HTeaO Scales Its Workforce 5x Using BambooHR

With inconsistent processes slowing growth, this multi-state beverage company adopted BambooHR to streamline HR workflows and build a scalable foundation for continued franchise and workforce expansion.

“At the end of the day, we’re in the people business—not just the tea, coffee, or T-shirt business. If you’re not supporting your people, you don’t have a company; therefore, you don’t have a business. So I’m sure there’s a very nice, tangible dollar amount-saved, time-saved amount that could describe our ROI with BambooHR, but I look at how BambooHR is helping us deliver for our employees, and it is.”

Heath Nielsen | President | HTeaO

By the numbers

  • Grew from 4 to 14 corporate locations across 3 states in less than 3 years
  • Reached milestone of 150 franchise locations in 2025
  • 5x employee headcount since implementing BambooHR in 2020

Challenges

DECENTRALIZED HR PROCESSES: “When you have a lot of entities, you want to centralize and streamline processes and procedures. You need somewhere that can house all of your important confidential and legal documents, and can integrate with other systems. We had some people in an HRIS that wasn’t really being used, so we said, ‘Hey, we’re going to unlock BambooHR’s full potential with the Pro features and just migrate everyone onto there.’” —Walter Hoffman, HR Talent Acquisition & Employee Relations Manager at HTeaO

MANUAL, INCONSISTENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: “Our performance management was pretty manual—really no type of software. It was, ‘Hey, we'd like to do these quarterly things. If your manager gets to you and has time, let's do it.’ And if not, you kind of had to be your own advocate. Not so much because no one cares, but that's just business, right? Things get busy. Things fall through the cracks.” —Walter

PULLING VALUE FROM HTEAO’S HR INVESTMENT: “HR isn’t a revenue generator, it’s a cost center. Our role is to manage risk, cut unnecessary costs, and act as responsible stewards of the business. We view an HRIS as a strategic investment. Too many other HRIS vendors treat it like a flat, bulk charge and they nickel and dime you with hidden add‑on fees.” —Walter

Solutions

TRANSPARENT COST STRUCTURE THAT MEETS YOU WHERE YOU ARE: “If you start adding up HR department salaries, the amount of time BambooHR has saved for my team and I have been invaluable. I think it’s tremendous that BambooHR charges based on headcount. The more features you add or the more you grow, the more the per-person cost decreases. BambooHR billing is very transparent. You're not paying for anything you don't need. The product meets you where you are, whether you're just starting out or you're rapidly growing like us.” —Walter

A BEST-IN-CLASS HRIS BUILT FOR GROWTH: “When I started at HTeaO, it was refreshing to find out we already had a best-in-class system in BambooHR, and the decision to move to BambooHR® Pro was a relatively simple one. As we continued to double, triple, and quadruple our headcount across the US, it was nice to have an established HRIS that allowed us to scale.” —Heath

GAME-CHANGING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: “The Performance Management piece of BambooHR Pro is great. It’s really been a game-changer for our hourly members all the way up to corporate staff, to get live, real-time feedback. Performance management is now a more streamlined, efficient process that helps us hold our leaders accountable to push away the keyboard and have meaningful conversations with staff. ” —Walter

A USER-FRIENDLY, ACCESSIBLE LIFELINE FOR ALL HR PROCESSES: “I do a little bit of everything, whether that's hiring, recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, disciplinary stuff, audits, you name it. And BambooHR has definitely been a critical piece and a lifeline in doing all of that effectively. It’s so accessible—you can log in on your web browser or the mobile app. For all levels of our staff, whether they're in the stockroom, at a store, or in the boardroom, BambooHR is easily accessible, user-friendly, and direct.” —Walter

RESPONSIVE SUPPORT: “The BambooHR help desk has always been super responsive and timely. In an age where everyone's on a phone or on a computer all day, it goes a long way having a nice, human interaction with BambooHR—you’re there to support us if we need it.” —Walter

TIME-SAVING INTEGRATIONS: “You can really take BambooHR and tailor it to the needs of the business. Our learning management system is integrated with BambooHR, and it’s been a great experience. We have another integration for background screenings that’s very easy to maneuver and operate. And the time clock functionality—the clock-in, clock-out feature—and how it talks to payroll is seamless and easy, too.” —Walter

About HTeaO

As a leading beverage retailer, HTeaO offers over 20 meticulously crafted flavors of sweetened and unsweetened teas. Using a proprietary water filtration system and 100% natural ingredients, it has rapidly expanded across the southern and southwestern US, reaching over 100 locations in 2024. At all its locations, HTeaO is committed to fostering a welcoming atmosphere and giving back to local communities while continuing its strategic growth nationwide.

Industry

Hospitality, Food & Beverage

Location

United States

Number of employees

351+

Solutions

Pro Plan, Performance Management, Integrations

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