How October Protection fortified their HR and payroll with Employment Hero

About October Protection

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Christchurch, October Protection has grown into one of New Zealand’s leading providers of professional security services. The company delivers end-to-end security solutions for a diverse client base – from shopping centres and event venues to high-security government and correctional facilities. With nearly 300 employees and operations spanning both the South and North Islands, efficient workforce management isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s mission-critical.

Jason Hester, Project Manager and HR Lead, oversees operations across several sites, including those for Oranga Tamariki. As someone who juggles project delivery, HR, and payroll, Jason was acutely aware of the cracks in their old system… and how quickly they needed a smarter solution.

How payroll went from days to hours

Before switching to Employment Hero, Jason described the payroll process as painfully manual and slow.

“It used to take us three days to prepare pay runs,” Jason recalls. “Now? Three hours, tops.”

Every single shift had to be entered manually, which often involved back-and-forth for missing data. With Employment Hero’s streamlined rostering and payroll integration, Jason can now import rosters, run payroll, and export files to the bank in just a few clicks.

“It’s just a couple of button clicks and away you go,” he says. “It’s really cool.”

Security clearance, made digital

Previously, onboarding was fully manual. Staff completed physical forms that were often illegible, inconsistent, or incomplete.

“It used to take one to two hours per person, not counting all the chasing for missing info,” Jason says. “Now it takes 10 minutes to set them up and they do the rest themselves.”

Training also got a major upgrade. October Protection now uses Employment Hero to push out digital modules, some created in-house, saving hours in costs and in-person coordination.

“We used to need seminars or one-on-one sessions. Now we just issue it digitally and track who’s completed it. It costs nothing and saves a ton of time.”

Smarter comms without the chaos

Managing such a dispersed team used to mean hours spent copying and pasting contact info. Not anymore.

“The employee correspondence tool is a lifesaver. You just group staff by site or role and hit send,” Jason explains. “It’s way better than Outlook – no digging through contacts or chasing emails.”

It’s streamlined everything from routine bulletins to important updates. 

“Now we can push out procedural changes or Stand Operating Procedures in minutes and even see who’s read them.”

Break-in free workflows

In security, accountability is everything, and that includes how you handle discipline and compliance. Employment Hero gave Jason the tools to log, manage, and track employee conduct efficiently and defensibly. 

Rather than scrambling to build a paper trail after the fact, October Protection now has an airtight system. 

“If someone’s turning up late or repeatedly wearing the wrong uniform, we can log that immediately. Every conversation, every document – it’s all in one place.”

‘Just do it’

Jason wears many hats – from overseeing payroll and staffing for high-security contracts to delivering meticulously detailed reports for government clients like the U.S. Embassy and Oranga Tamariki. In a role where precision and timing are everything, having the flexibility to switch gears without missing a beat makes all the difference.

“Employment Hero lets me step away from payroll mid-process and pick it back up without losing my place. It’s given me breathing room to focus on high-stakes reporting.”

When asked what he’d say to another security operator considering Employment Hero, Jason didn’t hesitate.

“Just do it,” he says. “Support has been awesome – I always get answers the same day.”

Want to experience Employment Hero for yourself?

October Protection now has a digital backbone as strong as its field teams. With HR, payroll, onboarding, and compliance humming in the background, Jason and his colleagues can focus on what really matters: protecting people, places, and peace of mind.

Employment Hero is your 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 October Protection are transforming their HR operations and driving real business impact? Book a demo with our business specialists today.