The antidote to inefficiency: Tū Ora Compass Health saves 25% on HR and Payroll with Employment Hero

About Tū Ora

Overseeing over 350,000 patients through 58 medical practices, Tū Ora is a primary care network supporting better health outcomes in the greater Wellington region through a range of primary healthcare services and community support, with an emphasis on culturally relevant care.

Tū Ora’s People and Capability Lead (P&C Lead) oversees the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to offboarding. This includes business partnering, general employee relations, remuneration, organisational development, diversity and inclusion, and wellness strategies.

When we spoke to them recently, they explained that managing HR and payroll for such a large, complex organisation had proved challenging for a long time. Previously relying on outdated, disconnected systems for key HR and payroll tasks, and with their previous HRIS system being discontinued, they decided they needed to try a new approach. 

Searching for the perfect HR and payroll solution

Before Employment Hero, HR and payroll processes for Tū Ora were run through two separate systems.

“The two systems never spoke to each other, which just really slowed everything down,” the P&C Lead explained.

In 2022-2023, their team started doing some serious research, including an extensive review of all the many options available in the Australasian market. In the end, they decided Employment Hero would be the best fit.

“It ticked all of our boxes,” the P&C Lead said.

“It was leaner, cleaner, more efficient, and much more user-friendly for staff. The reporting capabilities were also significantly better than the other platforms we explored.”

Healthy savings with an all-in-one solution 

Since implementation, Tū Ora recounts saving at least 30% of team time across HR & payroll. 

“Even with the higher subscription costs of the previous two systems, it equates to an overall net saving of $125,000 or almost 25% of what we were previously spending on total team salaries,” they shared.

“We were even able to disestablish one full-time HR role and change a previously payroll-only role into a joint payroll/HR position because the amount of manual, offline work was no longer necessary.”

“Employment Hero allowed us to move away from very clunky, outdated systems and bring everything together in one simple place.”

Streamlining payroll and leave management

With the team fully onboarded onto Employment Hero, Tū Ora saw their payroll processes significantly streamlined.

“The payroll process is much slicker and more automated than what we had before,” the P&C Lead explained.

“Reporting is easier to run and interpret, and payday filing is much more transparent.”

Gaining compliance confidence now easier than ever

Employment Hero’s compliance tracking has also been a game-changer for the P&C team. Before implementing the platform, they relied on offline spreadsheets to track employee certifications, such as annual practising certificates and driver’s licenses. 

“A staff member had to manually check these spreadsheets weekly, filter out those due for renewal, and send emails out — it was all very hands-on and prone to errors. Now, we can instantly see who is coming up for renewal, get automated reminders and save a huge amount of time,” they explained.

Performance reviews revolutionised

The P&C Lead shared that Employment Hero has also helped them transform their performance review processes. Previously, annual reviews were conducted using a basic two-page Word document.

“Now, our performance reviews are fully integrated into the system, linked to each staff member’s profile, and allow for a much more comprehensive and structured review process. 

“Plus, the team can now log one-on-one meeting notes directly within the platform,” they shared.”

”It means that now, there’s two-way communication between managers and employees. We’re really excited to use it again this year.”

Expense management made easy

Before Employment Hero, the organisation handled expenses manually via email and Excel spreadsheets. Employees would email payment receipts to managers for approval, which would then be manually processed by finance staff. 

“Now, staff just take a photo of their receipts, upload it to the app, and the claim goes straight to their manager for approval,” the P&C Lead explained.

“It then flows through to payroll and gets paid in the next pay run. It’s eliminated so many steps..”

A future-proofed HR and payroll system

Tū Ora’s P&C Lead strongly recommends Employment Hero to other healthcare providers. After evaluating 18 different alternatives, here’s what they had to say:

“It’s miles better than what we had and better than what many primary health organisations are using now. In fact, one of those organisations is now actively looking at Employment Hero after hearing about our positive experience.”

How was the transition to Employment Hero?

Tū Ora found the transition to Employment Hero very smooth and carefully managed, with dedicated onboarding support. 

“The team was really knowledgeable,” the P&C Lead reflected. “We had weekly calls, and they supported us right through the process.”

With Employment Hero, Tū Ora Compass Health has moved from inefficient, disconnected systems to a modern, integrated platform that saves time, reduces costs, and improves compliance. 

Want to experience Employment Hero for yourself?

Employment Hero is the all-in-one HR, payroll, and recruitment platform that streamlines your employment processes so you can focus on growing your business! 

Looking to streamline HR and bring more value to your business like Tū Ora? Book ademo with our business specialists today.