An HR system that supports future growth for CPCA 

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority implemented IRIS Cascade HRi and IRIS Payroll Services to create a single source of truth for HR, payroll and recruitment, reducing payroll processing time by 75%, improving compliance and reporting, streamlining recruitment and onboarding, and supporting an award-winning HR transformation.

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is a bold and forward-thinking organisation created in 2017 through a landmark devolution deal with Government. That deal handed them the power and the funding to make decisions locally, for the people who live and work in the region. 

They are a partnership of seven councils working together with businesses, educators, health services, emergency responders and community groups to drive growth and improve lives across the region. Led by a directly elected Mayor and a Board of local leaders, united by a clear mission - to get Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving. 

As the Authority was evolving, they needed a HR system that could support them now, and in the future. 

Facing fragmented systems, manual processes, and increasing demands on their HR function, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority set out to modernise its people operations. Following a detailed procurement process, IRIS Cascade was selected to bring greater efficiency, integration, and confidence in workforce data. 

In the last year, the organisation has successfully transformed its core HR processes, reducing payroll processing time, improving compliance, and enabling the HR team to focus on strategic priorities. Their success was recognised with a PPMA award for best use of data and technology in April 2026.  

Disconnected systems and heavy workloads  

Prior to implementing IRIS Cascade, the organisation relied on a combination of a HR system and spreadsheets. This created a fragmented ecosystem, with manual processes across multiple systems, disjointed workflows and duplicated effort and limited visibility and confidence in their data. 

These inefficiencies placed pressure on the HR team and highlighted the need for a more integrated, scalable solution. Donya Taylor, Strategic HR Business Partner at the Combined Authority, tells us, “Local government procurement requirements played a key role in our decision, particularly the need for a cloud-based solution. Alongside this, we were looking for an integrated HR and managed payroll system, and it was important to modernise our largely manual recruitment process by bringing that into a platform.” 

The right system – IRIS Cascade HRi 

Following a competitive tender exercise, IRIS Cascade was chosen over other providers due to its strong technical capabilities, the integration between HR, payroll and recruitment, and its high customisability. Donya Taylor, Strategic HR Business Partner at the Combined Authority, says, “Using a detailed scoring framework, we narrowed our shortlist down to two providers. Cascade ultimately stood out for its ability to meet both our immediate requirements and our longer-term strategic goals.” 

A new chapter with IRIS Cascade 

The implementation journey presented some challenges, largely due to the flexibility and customisable nature of the system which had both pros and cons. Donya tells us, “The level of flexibility within Cascade meant we had the opportunity to go beyond simply replicating our existing processes, we could genuinely improve them, which meant we were starting with a blank slate. While that wasn’t always easy to visualise at the outset, the additional consultancy support helped bring it to life and played a key role in ensuring a successful internal launch.” 

 The team implemented a comprehensive launch to ensure the rollout of Cascade went smoothly, including creating their own user guides specific to their requirements, organisation-wide communications and team briefings and directorate champions to support rollout and gather feedback within each team.  

Donya says, “We used an AI tool to capture how we were working in Cascade, which allowed us to create tailored guides that reflected our processes and how we would actually be using the system. Having champions in each team also made a big difference - they were able to provide early feedback and then became go-to contacts once we rolled it out. As a result, adoption was really positive and we received great feedback from across the organisation.” 

The efficiency, insight, and strategic focus that Cascade brings 

Previously, the team were using a payroll bureau to run their payroll, and knew that with their new system they wanted a managed payroll service that integrated with their HR system. Donya tells us, “One of the most notable improvements and biggest time savings was in our payroll processing, which was reduced from 6–8 hours per month to under 2 hours. This freed up valuable time for the team to focus on higher-value activity, and meant that we had the confidence that everyone would be paid on time, every time.” 

Improved compliance and confidence 

With more reliable and accessible data, the organisation has strengthened its compliance and audit readiness and leadership confidence in workforce insights. Donya says, “We now have a single source of truth for our data, and the reporting functionality within Cascade has been a significant benefit. Previously, working across multiple spreadsheets made it time-consuming to compile and interpret information. Now, we can access accurate data instantly and share it with leadership confidently.” 

Enhancing recruitment and onboarding 

The introduction of IRIS Cascade, combined with integration with IRIS Recruitment, has significantly improved recruitment and onboarding processes. 

Donya tells us, “Recruitment was previously a highly manual process, with multiple documents and spreadsheets supporting both hiring and onboarding. With IRIS Recruitment and IRIS Cascade, we’ve introduced automated workflows that guide candidates seamlessly from application through to employment. The process is now streamlined, with onboarding fully automated and tasks assigned directly to new starters, freeing up managers to focus on their people, rather than administration. It’s a better experience for new employees, our managers, and the HR team.” 

Employee response to IRIS Cascade has been largely positive, with strong adoption across the organisation, almost all processes now transitioned away from spreadsheets and with the system now embedded as a core part of day-to-day HR operations. 

Despite only a year in to Cascade, the organisation has already won an award, highlighting innovation in HR. Donya says, “We were proud to win the PPMA award for ‘Best use of Data and Technology’, which recognised the impact of our transformation. IRIS Cascade played a key role in that success, enabling us to drive real efficiency gains, strengthen compliance, and build a scalable approach to managing our people and data.” 

“I would highly recommend IRIS Cascade HRi. Our relationship with the team has evolved positively, and we are now well-positioned to continue evolving our HR function, building on a strong foundation of integrated processes, reliable data, and increased capacity for strategic impact.”