Zarah ChoudharyThe London Borough of Harrow has selected Zellis as its payroll provider of choice following a competitive Government tender.
Six months into the partnership, the Council has already reduced payroll processing time by 50%.
This allowed the team to start processing the next cycle sooner, with more time to resolve issues as they arise.
The London Borough of Harrow has a resident population of 260,000 and is committed to serving people’s needs, including those of its own 2,500 employees and 6,000 pensioners.
After the Council’s existing payroll provider gave notice that it would be exiting UK operations, Harrow had just over a year to identify and implement a new payroll system before December 2024.
The Harrow procurement team selected Zellis due to its experience in local Government, strong automation capabilities, and complementary technology infrastructure.
Ben Goward, director of IT at London Borough of Harrow, said: “We needed a tried and tested system that had a good track record of delivery in UK local government.
“That was very important because we had this cliff-edge deadline. If we didn’t get our payroll migrated, we wouldn’t be able to pay our 2,500 staff and 6,000 pensioners.
“It was also important that, in addition to meeting our deadline, the chosen payroll solution could integrate with our existing Microsoft Dynamics HR system.
“Beyond that, we wanted a partner that would provide a good cultural fit because we really care about our delivery culture and how we work together with our partners.”
The Council was looking to reduce administrative burden and increase efficiencies in its payroll department.
Yvette Salthouse, head of Payroll at London Borough of Harrow, explained: “We tend to get a lot of late notifications because we have a large frontline workforce.
“That was creating quite a bit of manual data entry so we wanted [a payroll system] that would automate a lot of that – and in a joined-up way.”
The Zellis implementation began in April 2024 and went live, as planned, in November 2024 – one month before Harrow’s deadline.
Salthouse added: “The knock-on effect is that we can now open the next month’s payroll earlier.
“That’s helpful because we can start processing the next pay cycle and get ahead of ourselves, which reduces the pressure on us as a team.”
Andrew Dresner, chief delivery officer, at Zellis, said: “The Zellis and London Borough of Harrow partnership is a real success story, underpinned by collaboration from the outset.
“Working together as one team, the payroll implementation was delivered on time, safeguarding the financial wellbeing of Harrow’s employees and pensioners.
“That was the primary goal – and one we’re incredibly proud to have delivered alongside the Harrow team.
“To learn that, just six months in, the organisation has also reduced its payroll processing by 50% is absolutely fantastic and we’re fully committed to building on these tangible productivity benefits as the partnership progresses.”
