5 tips for getting payroll right

The last few years have seen plenty of organisations run into trouble with payroll. Underpayment of staff can create legal issues and sow disloyalty among the workforce.

With this in mind, staying on top of payroll should be a key concern for businesses. Jeff Phipps, senior vice president at ADP, said: “A disjointed, error-ridden payroll process can seriously hinder any company’s speed to market, undermine growth strategies and impact revenue targets.”

According to Mr Phipps, the pandemic exposed flaws in payroll procedures, and in this new world of work, organisations should look to rectify issues if they’re to stay ahead.

To assist in this change, Mr Phipps gave his top five payroll strategies to help businesses stay afloat:

1. Invest in the right technology

It’s no secret that the right tech can be a massive advantage. The ability to streamline processes and reduce human error is a great way to ease the chance of payroll issues.

Mr Phipps said: “Businesses must invest in technology that will cut both costs and risks.”

“When evaluating the relative merits of global payroll technology options, a business should ask three basic questions. How will the new system demonstrably improve efficiency across its current payroll operations? Has the vendor designed its payroll platform specifically to expedite business growth efficiency? And, in what ways will the solution help the company hit the ground running in new markets?”

2. Make sure payroll is streamlined and predictable

Businesses can benefit by taking a step back and evaluating their payroll procedure. Making the system intuitive and simple to use can make the payroll process much easier for those who have to do it.

“To be optimal, payroll needs to be streamlined and predictable right across the payroll function,” said Mr Phipps.

3. Increase visibility to drive powerful insights

“Businesses can’t control what they can’t see. To ensure maximum visibility, the payroll solution must be fully integrated with all existing human resources information system (HRIS) and accounting systems,” Mr Phipps explained.

“This means that teams have one single version of the truth at their fingertips to ensure better decision-making and cross-departmental collaboration … This increased visibility informs finance and HR teams to drive powerful outcomes.”

4. Deploy agile systems

Agility is crucial for a company’s ability to adapt. The same goes for the systems they use. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that change can happen suddenly, and organisations need to be prepared for this if they don’t want to be left in the dark.

Mr Phipps commented: “It is important to deploy agile systems that are primed to seamlessly deliver pay and adapt to new ways of working as the business expands into new markets.”

“If a payroll team can quickly provide credible pay-related information to senior managers, forecasting pay-related trends becomes much more straightforward, making decision-making a breeze.”

5. Involve teams

Listening to your workforce is crucial for any area of the business. Payroll is no exception. While technology is important, it does not override the human element that is needed to run a company well.

“In our payroll survey, we found that global payroll doesn’t often sit neatly under one business function. This means there are several groups of stakeholders with responsibility for the strategic direction of the service, each with their own views of what needs changing,” Mr Phipps said.

“Whether the payroll function is centralised, regionalised, or follows a location-specific ‘centre of excellence’ shared service model, make sure the business is set up for payroll success by gaining important buy-in from teams from the off. Engaging the payroll, HR and finance teams, and employers as a whole in what efficient payroll means for them is key in the deployment of it.”