How Celeste Group Streamlines Restaurant Openings with Paylocity

The Challenge: Fragmented Systems Creating Operational Bottlenecks

The Celeste Group, a 300-employee Chicago hospitality company with six venues including a Michelin-starred restaurant, faced growing inefficiencies from disconnected HR and payroll systems.

Critical Pain Points: 

• Celeste Group Directors and managers spent more time than necessary on administrative tasks 
• Manual data exports from POS into payroll systems introduced occasional errors and long audit cycles 
• Inconsistent onboarding experiences led to delays and manual cleanup 
• Previous platforms lacked organizational hierarchy, limiting visibility into labor cost reporting

The Solution: Comprehensive Platform Implementation

The Celeste Group retooled its entire HR infrastructure from the ground up with help from the Paylocity implementation, service, and support teams. The Celeste team defined and architected its own cost centers, workflows, and org structure — while Paylocity’s team provided clear guidance on how to configure the platform to match. Migrations were rolled out in phases to reduce disruption, and the team is preparing to integrate APIs to further streamline processes.

 

The Results: 48-Hour Restaurant Launch

What used to take weeks was completed in just 48 hours for the group’s newest venue, Hiro — including the full onboarding of 50 employees, from offer letters to payroll readiness. 

Operational Efficiency Gains 

• Eliminated administrative overhead that previously strained store-level and ops teams 
• Reduced training time through system standardization and consolidation 
• Enabled accurate labor cost reporting for the first time 
• Set the foundation for full integration of onboarding, scheduling, and payroll 

Enhanced Employee Experience 

• Self-service mobile onboarding completed from home, saving hours on day one 
• One unified portal for paystubs, benefits, HR documents, and internal communication 
• Standardized policy distribution and training across all locations 
• Paylocity's AI supports employees with answers to company-specific questions