Killeen Castle is a fast-growing 600-acre estate in County Meath, home to a boutique 26-bedroom hotel, a golf course with 550 members, and a busy calendar of events, including weddings, confirmations, and community lunches. As business scaled rapidly, General Manager Philip Rock recognised the need to replace outdated HR processes and improve internal operations with a digital-first solution.
Industry
Hospitality
Challenge
Killeen Castle operates a 600-acre estate with a 26-bedroom hotel, 550 golf members, and up to 30 weddings annually. With no dedicated HR department and manual, paper-based processes, the team faced challenges onboarding new starters, managing rosters, and communicating effectively across departments. As the business scaled in recent years, the need for a smart, reliable solution became critical.
Results
Since implementing Alkimii, Killeen Castle has introduced clean, compliant onboarding, real-time rostering and forecasting, and seamless internal communication. Manual admin has been drastically reduced, wage costs are easier to control, and the team now collaborates more effectively across departments.
Key Product
Alkimii People
“Previously, communications were very poor from a managerial point of view. That was revolutionised with the onboarding of Alkimii.”
“We just click and a person who is onboarding on Thursday has received all their details including his starter pack, employment handbook, health and safety induction prior to them coming onboard. It is so much cleaner than it used to be.”
“The online training, the video content, the knowledge base is very, very good All the support personnel have all the information they need to solve a problem. Their level of understanding is very high. That has been a remarkable experience.”
“From a day-to-day point of view, there are three key things. Rostering, management information for pay percentages per department, and forecasting. The discipline alone from these has led to greater efficiencies within the organisation.”
The Story of Killeen Castle
The Challenge at Killeen Castle
With no dedicated HR team, onboarding was manual and time-consuming. Managers relied on paper documents and Excel rosters, making it difficult to communicate with team members and maintain compliance.
“There were many challenges looking for a new solution because we had been a small business and we had not really had a HR department. The manual processes of onboarding new starters was difficult, cumbersome, as we were taking on new staff over that time. We were looking for new technology to help us with that and luckily, I had had some experience with Alkimii in a previous role and was very impressed with it.”
“Communications were very poor previously from a managerial point of view down to team members. That was revolutionised with the onboarding of Alkimii.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
Why Killeen Castle Chose Alkimii
Having used Alkimii in a previous role, Philip trusted the Alkimii's ability to meet the operational demands of a hospitality environment.
“We had looked at two other technologies also, but because of my confidence in the [Alkimii] product, it helped swayed that decision.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
How Alkimii Responded
Alkimii’s support team guided Killeen Castle through a smooth implementation and adoption process.
“I was very impressed with the implementation team from Alkimii. They were very patient with our team from Killeen castle throughout the implementation phase. Their hand holding post “live” phase was excellent and helpful as we transitioned from an old system to a new solution.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
The Results
Since adopting Alkimii, Killeen Castle has seen measurable improvements across its operations – from onboarding and time savings to team communication and forecasting. The implementation of Alkimii brought significant benefits to Killeen Castle:
1. Cleaner Onboarding and Time Savings
Alkimii made it faster and easier to bring on new hires, replacing paper-heavy workflows with a simple digital process.
“From a day-to-day point of view, there are three key things. Rostering, management information for pay percentages per department, and forecasting. The discipline alone from these has led to greater efficiencies within the organisation. The onboarding process is so clean. We had a new person starting this week and the difference between the old and new process is so evident now.
"We just click and that person who is onboarding on Thursday has received all their details including their starter pack, employment handbook, health and safety induction prior to them coming onboard. It is so much cleaner than it used to be.”
We have saved a shedload of administrative work. It is a considerable amount of time saved.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
2. Improved Forecasting and Operational Efficiency
Killeen Castle now tracks wage percentages and department forecasts with greater accuracy, supporting more informed decision-making.
“From a day-to-day point of view, there are three key things. Rostering, management information for pay percentages per department, and forecasting. The discipline alone from these has led to greater efficiencies within the organisation.”
“The benefits would be the reporting, the wage cost percentage, more efficient rostering, the communications with the team which have driven the efficiencies.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
3. Seamless Communication with Alkimii Chat
Alkimii Chat has improved cross-team communication, onboarding consistency, and team morale.
“We use the application quite extensively. Most notably, to communicate individually or as a department. We have recently employed a consultant on our health and safety practices and standards and that has led to a video for staff which has formed part of the induction plan. Through the chat, we can send this video to everybody.”
“From time to time, we might get gifts which we are able to push out to the team on the chat as a gratuity which helps with morale. If someone on the Food & Beverage team gets named in a guest review, we can share it on the chat, and it acts a prompt to others to get something similar.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
The Impact
Alkimii has become a crucial part of Killeen Castle’s tech stack - supporting the business through operational growth, digital transformation, and a stronger team culture.
“I would put this software as crucial in terms of priority. There has been a lot of change in our tech stack in the last 18 months, and Alkimii is a big part of that.”
Philip also praised the ongoing support from Alkimii, noting how the resources and response times make a real difference to daily operations.
“The online training, the video content, the knowledge base is very, very good. When I call into the support that process is extremely good and prompt.”
“When I call into the support that process is extremely good and prompt. All the support personnel have all the information they need to solve a problem their level of understanding is very high. That has been a remarkable experience.” - Philip Rock, General Manager, Killeen Castle
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