How Sentrian transformed their HR and payroll processes with Employment Hero

A growing IT Business in need of a smarter HR solution

Sentrian is a Brisbane-based technology services provider that keeps businesses running smoothly behind the scenes. Whether it’s an accounting firm needing secure data management or a legal practice requiring reliable IT support, Sentrian is the team ensuring their systems stay online. With over 50 employees consisting of mostly full-time staff, Sentrian needed a way to simplify their People and Culture operations as they scaled.

Sophia Byrne, Head of People and Culture, manages Sentrian’s people processes and focuses on creating an efficient and seamless employee experience. Sentrian implemented Employment Hero in 2019 to support this goal, leveraging the platform for six years to streamline HR and payroll. Before Employment Hero, however, the process was anything but seamless.

Disconnected systems slowing everything down

Sentrian had no single platform to manage the People and Culture processes – just a collection of manual systems and workarounds:

• A custom database for salaries and employee records
• Spreadsheets for tracking training and compliance
• A separate payroll provider that didn’t integrate with HR
• Paper forms for simple changes like bank account updates or leave requests

“We had all these different systems that weren’t connected. It meant a lot of admin. Employees would have to fill out forms for everything and we’d have to process them manually,” said Sophia.

The tipping point came when the company grew to a size where these individual systems were no longer sustainable. Sentrian needed a platform that could centralise everything and free up time for more strategic work.

Shifting to a single source of truth

Employment Hero provided Sentrian with a fully integrated HR and payroll system, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation and streamlining processes across the business.

“The biggest benefit is consolidation. Instead of jumping between different systems, we have everything in one place. Employees can update their details themselves and we don’t have to deal with endless forms.”

Payroll: From double-checking to done in one click

Payroll used to be a time-consuming task requiring constant cross-checking.

“We’d have to manually reconcile payroll against our other systems. Now, what’s recorded in Employment Hero is fact – we don’t have to double-check it anymore. It’s a huge time-saver for our finance team.”

With payroll integrated into a single platform, Sentrian’s team can trust that leave balances, timesheets and pay records are always accurate.

Leave management that works for everyone

Leave requests were another source of inefficiency before Employment Hero. Their team had less visibility across who was on leave, leading to constant back-and-forth between systems.

“The leave calendar has been fantastic. Now, our operations team can see who else is on leave before approving a request. It makes scheduling much easier and reduces the flood of unnecessary emails.”

This change has had a major impact on Sentrian’s operations team, who previously had to manually track and approve leave requests. Now, the entire process is automated, saving them so much time across the board.

Recruitment: No more clunky email threads

Hiring at Sentrian was once a slow, manual process. Without an applicant tracking system, Sophia and the hiring managers had to track candidates via email.

“The recruitment module has been a massive time-saver. We can now track candidates properly, share them with managers and even bulk-contact applicants.”

Employment Hero has helped ensure a seamless transition from hiring to onboarding.

“Once someone is hired, everything flows straight into onboarding. It’s made the process so much easier.”

Empowering managers with performance and one-on-ones

Sentrian’s managers now have better tools to support their teams.

“The one-on-one function is fantastic. Managers have all their notes in one place and performance reviews are much smoother. We do 6 week, three-month and six-month reviews for new staff through Employment Hero and it’s working really well.”

Having everything centralised means managers no longer rely on scattered notes or memory when tracking employee performance.

More time for what matters

For Sophia, the shift to Employment Hero means less time spent on admin and more time on strategic work.

“I’m the only full-time person in People and Culture for 50+ staff. Any time I save on admin can be spent on bigger projects. Now, I can focus on developing initiatives that actually benefit the business.”

Simple HR with a click of a button 

As a technology services provider, Sentrian’s employees expect software that is fast, intuitive and easy to navigate.

“Tech people won’t use clunky systems,” Sophia laughs. “If something takes more than three clicks, they’ll complain about it. Employment Hero has been great because it’s user-friendly and efficient. It fits well with how we work.”

Growing with Employment Hero

While Sentrian has already seen huge benefits, Sophia is excited about future improvements.

“One of the best things about Employment Hero is that it keeps evolving. Every time there’s an update, it brings real benefits. We’ve really enjoyed growing alongside the platform.”

For Sentrian, Employment Hero has transformed HR from a frustrating process into a seamless, automated system – saving time, reducing admin and helping the business run more efficiently.

Looking to streamline your employment processes and bring more value to your business? Book a demo with our business specialists today.