We spoke with Payroll Manager Paula Drury about how a tailored set-up helps manage complex employment agreements while supporting efficient work across their office staff and crew members.

An industry shaped by union agreements

Programmed Offshore operates within a strictly unionised industry, which shapes how work is carried out day to day. Projects range from offshore drilling rigs to vessels and offshore platforms, and each assignment is governed by a specific employment agreement, or ‘award’.

Paula explains:

“These awards define everything. The unions are deeply involved in how people work and how they’re paid, so we don’t get to mandate things freely”.

As a result, their expense management solution has to align precisely with these agreements.

Travel expenses add another layer of complexity. Under most employee awards, expenses are claimable from the moment employees leave home, including taxis, mileage and meals that wouldn’t typically be reimbursed in other industries. With people travelling daily, the volume of expenses outgrew Programmed Offshore’s previous solution.

We just had so much travel, Paula says. It was becoming huge.

When Skovik entered the picture, it was the system’s flexibility that stood out. We realised that Skovik could be customised to fit our requirements, which was critical for us.

A seamless changeover

The team at Programmed Offshore expected a gradual transition upon Skovik being introduced to the end-users. Instead, adoption happened almost instantly. Paula says:

“We thought we’d need a three-month changeover. It ended up being about a week. People just jumped in”.

Within minutes of employees receiving access to the system, expense claims started coming in. We realised quickly that it was working well, she adds. After a week, we didn’t need the old solution at all. The mobile app was especially appreciated by field employees who need a straightforward solution for submitting expenses while travelling.

The system’s ease of use was a big contributor to this, Paula explains.

All the complexity sits in the backend, she says. We’ve set the projects up to be based on awards and employees can only choose projects that are aligned to their award.

She explains:

“If someone tries to submit a receipt that’s above what they’re entitled to, Skovik tells them straight away. The system guides them all the way and it’s fantastic, because it’s telling them, in real time, their maximum claim amounts”.

Increased efficiency

The ease of use was especially important given the scale and nature of the workforce, but it’s not just the end-users who have benefitted from the system’s simplicity. The approval process has become significantly more efficient too.

Our approvers save a lot of time. They move through approvals quickly. It’s just a much better solution overall, Paula says.

Looking back, she describes Skovik as a turning point.

“I’m really happy that I’ve been given this opportunity to recommend Skovik in a customer story, because Skovik’s been a game changer for us as a company. Both in how we work internally and in what we can offer our clients. It fits our industry, it meets our award requirements, and it’s incredibly easy to use”.

She adds: I tell everyone in the industry about Skovik. I’m always singing its praises