Case Study: Step Fwd IT achieves happier employees and streamlined HR with Employment Hero

Step Fwd IT Champions Employee Experience with Employment Hero

Step Fwd IT is a family-run IT services firm led by directors Olivia and Chris Mannering that was struggling with growth-era, paper-based HR processes and the need to keep a close connection with employees as teams went remote. To streamline administration and protect employee engagement, Step Fwd IT adopted the Employment Hero people management platform.

Employment Hero’s all‑in‑one solution replaced filing cabinets with digital HR, integrated with payroll, and delivered tools such as Employee Happiness Score, OKRs, 1:1 coaching, recognition (Shout Outs, Hero Dollars) and COVID-safe guidance. The result: dramatically reduced manual admin, better visibility of wellbeing (moving from annual reviews to regular weekly/fortnightly/monthly check‑ins), easier remote team management without a dedicated HR headcount, and stronger employee engagement that supports improved customer service and referrals.

Step Fwd IT

Olivia Mannering

Director