Operations streamlined for 500+ Employees with Employment Hero
Client: Apex Steel
Industry: Manufacturing
Service: HR System Implementation (Employment Hero)
Interviewee: Verena Garo, HR Manager
About Apex Steel
Apex Steel is a leading Australian steel manufacturer and distributor for the construction industry, with a footprint that spans multiple locations across the country. Despite its size – employing more than 500 people – the business retains a deeply supportive, family-oriented culture.
Many staff members have been with the business for over 15 years, a testament to the founder’s vision. Verena Garo, HR Manager, describes the owner as a wonderful leader and business owner who built the business from the ground up with a genuine desire to “create a good and fair workplace”. The company prides itself on being a place where people can enjoy coming to work and find stability, offering opportunities to those who need a second chance.
The Opportunity: Managing a Distributed Workforce on Spreadsheets
When Verena joined Apex Steel as their first dedicated HR Manager, she faced a monumental challenge: managing a workforce of hundreds spread across 12 different sites – all without an HR system.
The business was relying on a number of different solutions with their own function, but no solution which provided a source of truth for HR:
No Central Source of Truth:
Employee data was scattered across other industry specific solutions and paper files, meaning Verena couldn’t easily identify foundational HR data, nor did she have an easy process to identify who was on what team, at which location.
Complex Compliance:
With seven different business entities, Verena was managing seven different contract templates manually, leading to compliance risks and inconsistencies.
Onboarding Bottlenecks:
Onboarding relied on paper forms being passed from managers to payroll, often resulting in IT not knowing a new starter had arrived until days after they began.
Distributed Team:
Communicating with staff was difficult, especially as many warehouse employees do not have email addresses.
The Solution: A Strategic Implementation by Alltech Payroll
Verena was referred to Alltech Payroll to implement Employment Hero HR, aiming to create a centralised, automated system that would allow her to solo manage the entire business.
Alltech focused exclusively on configuring the HR architecture to solve Verena’s specific pain points. The implementation included:
Digital Onboarding:
Automating contract generation and data collection so new hires would be clean, visible, and compliant from day one.
Compliance Management:
Consolidating contract templates and ensuring all staff certifications (like forklift licenses) are tracked with automated reminders.
Manager Access:
Giving supervisors direct access to their team’s information, reducing the constant back-and-forth requests for basic employee details.
Why Apex Steel Loved Working with Alltech
For a solo HR manager, the implementation process can be overwhelming. Verena noted that the biggest value Alltech provided was structure and accountability.
She worked closely with Danni from the Alltech team, who brought incredible system knowledge and project management expertise. Verena appreciated having a partner who could guide her through the timeline, manage the “moving parts,” and keep the project on track despite the busy nature of the business.
The Results
Since going live, the shift in efficiency has been immediate. Verena now has clarity of the entire business, who is who, with IT being brought into the fold much more easily with automatic notifications of new starters.
While change management is always a journey with a non-desk workforce, the site supervisors are “super excited” to finally have visibility over their teams. Most importantly, the system allows Verena to move away from Excel, streamline the tasks that need to be automated and doable with software, and focus on what matters most: the people.
Client Spotlight: Verena’s Key Takeaway
When asked what she would say to other business leaders who feel they are “too busy” to upgrade their HR systems, Verena’s advice was clear: