Leonardo has been a global leader in the Aerospace, Defence and Security industry for over 70 years, delivering advanced, interconnected technologies that ensure safety and continuity for people, systems and infrastructure.
In the UK, Leonardo is one of the biggest suppliers of defence and security equipment to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and makes a significant contribution to the UK economy with revenues of £2.5 billion, around 37% of which are in export. Here, the company operates from nine main sites and employs over 8,500 highly skilled people.
Running payroll for such a large and complex workforce is no small feat. That’s why Leonardo chose to outsource to an expert provider. Its solution of choice? Zellis Managed Services.
The need to manage complexity at scale
Managing payroll in a highly regulated and sensitive industry like Aerospace, Defence and Security brings unique challenges. Specialist skills, particularly in areas like cybersecurity, are in high demand, with attrition rates sometimes reaching 30%. That makes the recruitment and onboarding experience critical.
“Getting recruitment and onboarding right is a real focus for us, not least because of the timescales involved,” says Darren Bartholomew, Leonardo’s Head of HR Planning and Information Systems. “In some cases, it can be up to a year between an individual accepting a job offer and the actual start date. So, when we do attract talent into the business, we have to do everything we can to retain them.”
Beyond talent acquisition, Leonardo needed to harmonise payroll processes across the business, improve data analytics capabilities, and ensure continuity of service – whatever the circumstances. It also needed a partner who could help it stay ahead of emerging technology, rather than perpetually catching up.
Instead of managing everything itself, Leonardo decided it needed a payroll and HR partner capable of managing the entire employee lifecycle – from hire to retire – while driving stronger business outcomes. It found that partner in Zellis – a company with a continuous improvement mindset that promised to act as a true extension of the Leonardo team: Focused on delivering seamless processes, with the ability to coordinate effectively with third-party suppliers.
The Zellis Managed Services solution is underpinned by ResourceLink HR and payroll software. The partnership covers day-to-day employee services, project delivery, and an on-site Apprentice Management Service. Expert support is also provided by Zellis’ service delivery centre in Kochi, India.
Transforming talent acquisition and onboarding
Since their collaboration began, Leonardo and Zellis have worked together on large-scale recruitment projects, with a specific focus on candidate experience and onboarding. Using TalentSoft, the Zellis partner recruitment solution which is fully integrated with ResourceLink, Leonardo has streamlined talent acquisition while giving candidates a strong first impression of the organisation.
The introduction of the Zellis onboarding functionality has been particularly impactful. New employees, including those facing a lengthy wait before their start date, are now kept engaged with the organisation from the moment they accept their offer. And the number of forms a new starter must complete – previously spanning occupational health, security clearances and beyond – has been reduced from 23 to just four.
Continuous improvement through data and analytics
Continuous improvement is a strategic priority for Leonardo, and it requires the right data to make it happen. By working with Zellis, Leonardo’s reporting and analytics capabilities have advanced significantly.
The enhanced use of ServiceNow provides both teams with clearer visibility into the most common service queries – enabling a single proactive communication to resolve recurring issues rather than handling them individually. The adoption of the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) has added a further layer of service level reporting.
“We’ve started to move away from asking basic questions like ‘Did everyone get paid on time?’ to ‘How did we get there?’,” Darren explains. “We’re achieving a greater depth of analysis, looking at factors such as the accuracy at different stages of the pay cycle, and how effectively changes were communicated within the team. This is helping us make additional process enhancements in key areas like payroll.”
A ‘one team’ approach to operational excellence
From the outset, Zellis and Leonardo have operated as a single, unified team. Payroll processes have been harmonised across the business for consistency and efficiency, and employees receive the same high-quality experience regardless of whether they are dealing with a colleague from Zellis or Leonardo.
This ‘one team’ mindset extends to Leonardo’s wider supplier ecosystem. By developing a shared language – common terminology, shared plans and aligned objectives – Zellis has collaborated effectively with Leonardo’s other strategic partners in areas such as pensions and fleet management. The same approach underpins a major two-year project to implement Workday HR, with which the Zellis solution stack will be tightly integrated.
Resilience when it matters most
The strength of the partnership was tested – and proved – during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a workforce of designated key workers, there could be absolutely no disruption to Leonardo’s employee services: recruitment, training and payroll had to continue without interruption.
In March 2020, Zellis transitioned all managed services staff, including those working on-site at Leonardo, to home-based working within 72 hours. This included supplying electric generators to enable remote working for colleagues based in Kochi.
“The resilience Zellis showed during the pandemic has been incredible,” Darren says. “The speed and effectiveness with which Zellis acted was completely in sync with our wider organisational response. We felt completely supported at every stage.”
A shared vision for innovation
Beyond day-to-day service delivery, Zellis has established strong governance, visibility and stability around Leonardo’s payroll and HR projects, bringing dedicated ownership and a shared project plan to each initiative. Recent successes include payroll harmonisation, MyView enhancements and targeted recruitment campaigns.
The Zellis account management approach also ensures that Leonardo’s needs are kept constantly aligned with the product roadmap, positioning the organisation as an early adopter of new and innovative capabilities, rather than a late follower.
“Working with Zellis has already made a huge difference to how we work and the quality of the payroll and HR services we deliver to our employees,” Darren says. “We’re looking forward to further strengthening our partnership over the months and years to come.”
Since partnering with Zellis, Leonardo has:
- Delivered reliable, harmonised payroll for 8,500 UK employees
- Reduced new starter onboarding forms from 23 to just four
- Improved candidate and employee engagement through digital onboarding
- Advanced data analytics from basic payroll checks to deep process insight
- Reduced service desk call volumes through proactive, data-driven communications
- Maintained uninterrupted employee services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
- Built a scalable, integrated foundation for Workday HR implementation
Key features of Zellis Managed Services:
- Reliable payroll operations: Zellis delivers highly accurate payroll with built-in resilience and continuity, so your people are paid on time, every time without compromise.
- Stronger compliance confidence: Payroll is delivered in line with UK and Ireland regulatory requirements, reducing risk and helping protect critical operations.
- Insight and transparency: Live, self-serve Power BI dashboards provide instant visibility of payroll data and clear reporting to support confident decision-making.
- A better employee pay experience: Less errors, digital payslips and optional extras including flexible employee benefits and financial wellbeing features keep your workforce happy.
