St. Helen’s Borough Council have partnered with Zellis for more than 20 years, first implementing Zellis technology in the early 2000’s. Consistently striving to better serve a workforce of 6,000 council and school colleagues, St. Helen’s People Management team recognise the need to evolve and integrate HR capabilities. The council has been on a journey of digital transformation with a clear drive for change: to move beyond basic payroll processing to create a comprehensive people management solution that would support the council’s mission to deliver excellent services to their community.
To find out more about this journey and the benefits they have seen, we sat down with three key members of St Helen’s People Management team:
- Sarah Hopper, Payroll and Pensions Manager
- Jenny Swift, Systems & Analytics Manager
- Steven Rigby, People Management and OD Operations Manager
Watch the interviews with Sarah, Jenny, and Steven below to discover the impact their move to Zellis HCM – and latterly, Zellis HCM AIR – has had on the council, their colleagues, and the team themselves.
1. The journey begins: Building on strong foundations
Steven and Jenny share their Zellis HCM AIR implementation journey – from Steven’s initial transformation vision, to Jenny’s phased rollout beginning in April 2022. They reveal how their “slow and steady” approach successfully automated payroll processes and transformed the employee experience.
“There was a real drive to incorporate the HR functionality into that… and digitally transform the way that people management and OD operates.”
– Steven Rigby, People Management and OD Operations Manager, St. Helen’s Borough Council
2. Transformation into action: Putting people first
Steven, Jenny, and Sarah reveal how Zellis HCM AIR eliminated “payday panic” and empowered their people through automated workflows, self-service functionality, and extended payslip previews -transforming both employee experience and operational efficiency.
“It’s meant that employees can query the payslips before the BACs is sent, and therefore we’re cutting out that payday panic that sometimes occurs where people haven’t had the salary that they need.”
– Sarah Hopper, Payroll and Pensions Manager, St. Helen’s Borough Council
3. Looking forward: A blueprint for success
Sarah, Jenny, and Steven share their future plans and their pride in the positive impact St. Helen’s digital transformation journey has had.
“It’s really turned into a piece that I think the whole organisation is proud of, not just me. Because it’s pulled everyone together. the collaboration has been incredible.”
– Jenny Swift, Systems & Analytics Manager, St. Helen’s Borough Council
Sarah shares her advice for other councils looking to embark on a similar journey:
“My advice for other councils embarking on this sort of journey would be to take it nice and slow, work with teams and collaborate on what they need, but also make sure that you’ve got the right team in the background with the right communication to ensure a smooth delivery.”
– Sarah Hopper, Payroll and Pensions Manager, St. Helen’s Borough Council
Conclusion: Digital transformation frees teams to better serve their community
St. Helens Borough Council’s journey with Zellis HCM AIR demonstrates the power of thoughtful, collaborative digital transformation. By taking a measured approach and working closely with teams across the organisation, they’ve not only eliminated payroll issues and “payday panic” but created a system that the entire council takes pride in. Most importantly, this organisational-wide transformation has freed colleagues from administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on what matters most – delivering excellent services to their community. As Sarah reflected, when employees aren’t worried about payroll, “they’ve got more time to deliver their services.”
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