Kaizer Community’s HR overhaul: Payroll automation, compliance & employee engagement

A technology-driven approach to HR

Kaizer Community, a leading provider of youth care services, has undergone a significant transformation in how they manage their workforce. With a team of over 130 staff – predominantly casual youth workers – efficient HR processes are essential to their operations. At the helm of this transformation is General Manager James Stone, whose deep-rooted experience with Employment Hero has allowed the organisation to leverage the platform beyond just payroll and rostering.

Before joining Kaizer Community in November 2023, James had implemented Employment Hero at his previous technology company. Having witnessed the platform’s evolution firsthand, he was confident it could do more for Kaizer Community. 

“When I first came on board, Kazier Community was using it the platform at base level – just payroll and rostering,” he explained. 

Determined to optimise its potential, James began rolling out new functionalities, turning Employment Hero into their single source of truth for all things HR.

Streamlining payroll and compliance with automation

For Kaizer Community, payroll processing used to be a time-consuming, manual task that involved calculating allowances and overtime by hand. Recognising this inefficiency, James upgraded the organisation to Employment Hero’s Premium plan to gain direct access to support and implement much-needed automation.

“We process payroll weekly, and before automation, our team was manually calculating first aid allowances, overtime, and other entitlements. Now, it’s all automated, and we’re saving about five hours per week,” James shared. 

This time-saving measure has allowed their payroll officer to focus on strategic projects instead of repetitive administrative work.

Award interpretation was another critical challenge. Given that Kaizer Community operates under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award – a notoriously complex framework – accuracy is paramount. “Having confidence that the system is interpreting the award correctly and reducing our legal liability is huge for us,” James emphasised.

Engaging employees through surveys and feedback

A strong workplace culture is built on communication, and Kaizer Community has fully embraced Employment Hero’s survey functionality to ensure employee voices are heard. The organisation runs monthly pulse surveys alongside an annual engagement survey to track satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.

“One of the biggest takeaways from last year’s survey was that our staff needed better resources. We found that some of our youth workers were struggling to sleep because the mattresses in their accommodation weren’t up to standard. As a direct result, we purchased new mattresses, and that made a real difference. We also upgraded the laptops in our houses because staff were losing productivity due to slow systems.”

James believes that acting on feedback strengthens trust between leadership and employees. “It’s not just about collecting data. We make sure staff see real changes based on their input, and that encourages higher participation.”

Driving performance with goal setting

Another game-changer for Kaizer Community has been Employment Hero’s goal-setting module. This year marks the first time the organisation has formalised company-wide objectives using the platform.

“I wanted our whole staff to be aligned on what we’re trying to achieve in 2025 and feel like they’re part of the journey,” James said. By tracking Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) within the platform, the leadership team can keep goals transparent and celebrate milestones. “If it’s just me saying, ‘This is what we’re doing,’ it’s not going to be as successful. We need the whole team to be involved.”

Enhancing recruitment efficiency

Hiring the right people is crucial in an organisation with a large casual workforce, and Employment Hero’s recruitment module has provided Kaizer Community with a more structured and efficient hiring process.

“Before, we were managing applications manually through Seek and emails. Now, everything is in one system, and we can track candidates, add notes, and collaborate on hiring decisions,” James explained. The ability to bulk-upload CVs and conduct structured evaluations has significantly improved their recruitment process.

A future-proofed HR system

Kaizer Community’s HR transformation is a testament to how Employment Hero can drive efficiency, compliance, and engagement within an organisation. What started as a simple payroll and rostering tool has evolved into an essential platform that underpins their entire HR strategy.

“For any business considering Employment Hero, I’d highlight automation, compliance, ease of use, and ease of setup. It’s given us confidence in our processes and freed up valuable time so we can focus on supporting our staff and delivering better outcomes for the young people in our care.”

Ready to transform your HR processes like Kaizer Community? Book a demo with one of our business specialists today.