HR Tech Case Study: How CA Employer Solved Payroll Problems

The right HR tech tools can streamline payroll, keep you compliant and take a lot off your plate. Case in point:

Level 5 Drywall Inc., a construction company specializing in large-scale projects, faced challenges with workforce accountability, payroll management and compliance with California labor laws.

Specifically, manual time tracking and paper time cards led to inaccuracies, payroll discrepancies and compliance risks.

That’s when the company turned to Lumber, a management software system designed specifically for the construction industry. Making the switch helped the company reduce errors, streamline payments and improve compliance.

Gerardo Rivera, Senior VP of Operations and a co-founder of the company, talked to HRMorning to explain how they did it.

The Challenge: Inefficiencies in Time Tracking and Payroll

Before adopting Lumber, Level 5 Drywall relied on paper time cards. This method created multiple problems, including:

• Employees often submitted time cards late, delaying payroll.
• Workers frequently estimated hours, leading to payroll discrepancies.
• Inaccurate reporting of hours required payroll corrections and increased compliance risks.

The company had previously tested other time-tracking solutions but found them lacking in mobile accessibility and construction-specific features.

The Solution: Choosing and Implementing the Right HR Technology

Level 5 Drywall sought a solution tailored to the construction industry. Rivera said his company chose Lumber because the system offered mobile time tracking, geofencing and compliance tracking.

Initially, there was resistance from some employees who viewed digital tracking as micromanagement. To ease adoption of the new HR tech platform, Rivera and his team:

• Clearly communicated the benefits of the Lumber platform, emphasizing accurate pay and reduced payroll errors, and
• Enforced a firm transition policy: Employees could adapt to the system or find alternative employment.

HR Tech Vendor Provides Support

We asked Oleg Pravdin, the Head of Product at Lumber, how the vendor helps construction companies drive employee adoption of its HR tech solutions.

Pravdin stressed the importance of a simple user interface to get employees on board. He noted that Lumber’s mobile app is available in English and Spanish and uses different color schemes when an employee is “on the clock” versus “off the clock” to remove any cognitive load. The app also allows employees to capture time, view pay stubs, manage benefits and view their badges and awards.

Rolling Out the New System

Once the company got the Lumber platform up and running, Rivera and his team noticed several benefits, such as:

• Payroll accuracy and efficiency. Digital time tracking eliminated the need for manual corrections and reduced payroll processing time from two days to just 20 minutes. Errors were significantly reduced, eliminating mid-week corrections.
• Automated compliance safeguards help prevent costly labor law violations. The HR tech platform prompts employees about breaks, injuries, and labor law requirements. Employees confirm daily time entries, report injuries and verify breaks and meals.
• Real-time employee accountability. GPS-based clock-ins ensured workers were on-site, and geofencing provided the company with notifications on clock-ins from unauthorized locations.
• Employee engagement and employee recognition options. Lumber’s gamification features allowed supervisors to recognize employees with digital badges and awards for safety compliance and productivity.

The Results: Increased Compliance and Cost Savings

Since implementing Lumber as the company’s new HR tech platform, Rivera says Level 5 Drywall has experienced significant improvements, including:

• An estimated 15% labor cost savings on projects, thanks to more accurate time tracking.
• Faster payroll processing, reducing administrative workload and errors.
• Increased accountability, ensuring that workers are on-site and adhering to schedules.
• Stronger compliance with California labor laws, preventing costly penalties.

The Future: Ongoing Partnership Based on Feedback

Rivera has provided feedback to Lumber, which has strengthened his company’s partnership with the tech vendor.

According to Pravdin, Level 5 Drywall has been an ideal partner for testing and improving Lumber’s features because Rivera and his co-founder Alan Amirteymour are “amazing individuals with vision, drive and deep expertise, and a desire to revolutionize the construction industry.”

Pravdin expressed gratitude for their innovative spirit, their willingness to try new HR tech solutions and their open communication about the features they’d like to see added to the platform.

For example, while Lumber has already streamlined many processes, Rivera hopes for additional integrations, including a seamless connection with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for advanced job costing. The ability to allocate labor costs by task — such as framing, installation and cleanup — is a feature currently in development, Rivera says.

For construction companies struggling with payroll inefficiencies, compliance risks and workforce accountability, adopting a specialized HR tech solution like Lumber can make a significant impact. As Rivera puts it, “If you get compliance right in California, you’ll have it right everywhere else.”