How Ladonware automated talent management with Deel

For years, Ladonware’s fully remote team spanned the US, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and beyond. Mid-month payroll meant 50+ wire transfers, complex personal loan deductions, and endless hours toggling between spreadsheets and bank portals.

“Before Deel, we were doing fifty transfers and three deductions per person—every single cycle, all manually, with different banks, different countries, different laws. It was a lot of work.”— Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware.

As hiring expanded across Latin America to reduce costs, so did the complexity. A trial run with ADP stalled due to a lack of regional support, with Rodriguez spending a month calling every other day, while internal teams spent days each cycle managing payroll manually. Eventually, the team realized they needed a solution purpose-built for distributed teams—and turned to Deel.

In 2023, Ladonware chose Deel Contractor and Deel Contractor of Record, to standardize agreements and payments for its distributed workforce. Lucía restructured every contract using Deel’s locally compliant templates—adding vacation, paid leave, and private health coverage.

They then implemented Deel Payroll to manage employees in Costa Rica and Panama. Now, one bulk payment—processed in multiple currencies—covers the entire team while Deel handles deductions, deposits, and local compliance.

“My VP saw how many hours we spent on manual payroll and said, ‘If a tool frees you to focus on what matters, it’ll save us more than it costs.’ Deel proved him right.” — Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

Unlocking data‑driven performance with Deel

With payroll pain fading, Ladonware tackled its next bottleneck: performance management. Previously, year-end reviews took two months and spanned Google Forms, Excel sheets, and SurveyMonkey exports. In 2024, they implemented Deel—and turned chaos into clarity:

• Goals & OKRs tracked in one place—complete with evidence uploads. "Within each goal you see who’s responsible, what needs to be done, and you can upload progress evidence." — Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

• AI‑generated trainings, such as SMART‑goals, can be built in 30 minutes. "Through the AI incorporated in the learning development module I am able to build fantastic courses in half an hour." — Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

• Pulse surveys and NPS launched company‑wide (no extra tools). "We built our first NPS in 15 minutes, and the last pulse survey was a complete success." — Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

• Performance reviews completed in a single workflow—saving two months of busywork. “We saved two full months on performance reviews the very first year.” — Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

“Deel HR has everything. We went from cobbling forms together to running reviews, learning, and surveys in one click.”— Lucía Rodriguez, Head of HR, Ladonware

With Deel, Ladonware’s HR stack is no longer a patchwork of vendors. Payroll in new markets can be spun up quickly, and Deel’s career‑path frameworks are setting the stage for long‑term growth. Most importantly, employees now enjoy a self‑service portal for payslips, policies, time‑off, and learning, bolstering Ladonware’s employer brand across the region.