The Challenge

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based nonprofit with 130 employees—85% of them scientists—faced growing inefficiencies in managing payroll and grant reporting. Staff had to allocate time across multiple grants daily, but their old system was slow, error-prone, and required vendor support to fix mistakes, often taking days. HR processes like annual staff reviews were still paper-based, adding to administrative strain and pulling focus away from scientific work.

“We didn’t just need to process payroll accurately, we needed all employees to easily bill multiple grants, including administration staff and scientists.”

— Lee Schoentrup, Director of Communications

After evaluating several options, IDRI selected PayNW’s HCM Solution for its flexibility, usability, and local partnership. Implementation began in January 2014 and was completed in less than a month. Employees gained access to one unified system for time tracking and payroll, while HR features later digitized staff reviews and centralized employee files. Managers could now easily access evaluations and goals, reducing paperwork and improving visibility across teams.

“After comparing all available options, it became clear that PayNW was the right solution for us. Their company culture was in line with ours, and the fact that they were local was an added benefit.”

— Lee Schoentrup

The Results

With PayNW, IDRI reduced payroll and grant reporting errors dramatically—mistakes that once took days to resolve could now be fixed internally in minutes. HR reviews went paperless, freeing up time and cutting costs. All 130 employees benefited from the new platform, giving scientists and administrators more time to focus on mission-critical research.