Formed in 1950, Christchurch-based Isaac Construction has a well-deserved reputation for excellence. Their commitment to quality has resulted in an organisation of over 300 specialists who deliver a wide range of services, including construction, surfacing, transport, quarrying, and professional contract management services to prestigious customers such as Christchurch International Airport, Clearwater Resort and Christchurch City Council.
Naturally, the firm expects this same standard of quality from their business solutions and technology partners.
Tackling legacy HR and payroll processes
Isaac Construction had a number of complex payroll and HR processes that relied heavily on manual systems. These, unfortunately, fell short in the performance stakes and held the company back in its drive for perfection.
Timesheets were completed by employees that only captured daily stop/start information, which were then sent to managers for approval. The system wasn’t tailored to the needs of different employee groups and didn’t encapsulate or report on job costings. On-the-job use of plant items, like trucks, forklifts, diggers and graders, wasn’t automatically logged, and mobile access to timesheets and approvals was a no-go.
A fully-featured, modern HR and payroll application was the obvious choice to capture the kind of accurate, real-time information necessary to keep the business moving up.
The importance of a solid partnership
Isaac Construction selected MYOB PayGlobal as their new payroll and HR solution in 2014, and engaged Fusion5 as their implementation and support partner.
As the leading independent provider of PayGlobal services across Australia and New Zealand, Fusion5 works with well-known organisations with unique and complex operational and payroll needs. Customers range in size from a few hundred employees to over 5,000.
The partnership decision proved to be a good one for the business, says Arlee Folkers, Isaac Construction’s CFO (and a former PayGlobal contractor). “Fusion5 met all our requirements. They helped us successfully implement PayGlobal and — importantly — supported us going forward.”
The initial PayGlobal project went so well, and the ongoing support was so consistent and valuable, that Isaac Construction had no hesitation in turning to Fusion5 for other solutions.
Recently, Folkers asked Fusion5 to implement TimeFiler to replace an intensive manual timesheet process. The web-based time management system successfully cut out the close managerial attention previously required throughout each project.
“Working with Fusion5 to implement PayGlobal got us the desired outcome — and it was seamless, it went extremely well,” says Folkers. “So, when it came to implementing TimeFiler a couple of years after go-live with PayGlobal, we naturally decided that we would go with them again.”
And she’s more than happy having made that decision.
Fusion5 has a wealth of knowledge and the ability to turn my wish list into concrete results, which makes my life easier."
Laying the foundations for efficient system-led processes
Fusion5 worked closely with Isaac Construction to identify where important processes could be automated and streamlined.
For example, they created job code links to managers in Isaac Construction’s accounting system. This relationship is automatically made available on the relevant employees’ timesheets. This means employees can record their time against multiple jobs with appropriate plant usage. Manager approvals are routed to the assigned manager based on the job selected, and timesheets are directed to the appropriate manager or supervisor for sign off.
Data entry validation rules configured in TimeFiler provide employees with real-time on-screen alerts. The business now has a mechanism to accurately capture and measure cost allocations for equipment use and paid employee hours.
Fusion5 created payroll interfaces, linking data between critical business systems. The interfaces streamline Isaac Construction’s invoicing process by exporting the costs for each job, including plant use, from PayGlobal directly to the company’s financial system.
Together, the PayGlobal and TimeFiler projects successfully eradicated Isaac Construction’s double handling of paper, approvals and costing information – an issue that is no longer holding them back.
Invested in knowledge
As someone who describes herself as direct and outcome-oriented, Folkers prefers to engage with people who have significant experience. She values the level of expertise that Fusion5 bring to their relationship.
This includes specific experience with payroll, time and attendance, rostering, human resources, self-service, reporting services, business intelligence, integration services and workflow, along with SQL integration, report writer, SSIS and database triggers to add non-standard functionality, PayGlobal report writing and 3rd party integration options.
“Who are you going to trust more?” Folkers asks. “The person who’s done one project or 50? Fusion5 has a wealth of knowledge and the ability to turn my wish list into concrete results, which makes my life easier.”
The combination of Fusion5’s project methodology, Isaac Construction's decision to use a dedicated project manager, and a united approach to project structures, guaranteed an efficiently-run implementation.
