Westland Milk Products is one of New Zealand’s well-established dairy manufacturers, operating in a high-volume, around-the-clock production environment. Like many large processing businesses, their workforce includes multiple employee groups, varied shift patterns, and several awards and agreements. This naturally creates a payroll ecosystem with many moving parts, each requiring careful interpretation, accuracy, and ongoing management.
The Challenge
Over time, Westland’s payroll environment had grown increasingly difficult to navigate. The combination of multiple awards, complex rules, and historical collective agreement interpretations made the system hard to maintain and even harder to improve.
Key challenges included:
- A web of interdependent awards and pay rules
- Inconsistencies in how rules had been interpreted or applied
- Difficulty making system changes without unintended downstream effects
- A growing reliance on manual checks to ensure accuracy
- Limited visibility into the “why” behind certain calculations
This wasn’t the result of poor practice – simply the natural outcome of a longstanding, multifaceted workforce environment with complex employment agreements. However, it was limiting the team’s ability to operate with clarity and confidence, particularly as the organisation looked toward future optimisation.
The solution
Westland engaged Alxemy to help untangle this complexity and build a clearer, more sustainable payroll foundation. They needed a partner who could bring both expertise and empathy – someone capable of making sense of the technical detail while supporting the team through change.
“We engaged Alxemy to help us simplify and optimise the complex web of awards and rules that had made our payroll system difficult to manage and improve.”
Alxemy’s Approach
Alxemy’s work combined structured analysis with a deeply collaborative mindset.
1. Discovery & Context Setting
We began with a series of workshops to understand the current-state environment—capturing not just what the rules were, but how they were being interpreted, why they had evolved that way, and where the payroll team experienced friction.
2. Award & Rule Mapping
Terrence led a detailed review of the award structure, mapping each component, identifying overlaps, and clarifying the intent behind different provisions. The focus was on simplification without losing compliance or operational nuance.
3. Clarifying the “Why”
Instead of simply rewriting rules, Alxemy worked with the team to explain the underlying drivers. This transparency helped remove ambiguity, created shared understanding, and empowered Westland’s payroll specialists to own their environment with greater confidence.
4. Partnership & Trust
Throughout the engagement, Terrence’s patience, clarity, and consistency built a strong foundation of trust – one that the Westland team highlighted as a key part of the project’s success.
As Sharon O’Regan, Group Payroll Manager of Westland Milk Products, noted:
“Terrence’s patience and expertise helped us build a strong foundation of trust, one that has endured well beyond the initial project.”
The Impact
By simplifying the structure and establishing a clearer rule framework, Westland gained:
- A payroll environment that is easier to understand and maintain
- Greater clarity for both leaders and payroll specialists
- A reduction in day-to-day complexity and manual checking
- A more efficient onboarding process for new team members
- A foundation that supports change control and scalability
- Confidence to progress future optimisation or automation work
While not built around numerical outcomes, the results were significant: clarity, sustainability, and operational ease across a previously complex ecosystem.
Strategic Value
The project delivered more than just simplification – it strengthened Westland’s ability to operate with compliance confidence and set the stage for long-term payroll maturity. The collaborative relationship between Westland Milk Products and Alxemy continues, built on trust, shared understanding, and a commitment to ongoing improvement.
FAQs
- Why was Westland’s payroll environment so complex?
Multiple awards, varied shift patterns, and historical rule interpretations created a layered system that was difficult to maintain and improve.
- What did Alxemy do to simplify it?
We mapped and clarified award structures, simplified rules, and worked closely with the payroll team to build a clear, sustainable framework for future optimisation.
- What benefits did Westland gain?
A more transparent and manageable payroll environment, reduced ambiguity, less manual checking, and a stronger foundation for future system changes or automation.
Thinking About Your Own Payroll Environment?
If your organisation is dealing with similar complexity, multiple awards, evolving agreements, and a system that’s hard to change, Alxemy’s consulting services can help you build the same kind of clarity and confidence.
Ready to talk? Contact the Alxemy team to explore what’s possible for your payroll environment.
