As its workforce grew and responsibilities expanded, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) launched an internal effectiveness program to find better ways to manage people and processes.
In the People function, visibility was a major pain point. NZTA was running a legacy payroll system and multiple, disconnected learning systems. Many processes, like performance management, were entirely manual using Word documents. “We didn’t know what or how performance or remuneration decisions were being made,” says Head of People Experience Brett Wood. “There were wildly different ways of doing things, significant double handling, and really inefficient processes.”
With recruitment volumes skyrocketing and the entity’s remit growing and becoming more complex, NZTA chose Workday for its ability to provide a single source of truth and standardized, out-of-the-box processes that could be implemented without significant customization.
Compliance transformed by transparency.
Wood says that gaining real-time visibility across its workforce has been transformative for NZTA. For the first time, leaders have a clear, connected view of performance, talent, and compliance. Informed by real-time data, and with automated workflows tracking approvals, workforce decisions are made quickly and confidently.
Admin and reporting time has reduced by 40%. Previously, meeting requests for information under the Official Information Act or from central agencies used to take weeks and contained month-old information. Now, automated reporting enables these requests to be answered almost instantly with up-to-the-minute data.
Wood says self-service is also a big gain. People can complete core HR processes themselves, from performance and remuneration cycles to time sheeting and leave management. What once required multiple emails or manual follow-ups is now a simple, 30-second task. “Even small features, like instantly generating interactive org charts, are very popular,” he says. Notably, since self-service was introduced, three times more managers have done the work to cover their roles with succession plans.
Now we’ve solved basic compliance and visibility challenges, we can plan and make workforce decisions really easily.
Head of People Experience
New employee insights from listening at scale.
Using Workday Peakon Employee Voice, leaders are tracking engagement, identifying priorities, and turning feedback into action. Surveys run quarterly, generating tens of thousands of comments, but AI-powered summaries help the HR team quickly distill key themes. Wood says the results are discussed at every level, with insights highlighting what matters most across different business groups. Managers can react directly to employee comments, helping people to feel heard, valued, and connected.
Our Chief Executive talks about the survey data when he gets the results and we discuss them in the ELT. It was one of our first organizational uses for AI.
Head of People Experience
Better candidate experience from streamlining recruitment.
Recruitment is now a faster, smoother, and more connected experience for both candidates and HR. With data only needing to be entered once – and automated workflows leading candidates through the process – recruiters have time to focus on creating a better candidate experience. Meanwhile, hiring managers have visibility over every step. Now internal candidates can explore and apply for roles more easily, jobs filled internally have jumped from 29% to 50%.
A culture of continuous, compliant learning.
Bringing recruitment, onboarding, and learning together into one seamless system with Workday means mandatory courses – from health and safety to cyber security – are now automatically assigned and completed as part of onboarding. Learning has also become more dynamic and personalized, with employees receiving AI-driven tailored learning suggestions. Integration with platforms like LinkedIn Learning gives people access to a vast library of professional content. Already, employee learning hours have doubled.
With all learning activity tracked in one place, HR teams can demonstrate completion and competency for audits – a critical requirement in a safety-driven environment. The integrated platform also makes sure staff have completed the required training before they are allowed to work in dangerous environments, like tunnels or construction zones.
We have evidence that people have done the training and are competent to tackle work safely.
Head of People Experience