Human Resource Transformation
Advaita Ltd
Heritage Hospitality & Events
Human Resources & Operations
BrightHR, DocuSign
70%
Reduction in admin onboarding
80%
Reduction in legal risk exposure
100%
Staff onboarded with digital contracts & compliant documents
Description
Chilham Castle needed to move away from fragmented, paper-heavy HR administration toward a centralised system that could hold compliance, payroll, and performance management with consistency. Continuum was engaged to cut noise, digitise records, and embed workflows that allowed leadership to manage people with confidence rather than chase paperwork.
Challenge
Compliance processes such as right-to-work checks, contract updates, and policy acknowledgements were not centrally tracked.
Payroll relied on spreadsheets, while leave and sickness records were inconsistently logged, creating risk of HMRC errors and pension gaps.
No framework existed for performance reviews or training, leaving managers without tools to track development.
These gaps consumed administrative time, created compliance exposure, and blocked proactive workforce management.
Employee records were scattered across physical files, personal inboxes, and shared folders.
Process
Discover
An audit was carried out across contracts, payroll cycles, leave records, and compliance checklists. Duplication, re-entry points, and missing logs were tracked to measure compliance risk and administrative drag.
Define
Requirements were set: every compliance check to be logged digitally, payroll integrated with leave approvals, and onboarding redesigned as a closed-loop process where data is entered once and used many times.
Develop
BrightHR was established as the system of record and integrated with Xero Payroll. Onboarding e-forms were configured to populate a central repository. Repository data was linked to DocuSign templates for contract generation, and automated email triggers were built to notify Payroll, HR, and Accounts simultaneously. Alerts for right-to-work checks, pension enrolments, and probation reviews were embedded. Performance review templates and training cycles were standardised.
Deliver
Workflows were piloted with two new hires, with time logs and approval trails captured to confirm efficiency. Approval flows were refined and rolled out across the estate. Managers received training on digital approvals, and quarterly audits were scheduled to verify compliance and data integrity.
Results
Centralised all employee records in BrightHR, giving managers and HR one point of access for contracts, right-to-work checks, and policies.
Automated payroll and leave tracking by linking BrightHR with Xero Payroll, eliminating manual entry.
Achieved 100% compliance in right-to-work and pension enrolment checks by embedding alerts and audit trails into the system.
Introduced quarterly performance reviews through digital templates and a shared calendar.
Cut onboarding effort by embedding e-forms that linked to a central repository, which auto-generated DocuSign contracts and triggered emails to Payroll, HR, and Accounts.
Conclusion
Continuum cut duplication, digitised compliance, and embedded payroll and HR workflows into a single system. Onboarding now runs as a closed-loop process: one e-form entry triggers contracts, system updates, and payroll notifications. Payroll runs without manual entry, compliance logs auto-update, and managers can review staff performance on a quarterly cycle. Leadership regained clarity, supported by digital records and consistent processes.
