At a glance
Explore this case study if:
- Your business is growing and you need intuitive and easy to use tools that can scale with you
- You want to know how you can hire a global team while staying compliant in every region
- You want to support your team to stay connected as your business grows
About Smokeball
Smokeball provides industry-leading practice management software for lawyers and conveyancers, helping them look after their practice and run it like a business, but without the headaches.
We spoke with Abigail Malloy, People and Culture Manager at Smokeball about the difference Employment Hero’s Global Teams has made since they adopted the platform.
Challenges…
Meeting the needs of a rapidly scaling global business
Since the pandemic, Smokeball has expanded around the globe, and they needed a tool with more functionality to meet their needs.
“I think the reporting functions within Employment Hero are a lot more sophisticated. The platform itself is really intuitive and easy to use. It has some great functionality for us, and I think will continue to help us grow and scale in a way that’s efficient and really effective.”
When Smokeball expanded into the Philippines, the small local team needed to be hired through a third party. With Employment Hero able to act as Employer of Record, that brought everything under one roof. Being supported by the same team brought consistency and transparency, and excellent customer service of course.
Abigail says that was a no-brainer, helping Smokeball to “align along the way that we work across teams and make sure that things are really efficient for us.”
Payroll integration issues
Not every HR software solution integrates with payroll, and the lack of transparency or communication across departments can make life difficult for payroll and HR teams.
When you have a global workforce but only one payroll person, it’s a lot to ask. As Smokeball grew, this function became overwhelming, so finding an HR solution that integrated with payroll became a top priority.
“…having a system like Employment Hero which is able to automate a lot of things for us and make our life significantly easier… It was a bit of a no brainer.”
Performance management that actually performs
With teams around the globe, data on performance management can easily get lost – and not just in translation.
Performance reviews must be kept confidential, but if performance management is only ever handled locally, documents can get lost, misplaced, or not stored securely. This isn’t just a security issue – it makes audits a headache, and creates a lack of transparency for HR teams. It could even adversely impact employee career progression.
With one centralised system, employee files are safe and secure, making performance management a breeze.
“… having an actual go to point now where we can put something into the employee file, we know that it’s safe and secure, and that they can access it has made our lives a lot easier.”
Solutions…
Local knowledge, Global Teams
For small businesses operating globally, it’s crucial to have accurate information to ensure compliance. Employment Hero’s Global Teams provide that local expertise on all things employment, giving you complete peace of mind as an employer.
“It’s really comforting to know that we have a team who was able to provide us with that information, because it’s not the easiest thing to try and research individually. So knowing that there’s someone looking after it makes life a lot easier for us. And just make sure that we’re doing the right thing by our teams there.”
Trusted experts
We know that as small businesses, you’re experts in your field, and you might not have all of the HR know-how that you want to have to be able to support your employees. But that’s what we’re here for. We’ve put all of our HR expertise into one platform, so that you can concentrate on what you do best – running your business, knowing that your team is in safe hands.
“…whilst we do have experience in HR, it’s nice to know that the documents we’re using now, the Employment Hero templates, have been looked over by content experts, legal experts and experts in the HR field. We feel more secure using that information and knowing that all the different things that we may potentially forget have been considered by somebody else.”
Support, when you need it
Got a question? Stuck on something? Need a hand? Our tech support is second to none. From getting the answers you need when you need it, to bouncing ideas off an HR expert, we’re here for you.
“The teams are fantastic. The HR support line has been a really wonderful tool for us to just bounce ideas off people and get a sort of collaboration between us and other HR experts in different fields, which has been really, really beneficial for us….
“The team is so responsive…. If they have questions around the platform, they know that someone’s gonna get back to them quickly.”
So for the team themselves, knowing they have support immediately available to them, they’ve got a dedicated person who has been fantastic… Being able to ask her a gazillion different questions to make sure that we’re all aligned on the same thing. And the absolute patience that they’re able to provide us is great.”
An HR system that’s there for you when you need it
For any HR team, the ultimate goal is to be there for your people. From integrating with payroll to encouraging employee engagement and productivity, to curating a strong company culture, you want your HR tools to be able to support your mission and make your life easier.
Employment – made easy.
That’s our mission, and we’re delighted to be able to support Smokeball as they grow and serve both their employees and their clients. We want our clients to be able to have the tools they need, at their fingertips, before they even know they need it.
“So it’s been, honestly, it’s been a real joy, to be able to bring across my Philippines team through Global Teams and how it all integrates, the one system just makes life so much easier.
We’re really, really happy with our decision, at the end of the day that is the simplest way of putting it… the team is a massive help.”
If you’d like to learn more about how Employment Hero can help your business and be there for you as you scale – speak to one of our business specialists today.
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