Endeavor Air builds a stronger runway for change

Airlines rarely pause. Flights depart before sunrise and after midnight. Crews rotate across time zones, and regulations change constantly. For Endeavor Air – a wholly owned regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines – supporting nearly 5,000 employees and 750 flights a day is not simply an HR responsibility; it is fundamental to keeping operations safe, compliant, and running smoothly.

The modern airline industry presents a uniquely complex HR environment. It operates 24/7, with about 40% of Endeavor’s workforce unionized, and regularly onboards temporary staff. The airline works closely with third-party suppliers, navigates a patchwork of state tax laws, and must comply with extensive government regulations that touch every aspect of the business.

“And we have to balance all of this while creating a workplace culture that is distinctly Endeavor,” said Heather Pedersen, HRIS Manager at Endeavor Air.

That reality shaped Endeavor’s decision to move to the Dayforce platform and adopt the full suite, including managed services. What followed was not a routine technology upgrade, but a transformation in how the airline helps support its people, manage complexity, and reduce risk across an always-on operation.

From fragmentation to a single system of record

Before Dayforce, Endeavor relied on six disconnected systems to manage HR, payroll, time, benefits, and talent. Data was spread across multiple platforms, and processes were largely manual. Employees had little visibility into their own information. “Employees never actually had self-service before,” Pedersen said.

Simple actions like updating an address or understanding their benefits required emails, forms, and follow-ups. HR teams spent a significant amount of time reconciling data across various systems. Leaders struggled to access the information they needed to make decisions in a nonstop, highly regulated environment.

Endeavor knew it needed more than incremental improvement. It needed a single system of record – flexible enough to handle aviation’s unique challenges, from union rules and specialized taxation to mobile crews and safety-critical operations. During an intensive RFP process, the airline tested vendors against real-world scenarios that its legacy tools could not solve. “We literally came with situations that we could not solve for in our previous HRIS,” Pedersen explained. “Within 48 hours, Dayforce came back and said, ‘Yep, here you go, this is how we would solve for it.’” That response made the decision clear.

Clearing the runway for one system

Endeavor went live on the Dayforce platform, deploying the full suite and managed services to support HR, payroll, time, benefits, talent, and analytics on one system. At the foundation of the deployment was Dayforce HR, which now serves as Endeavor’s system of record.

Built into that core platform is Dayforce Integration Studio, allowing the airline to connect data across vendors and systems without having to always rely on custom IT builds. “Integration Studio is our best friend,” Pedersen said. “I could not imagine a world without it.” Instead of treating integrations as one-off projects, Endeavor can now automate data movement, reduce manual entry, and maintain accuracy at scale – a critical capability for an airline with complex operational dependencies. Dayforce Integration Studio also changed how quickly Endeavor could move. “What would probably take IT three months to set up now takes us weeks or less,” she said.

That control extended to reporting and payroll operations. “General ledger reporting went from a day and a half to five minutes,” Pedersen said. With a stable platform in place, Endeavor had confidence that one system could replace many, while helping manage risk.

When benefits can’t slow down the operation

With a new system coming online, Endeavor knew benefits would be one of the earliest and most visible tests. For an airline operating around the clock, there was no margin for disruption.

That context drove the decision to use Dayforce Managed Services from the start. “We previously had a third party that managed all of our benefits,” said Pedersen. “We were used to that model. It was just the right choice to pursue that option.” Capacity was a factor as well. “We just don’t have the manpower to really provide that great customer service,” Pedersen said. “Having a call center, we could point employees to for benefits questions was huge.”

The timing mattered. Endeavor went live on Dayforce and faced open enrollment just months later. “Managed Benefits carried us through open enrollment and helped ensure everyone was taken care of,” Pedersen said. “Everyone got benefits. That was a good thing, and it was a big win for our team.”

Managed benefits assisted Endeavor with meeting those goals by helping handle enrollment support, process life events, coordinate with vendors, and address employee inquiries during a period of heightened risk. For Summer Benoit, Director of Total Rewards and HRIS, managed services bring consistency and confidence to a complex, always-on environment. Benoit shared, “Having that team from the call center all the way up through tier-two deeper level support is really helpful.”

Transforming the employee experience

For Endeavor Air employees, the transition to a single system made an immediate and noticeable difference. Pay, schedules, benefits, and time off now live in one place, accessible through a single Dayforce login.

“Everything goes through Dayforce now,” explained Pedersen. “The fact that you can log in through the same account that you access your pay, your time away… that probably cut down on 75% of the phone calls we previously got.”

In an industry that is increasingly digital and where mobile work is standard, the Dayforce platform puts HR directly in the hands of every Endeavor employee. “Our flight crews work from digital flight manuals held on iPads, our cabin crew use smartphones to check passenger details, and our maintenance teams use tablets to record safety checks. It made sense to bring HR to the place our employees work,” said Pedersen. “The Dayforce app means they now have everything they need at their fingertips.”

Built for airline pay, time, and compliance support

Payroll and time are not back-office functions in aviation. They are operational necessities tied directly to safety, scheduling, and compliance support. “Pilot and flight attendant pay is one of the most complex pay structures you’ll ever encounter,” Pedersen said. Crew members are taxed based on where they live, while unemployment is tied to their assigned base — often in a completely different state. Union agreements and role-specific regulations add another layer of complexity. “Dayforce solved for crew member taxation in a way no other system could,” she said.

To support time capture in the field, Endeavor also deployed Dayforce Tuff clocks across its operations. The airline uses 21 devices at key locations, many of them exposed to the elements at busy airline hubs. Built for durability, the clocks help improve accuracy on time records. Instead of relying on estimated start times, employees now record actual time worked, ensuring time cards reflect when work begins, not when a shift is scheduled to start.

By consolidating payroll into a single system, Endeavor significantly reduced manual effort. What once required a day and a half of work per pay period can now be done in minutes, improving accuracy and giving the team back valuable time. Beyond efficiency gains, automation and self-service have allowed Endeavor to shift two full-time HR administrator roles from manual data entry to more strategic work. Those roles had previously been dedicated to processing changes submitted through online forms.

With pay, time, and analytics on one platform, Endeavor gained real-time insight into how the operation is running. “Executives can pull up a report, pull up a timesheet, pull up data at any time,” said Benoit. “That access at their fingertips is tremendous.”

A steady partner for a nonstop operation

For Endeavor Air, the value of moving to one system is inseparable from having the right partner behind it. “You get out of it what you put into it,” Benoit said. “When you lean into the partnership, that’s when you really see the value.” That partnership has helped HR step out of reactive mode and refocus on higher-value work. “Being able to do the work that I need to do, helps to make sure that things are taken care of,” said Pedersen.

Looking ahead, Endeavor views AI as a key component in the continued evolution of the partnership. “What’s exciting about our relationship with Dayforce is that we have early notice of what’s going to be possible,” Benoit said. “AI is clearly going to be significant in how our employees find answers.”

For an airline that never stops moving, Endeavor Air has gained more than a single system of record. It has a partner that helps its people stay informed, supported, and focused on keeping employees safe and customers moving.