Real Results
70 employees onboarded in 6 months
across the U.S. and Canada
100% elimination of manual timecard submissions
through cloud-based processing
2 countries covered under one unified compliance and payroll program
THE CHALLENGE
When a Wandering Workforce Runs Into a Compliance Wall
The entertainment industry runs on a wandering workforce. Professionals move project to project, often working across multiple states or countries, classified however the previous system allowed. That system worked until compliance enforcement caught up with it. Workers formerly classified as 1099 contractors must now be W-2 employees or contingent workers from a staffing firm, and entertainment companies that had not built infrastructure for that shift were suddenly exposed.
One leading studio was feeling that exposure directly. As the company expanded its contingent workforce to include more remote workers, the limits of its existing setup became impossible to ignore. Timecards were processed manually through email. Payroll visibility was minimal. Tracking which workers had been on which projects relied on production managers’ memory rather than any system of record. And as the workforce spread across cities and states, multi-jurisdictional compliance had no automated support behind it.
Entertainment employer of record programs exist precisely for this moment. Workwell North America stepped in at the due diligence stage, identified the compliance gaps, and designed a solution built to handle the full scope of the problem.
Three specific challenges had to be solved:
1. Burdensome Manual Processes Draining Time and Visibility
The company was processing timecards through email with no real visibility into where payroll dollars were going. Every timecard was a manual task, and the cumulative cost in time and accuracy was significant.
2. No Way to Track a Frequently Redeployed Workforce
Despite moving workers across projects constantly, the company had no system for tracking project history. Redeployment decisions depended on production managers remembering who had worked where, which created bottlenecks and blind spots.
3. New Worker Classification Regulations With No Compliance Infrastructure
The client needed to bring formerly 1099 workers into proper classification while meeting mandated sick and vacation time requirements across multiple jurisdictions. There was no visibility into applicable local laws by worker location, and no system to manage them.
THE SOLUTION
A Complete Entertainment Employer of Record Program Built for the Industry
Workwell North America took over full Employer of Record and payroll duties for the client, covering taxes, compliance, unemployment, benefits, W-2s, and worker’s compensation. This immediately brought the client into compliance with new employee classification regulations and removed the compliance burden from the internal team entirely.
Onboarding was rebuilt from scratch. Workwell tailored the company’s onboarding processes to set workers up for success, creating customized documentation across both Workwell and end company resources, including handbooks, guides, talking points, FAQs, virtual I-9s, tax forms, and all state-required notices.
At the center of the technology solution was Talient, Workwell’s proprietary VMS. The team designed a payroll solution that enabled fast, cloud-based timecard processing, replacing the email-based manual system entirely. Supplemental reporting gave the client full visibility into every project each worker had completed, supporting project management, workforce planning, and redeployment decisions. Multi-jurisdictional compliance on timekeeping, wages, taxes, sick and vacation time, and worker’s compensation was managed directly through Talient, with Workwell’s in-house compliance team monitoring state and federal requirements as they evolved across the U.S. and Canada.
THE RESULTS
Compliant, Visible, and Running on Time
By implementing a tailored entertainment employer of record program, Workwell North America helped the studio eliminate its compliance exposure and reclaim the time it had been losing to manual administration.
- Onboarded 70 employees across the U.S. and Canada in 6 months
- Eliminated manual timecard submission entirely through cloud-based processing
- Streamlined and modernized all payroll processes, minimizing human error and accelerating processing speed
- Eliminated the client’s compliance responsibility for all payrolled employees
- Ensured correct multi-jurisdictional legal compliance throughout the U.S. and Canada
- Freed the client’s team from workforce administration to focus on strategic priorities
The entertainment industry is already moving. Workwell North America builds the infrastructure that lets it move compliantly.
Your Contingent Workforce Should Support Your Brand, Not Expose It
Whether you are managing a growing entertainment employer of record program or building compliance infrastructure for a workforce that never stops moving, Workwell North America delivers full-service EOR, payroll, and workforce management built for the industry.