How ATG Entertainment gained visibility and efficiency across 30 UK venues with Crown’s time and attendance system

The challenge

The workforce management
challenge at ATG Entertainment

Founded in 1992, ATG Entertainment has grown into the world’s leading live-theatre company,
operating more than 50 venues across the UK, US and Germany, including theatres, music venues and cinemas. In the UK alone, ATG delivers over 10,000 performances each year and issues more than 11 million tickets through the country’s biggest theatre-ticketing website.

Before partnering with Crown, ATG relied on Excel spreadsheets for rostering and paper-based payroll. This approach worked locally but left head office with no central oversight of time and attendance data across its venues.

“Venues were functioning fine but as a central, head office resource, we had no access to any of the time and attendance information. We needed something more effective and efficient that allowed oversight of all sites so we could measure and compare venues, establish best practice and address issues quickly.”
- Tamsin McDowell, HR Systems Partner

The company also wanted to give show producers more accurate costings in advance, something impossible without real-time workforce data.

The solution

Crown’s collaborative solution

ATG partnered with Crown Workforce Management to replace its manual systems with a digital time and attendance platform providing full visibility across all UK venues.

The rollout began with a pilot venue, refined to resolve initial teething issues, before expanding group-wide. ATG and Crown worked closely throughout the project to ensure smooth implementation and strong staff engagement. Each venue appointed a local system champion trained in the rollout process to answer staff questions and encourage adoption.

“Crown have been heavily involved all the way through. They have a caring attitude to their customers as well as a high level of technical expertise and a healthy attitude to questions, always being willing to learn themselves too.”
- Tamsin McDowell, HR Systems Partner

The results

The results – Faster payroll, greater visibility

The introduction of Crown’s system has transformed workforce oversight and payroll efficiency at ATG.

Where processing timesheets once took six hours every Monday, the task now takes just two hours, despite the company’s continued growth. The system proactively identifies payment anomalies, improving accuracy and reducing manual checks. It also accommodates ATG’s complex mix of salaried, part-time, casual, temporary and zero-hours staff, ensuring every shift and role is captured correctly.

“The system proactively picks up on any anomalies regarding payment so we can address it. It copes with the range of salaried permanent and temporary, full and part-time, casual and zero-hours staff all working variable hours.”
- Peter Fry, Venue Administrator

Beyond the operational gains, ATG now benefits from real-time visibility of staffing data across all venues, enabling better comparison, improved accountability and stronger transparency at every level.