The need for an integrated HR solution.

Vistry has offices all over the UK and a complex Payroll and HR function and has been working with Zellis payroll since 2014, following a sudden change in the services provided by their existing HR solution, when they took the opportunity to look for something different.

Other options were very payroll centric, and the HR team wanted to find better functionality. Our provider was stopping support for the version that we were using, so we had to make that decision really quickly. 6-8 months from decision to implementation."

- Angela Usherwood, Head of People Services and Analytics, Vistry Group

*Dashboards are for illustrative purposes only

Bovis (at the time) was growing as a business very quickly, and while they had always had an HR function, having around 1300 employees, it was becoming increasingly important to ensure that a high level of functionality was available to both the Payroll and the HR Teams equally. A combined solution was essential to enable end to end data management and reporting.

Requiring a strong reporting functionality which enabled analysis of trends within the business and a seamless transition from successful applicant, through to payroll and costing, it was important that the data be available to all departments, including finance, to support rapid business growth.

Zellis HCM Cloud offered a process rich, all-encompassing solution which provided high level future-proofed and scalable performance.

Enhanced reporting and data management.

One of the key drivers for Vistry was the ease of reporting, which in a fast-growing business becomes more important than ever. The number of reports that Vistry creates has grown as quickly as they have been able to input the data.

“We've gone through various iterations of the business since then and have quadrupled in size. This means we have had to change our processes several times and now in 2023 I would confidently say that we are putting as much into the system as humanly possible which is better enabling us to use the system to its complete and utter fullest,” said Angela.

As Vistry has grown as a company, the volume of data has also increased rapidly, alongside the need for exceptional reporting. HCM offers unlimited reporting functionality to help you take control of your data.

For Vistry, some of the most important reports are on the payroll side, including reporting for the Finance teams, providing a bird’s eye view of costs associated to payroll and expenses, as well as month end reports to enable forecasting and reconciliation of expenditure.

A difficult hiring landscape has increased the need for robust HR reporting, attrition reports and leaving trends are more important than ever, alongside numbers for starters, leavers, involuntary leavers, and absence rates.

Power BI dashboards for easy access to key information.

Vistry were early adopters of HCM clouds dashboard functionality, now implementing Power BI dashboards, an HR dashboard and DEI dashboard which all make key information readily accessible. Reports can be viewed on the screen immediately or exported to fit Vistry’s desired format, allowing for detailed customisation.

This flexibility allows Vistry to quickly create reports that are meaningful to them, and customise reports according to the end user, restricting information where required and not sending reports to people who don’t need them. Key data is available immediately, and the time spent creating reports minimised. “The functionality itself was a real breath of fresh air.” said Angela.

*Dashboards are for illustrative purposes only

MyView has been a useful addition for Vistry, giving employees more control of their personal data, and allowing managers to access the information they need.

It has also reduced GDPR liability, by minimising personal data exposure to only a handful of people. Employees can now carry out simple functions themselves, such as finding out their holiday balance and reporting expenses, which reduces the burden on payroll and HR staff.

MyView PayNow is currently being implemented which will support Vistry employees with additional financial welfare and advice, empowering them to take control of their financial wellbeing.

“Because honestly that's why we're doing it. As well as for efficiencies on the HR and payroll side, it is much more for the experience of the employee and the manager, to be able to feel more in control and better informed. Each of these things that we introduce to the system is a benefit to them as well as us,” Angela says.