Marlborough Tour Company is Marlborough’s largest tourism operator, managing a diverse and highly seasonal workforce across multiple businesses including Furneaux Lodge, Punga Cove, Cougar Line, Pelorus Mail Boat, Marlborough Tours, Marlborough Sounds Adventure Co and Wilderness Guides.
With staff numbers fluctuating throughout the year, their people processes had evolved organically, relying on paper timesheets, email-based onboarding, and information stored across folders and inboxes.
While this worked during quieter periods, peak season exposed the cracks.
As seasonal recruitment increased, onboarding tasks and payroll checks became more complex.
Manual processes meant:
During peak periods, this created more admin, more double-checking, and less confidence that everything had been completed correctly before payroll runs.
Marlborough Tour Company introduced Smartly’s People Management tools to bring structure and visibility to managing their people while keeping everything connected directly to payroll.
Instead of relying on inboxes and memory, key tasks and employee information were organised and tracked through clear workflows. The Tasks section became a practical daily tool, helping the team check what was completed and what still required attention before pay runs.
Access controls ensured the right people had visibility across the organisation, reducing risk and making it easier to maintain consistency as roles and staffing levels changed throughout the year.
By bringing people management and payroll together in one system, Marlborough Tour Company reduced time spent managing paperwork and manual follow-ups. Employee information and payroll preparation were easier to manage, with clear visibility across the organisation.
This gave the team greater confidence that everything was accurate and complete before each pay run, especially during busy seasonal periods.
“Smartly gives us a clear, trackable way to manage people as we grow, especially when things get busy. It’s taken a lot of the stress out of hiring, onboarding and payroll checks.”
For tourism, hospitality, and other seasonal businesses managing fluctuating staff numbers, having hiring, onboarding, and payroll checks connected in one place can significantly reduce risk and admin during peak periods.
Smartly’s People Management tools are designed to scale with growing businesses - without adding unnecessary complexity.
See how Smartly’s integrated payroll and people management platform can give you the same peace of mind. Book a demo today to see how Smartly simplifies seasonal hiring and payroll.
