Marshall Security’s CFO, Matt Briscoe, used to watch payslips leave the finance office in packs. Printed on a dot matrix printer, they were sorted and handed to area managers, who drove them out to employees across KwaZulu-Natal. We caught up with him to find out how things have changed since partnering with Jem.
For a business employing around 2,300 frontline staff, including security officers, cleaners and armed response staff, manual processes can be genuinely damaging. Office teams were losing hours and hours every month to admin, and their deskless teams were often in the dark on critical items like pay, benefits and company info.
“It just doesn’t work,” Matt says.
Marshall was looking for a better way to distribute payslips. What appealed to Matt about Jem was that it worked through WhatsApp, where much of the company’s daily communication already happened.
Today, 96% of Marshall’s workforce is registered with Jem. The company uses the workforce management platform to deliver payslips, send announcements and give employees access to financial tools.
For Matt, a KPMG-trained chartered accountant, the benefits extend well beyond replacing the printer. His team spends less time on administration, important messages reach employees directly, and staff have an alternative to expensive borrowing before payday.
Marshall had investigated other applications, but WhatsApp fitted how the business already operated.
“Most of our daily communication is via WhatsApp anyway,” Matt explains. “We have WhatsApp channels, WhatsApp screens in all the control rooms.”
Managers used it to communicate and report site incidents. Adding payslips and company announcements meant employees could receive them without learning another app or waiting for a manager to visit their site.
That matters for people like Anathi, the Marshall security officer photographed at Northwood High School. Being stationed at a client’s premises means working away from Marshall’s office. Employees still need access to their pay information and updates from their employer.
Marshall gave staff time to make the change, then stopped printing payslips. The resistance they had anticipated never materialised.
Across its HR administration, Marshall reports saving 450 hours each month with Jem. For the people preparing documents and getting information out to a dispersed workforce, the change has removed a substantial amount of repetitive work.
Some of those communications carry particular weight in security.
“A massive part of this business is compliance maintenance,” Matt says. “When you’re dealing with firearms, when you’re dealing with regulated industries, you’re dealing with lives.”
Licences and qualifications need to stay current, alongside first aid and health and safety requirements. Renewal dates vary from person to person. Someone has to make sure the right reminder reaches each employee.
“Trying to communicate with over 2,000 staff at differing intervals based on when their stuff was due for renewal was nigh on impossible.”
Through Jem’s announcements, Marshall can send reminders directly on WhatsApp. Matt can see when each message was delivered and read, with timestamps for both.
That gives the team a record to work from when following up on outstanding paperwork.
“So now there’s accountability and no more excuses,” he says.
Matt’s concern when considering earned wage access was straightforward: people becoming indebted.
He also knew what employees might turn to when they needed money before payday. In the communities many Marshall employees live in, he says, loan sharks are a common source of finance. Small amounts borrowed can grow into much larger amounts owed.
Giving employees access to a portion of their earned salary offered another option.
“The fact is that we are giving staff access to their own salary. It’s not on top of. It's not a loan. It’s what they’ve worked for,” Matt explains.
Marshall placed limits on how much employees could access. Those controls were part of Matt’s decision to support the service. He wanted employees to have help available before payday, with a cautious approach to withdrawals.
Use extended further than he expected. Alongside guards and cleaners, administrative staff and some managers began accessing earned pay.
Jem estimates that Marshall employees using EWA save R292 per person per month compared with unregulated loans.
Employees use other financial tools too. Marshall uses Jem’s savings product, and 9% of its workforce has used the free credit-check feature since it became available to them in May. Employees can check their credit position, put money aside or access earned pay according to what they need.
Introducing a new system also meant Matt needed dependable support.
He describes himself as demanding and admits to sometimes messaging Jem’s team at ten o’clock on a Saturday evening.
“The support and the hand-holding, which is a big thing for me, has been nothing short of exceptional,” he says. “And it’s made the entire process so smooth.”
For Marshall, the change is visible in everyday work: employees receive payslips directly, the office can follow up on renewal reminders, and less time goes into administration.
For its CFO, knowing staff have another way to cover an expense before payday remains a particular source of reassurance.
“It gives me great peace of mind.”
96%
of the workforce registered with Jem
450 hours
saved on HR administration each month
R292
saved per month per employee using EWA compared with unregulated loans
“It gives me great peace of mind.”
Matt Briscoe
CFO, Marshall Security
Monthly insights and industry updates from the experts on frontline work, delivered straight to your inbox.
