Talent International modernises payroll with Datapay 

• Talent International streamlined payroll across Australia and New Zealand, reducing manual work while improving accuracy, compliance and confidence. 

• Datapay delivered a seamless, integrated payroll solution that connected Talent International’s HR and finance systems and supported a smooth implementation. 

• The new platform provides greater stability, visibility and scalability, helping Talent International support future growth and acquisitions.

For Talent International, payroll is one of the most business-critical functions in the organisation. Operating across Australia and New Zealand, the business needed more than a payroll platform – it needed a solution that could support growth, simplify compliance and integrate seamlessly into its broader technology landscape. 

Working with Datapay, Talent International has transformed its payroll operations, replacing manual workarounds with a modern cloud platform that delivers greater confidence, stronger compliance and a scalable foundation for future growth. 

Talent International is a global recruitment and technology services business with operations across Australia and New Zealand, alongside its growing consulting business, Avec. As the organisation expanded through growth and acquisition, payroll complexity increased significantly across both countries. 

For the payroll team, the challenge extended well beyond processing pay runs. They were managing different legislative frameworks, maintaining payroll accuracy, supporting integrations with HR and finance systems and ensuring operational stability across multiple entities.  

The previous payroll platform was becoming increasingly difficult to rely on. System instability, limited flexibility and growing manual intervention were creating unnecessary operational risk.  

One of the most significant challenges followed a business acquisition, where historical earnings data required for accurate New Zealand payroll calculations could not be transferred into the legacy platform. As a result, the payroll team spent more than a year manually recalculating payroll figures every pay cycle and validating the results to ensure compliance.  

For a lean payroll team supporting two countries, the process was time-consuming, stressful and carried an ongoing risk of human error.  

"More than saving time, it was the fact that it was manual. We're all human and there was always the possibility of making a mistake. That manual touchpoint has now been removed, which gives us significant confidence in our new process,” says Bali Singh, Financial Controller, Talent International.  
 

As part of a broader finance and people technology transformation, Talent International reviewed payroll solutions capable of supporting the complexity of operating across Australia and New Zealand while integrating into its wider enterprise technology ecosystem. 

The business wasn't simply looking for new payroll software. It wanted a trusted implementation partner that could help design, configure and deliver an integrated solution across multiple platforms and vendors.  

Datapay's proven capability across Australia and New Zealand, combined with its collaborative implementation approach, made it the right fit. 

Working closely with Talent International's project team, Datapay led the design and configuration of the new payroll environment, migrated historical payroll data, integrated payroll with Talent International's cloud-based HR and financial ERP platforms, and coordinated with other technology vendors to ensure information flowed accurately across the broader ecosystem.  

The implementation was supported by strong project management, responsive technical expertise and a practical understanding of payroll operations in both Australia and New Zealand.  

That partnership proved invaluable whenTalent International needed a new legal entity established ahead of a January go-live. Datapay completed the work within days during the holiday period, ensuring payroll remained on schedule without disruption. 

"Datapay's consultants were amazing during our implementation. There was a lot going on, especially around the integrations between our cloud-based HR platform and financial ERP, but they were organised, hands-on and always available whenever we needed support,” says Gabriella Milicich, Payroll & Accounts Officer, Talent International.  
 

Today, Talent International operates a modern payroll platform supporting its Australian and New Zealand businesses with greater confidence, stability and control.

The manual payroll calculations previously required have been eliminated, compliance processes have been strengthened, and payroll now integrates seamlessly with the organisation's broader technology environment. 

The platform has also positioned the business to scale more efficiently as it continues to grow, establish new entities and integrate future acquisitions.  

• Elimination of manual payroll calculations and workarounds 

• Increased confidence in payroll accuracy across Australia and New Zealand 

• Reduced compliance and operational risk 

• Seamless integration with HR, finance and connected business systems  

• Improved stability and resilience during payroll processing 

• A scalable platform supporting future growth and acquisitions 

• Greater visibility, reporting and control across payroll operations 

"We have complete confidence in our New Zealand payroll now. Datapay has been on top of legislative changes, communicated clearly what we needed to check and made the process straightforward for the team,” says Milicich.  

For Talent International, the success of the project extends beyond implementing a new payroll system.  

The organisation now has an integrated payroll platform designed to support operations across Australia and New Zealand, together with a trusted partner that understands its business, its technology environment and the evolving compliance obligations across both jurisdictions.  

"Payroll was only one part of this transformation. We needed a partner who could help us design and implement an integrated solution across our broader technology ecosystem,” says Megan Woodbury, Chief Operating Officer, Talent International.  

“Datapay brought strong technical expertise, disciplined project management and a genuine understanding of payroll compliance across both Australia and New Zealand. We've ended up with more than a modern payroll platform – we've gained a trusted long-term partner that understands our business and can continue supporting us as we grow."