meet industry requirements, Employment Hero has decentralised key HR processes without sacrificing compliance or control.
Recruitment built for childcare
Although Billy was initially hesitant to move away from Seek, Global Sky have since found value in Employment Hero’s built-in recruitment tools, especially talent search.
“I’ve started using Employment Hero’s talent search more and more – it’s useful having everything together.”
Even for managers new to recruitment tech, Billy makes sure everything is documented: “I take notes on every applicant for the General Manager to read later. It’s all visible in one place, which is super helpful across the business.”
Seamless onboarding and standout support
With 180 new contracts needing distribution earlier this year, Billy put Employment Hero’s contract generation and kiosk onboarding tools to the test.
“It was a mission setting up ten new templates,” Billy said with a laugh. “But once they were ready, it made it so easy to roll out those 180 contracts. It was just a matter of hitting send.”
Billy also highlighted the value of Employment Hero’s support: “Compared to other platforms, the support team is amazing. They’re really helpful when I need them. That makes a big difference.”
Making work easier so educators can focus on what matters
At the heart of Global Sky Education’s adoption of Employment Hero is a desire to make work easier for everyone, from head office to the classroom.
“It’s not just about saving time, it’s about allowing our people to focus on the kids and not the admin,” Billy said.
The features that help keep a childcare organisation like Global Sky Education compliant, connected and confident are the same features that can help others across the sector, especially those with multiple sites or compliance-heavy workflows.
“Employment Hero makes my job easier. It’s changed how we manage people in the best way,” said Billy.
Want to see how Employment Hero can support your business? Book a free demo and see how we’re making work easier and more valuable, every day.
