DFDS

Running payroll across multiple employee groups, collective agreements and systems demands both rock-solid operations and specialist expertise.

Interim management keeps DFDS payroll steady through a critical transition

At DFDS, this became especially urgent when two experienced key employees left the payroll function at the same time. The company needed to secure stable operations fast, while strengthening structure and processes.

What mattered most was peace of mind. Payroll is an area where you really feel it if something goes wrong. Bringing in experienced people who could keep operations stable while we worked on improvements made a huge difference,

Anders Schmidt-Petersen

Regional Finance Director, Denmark & HQ, DFDS

A complex payroll function

DFDS handles payroll for several employee groups under complex rule sets. Anders Schmidt-Petersen's team is responsible for around 800 land-based employees in Denmark, including salaried staff, IT specialists and employees covered by a range of collective agreements.

Payroll is also closely linked to HR, time registration, reimbursements and employee support. That calls for deep technical expertise and a solid understanding of how the business works, because even small errors can quickly affect employees.

DFDS needed an interim profile who could get up to speed on systems, processes and the organisation quickly, without a long onboarding period. They chose Azets.

Azets moved fast and gave us people with the experience and specialist knowledge of our specific payroll system. They were ready just 14 days after Christmas. It was reassuring that they already knew the system and could step straight in and bring stability to such an important function,

Anders Schmidt-Petersen

Regional Finance Director, Denmark & HQ, DFDS

The interim consultant went straight into day-to-day operations, handling employee support, payroll queries, reimbursements, controls and process optimisation. At the same time, the consultant helped build smarter workflows and more automation.

Among other things, we've optimised our set-up so data now flows directly from the HR system instead of being keyed in manually. That's made our processes far more robust,

Anders Schmidt-Petersen

Regional Finance Director, Denmark & HQ, DFDS

For DFDS, interim management has proven especially valuable during major projects, system implementations, sick leave and periods of high workload.

If you're facing major projects or have business-critical functions, it makes a lot of sense to bring in specialists who are 100 percent dedicated to the task. It frees up internal resources and gives the whole organisation peace of mind,

Anders Schmidt-Petersen

Regional Finance Director, Denmark & HQ, DFDS

The challenge

Running payroll across multiple employee groups, collective agreements and systems demands both rock-solid operations and specialist expertise.

The solution

Interim management from Azets, bringing calm and continuity during a critical period.

The results

Stable operations when it mattered most

DFDS kept payroll running smoothly despite staff changes and heavy capacity pressure.

Fast access to specialist expertise

Azets quickly provided experienced consultants who already knew both the system and the processes.

More robust, automated processes

DFDS strengthened its documentation, automated several manual tasks and brought more structure to payroll.

A less vulnerable organisation

Payroll now depends less on individuals and has a strong safety net for extra capacity or expert sparring.

Time to develop, not just firefight

The interim solution created room for training, development and long-term optimisation.

Calm today, a stronger set-up for tomorrow

Interim support did more than keep payroll running. It also gave DFDS a stronger foundation for developing the function. Together, the team documented processes, restructured pay codes and cleaned up the system configuration, making payroll simpler and less dependent on individual people.

We've learned a lot about where we can optimise our set-up. Azets has helped us see where we can improve and where we can work in a simpler, more structured way,

Anders Schmidt-Petersen

Regional Finance Director, Denmark & HQ, DFDS

Do you need interim management too?

Interim management from Azets gives you a flexible, effective way to keep your business running at its best, even in times of change. Get in touch today and we'll help you find the right interim manager for your needs.

Call us on +45 70 232 232

Email salg_azets@azets.com