Product update January 2025

A big hello from the Employment Hero team and welcome to the first product update for 2025. We hope you had a restful break and are getting ready for your biggest and best year yet!

2024 was a big year for the Employment Hero team, and 2025 is going to be even bigger. With that being said, let’s get straight to it – there’s lots to cover.

New report type provides oversight of workforce costs

Available on the following plans: Classic: Platinum, EOS: Unlimited

For business owners, every dollar counts. That’s why in this product update we’ve made it easier to view the total costs of your workforce per month with a new report type. This new report type includes the costs of actual (currently occupied roles) and planned (vacant roles to be filled), based on the effective pay rate of each position. To access yours, navigate to the Reports tab and select ‘Workforce Planning Cost’.

Keep employee performance ratings up to date

Available on the following plans: Classic: Platinum, EOS: Plus, Unlimited

Admins now have the ability to update employee performance ratings within the 9-Box talent grid, as well as managers on behalf of their direct reports. This means if a primary manager isn’t available for any reason, employee ratings can still be amended so that they stay up-to-date and accurate. Give it a try by heading to the HR platform and selecting the 9-Box Talent Grid from within the Reports tab.

Learn more about developing talent with the 9-Box Talent Grid.

Merged document tabs for easier document management

Available on the following plans: Classic: Standard, Premium, Platinum, EOS: Lite, Plus, Unlimited

The HR documents and Uploaded documents tabs have now been merged, making it easier for you to identify, issue and access employee documents.

Learn more about the document management feature.

Employees can now request peer feedback

Available on the following plans: Classic: Free, Standard, Premium, Platinum, EOS: Limited, Lite, Plus

You and your employees can now take ownership of your professional development by requesting feedback directly from colleagues. To try this new product update, simply log into the HR platform and select Development, and then Feedback from the sidebar. There is a new Request feedback button, as well as two new tabs to track requests sent and received.

Learn how to add, view and edit peer feedback.

Rostering management enhancements

Anonymous 360 review responses

Available on the following plans: Classic: Platinum, EOS: Unlimited

We’ve given Admins greater functionality when managing 360 reviews, ensuring anonymity in the responses.

Now when an employee creates their own 360 review they will need to select at least three respondents and will only be able to see a summary of results, rather than individualised responses. When an admin creates a 360 review on behalf of other employees, they will also need to select at least three respondents for each employee in the review.

Note: Admins can still see responses on an individual level.

Learn more about managing 360 reviews.

View employee certification statuses, shift clashes and more

Available on the following plans: Classic: Platinum, EOS: Lite, Plus, Unlimited

When assigning shifts requiring certifications in Rostering Management, the employee list now displays which available employees are ‘Certified’ or ‘Not certified’. Any issues such as shift clashes, employee unavailability or leave will be flagged directly within the Rostering Management template flow.

Find out more about rostering management.

New ‘one click’ and drag and drop options in Rostering Management

Available on the following plans: Classic: Standard, Premium, Platinum, EOS: Plus, Lite, Unlimited

In the Rostering Management flow, you can now save and publish shifts with one click; save and publish in the shift creation window, or publish all draft shifts with the publish button on the left-hand side. With this product update you can now also drag and drop existing shifts to different dates, or between employees in the employee view.

New report type: Stats NZ Quarterly Employment Survey report

Available on the following plans: Classic: Standard, Premium

We’ve introduced a new report which makes it easier for you to gather the data you’ll need to complete the Stats NZ Quarterly Employment Survey. Instead of manually sourcing this data, you can now collect it in a few simple clicks. To access it, simply navigate to the Reports tab, select ‘Stats NZ QES Report’ and export it to Excel to use all relevant data.

Note: Stats NZ uses this data to measure employment data in NZ, changes in different industries and to contribute to NZs Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and productivity figures. You can find out more about the survey on the Stats NZ website.

Find out more about this new report type.

That’s a wrap for January!

Many of our product updates are made as a result of feedback from our customers – so thank you for helping us to continuously improve.

Whether it’s HR, recruitment, or payroll, you can expect to find product updates here – all designed to make your world at work easier and more valuable. If you’d like to stay up to date with our content, you can visit our resource hub or follow us on LinkedIn.