Global payroll has been neglected when it comes to digital transformation in the past, but we are pleased to see that the landscape is changing now. The pandemic brought a stark reminder about the importance of payroll timeliness and accuracy especially when there was such a key focus on the employee experience during that time.
The digitization of global payroll data gathering and processing can bring a range of benefits to the global payroll department as well as connected departments, such as human resources, accounting, and finance. In this article, we are going to look at four key improvements that can happen quickly when companies make the decision to digitize their multi-country payroll software and consider a software as a service platform.
Spreadsheets disappear
Global payroll processing at many large enterprises today is still defined by manual entry, excel spreadsheets and data transfers via email. It is hard to believe that this would still be the case with payroll teams with in 2023, and yet it is.
Digitizing global payroll functions means an end to the spreadsheet and nobody will miss them! When payroll is digitized, it then involves the automated transfer of payroll data into the payroll engine and related systems such as the local country provider and HCMs. The data flows quickly and seamlessly in an automated fashion. Automation means that large files can be bulk uploaded, and an automated and digitized payroll platform can check and validate payroll data in seconds.
This is a huge time saver for busy global payroll professionals, with digitized payroll they only need to check the anomalies and error reports. Payroll is also immediately more accurate as it is no longer subject to human error as automation and digital processes take over the human input. By making the payroll process more efficient with digitization and freeing up payroll professionals, they no longer have to worry about completing time-consuming manual data entry tasks, they now have more time to focus on their other priorities.
Data is consolidated
Multi-country payroll is complex. Lots of employees scattered across the globe means lots of data to process and lots of countries to deliver payroll in. When you consolidate your payroll countries and the employee data, the process of payroll management and delivering payroll becomes much more manageable.
Digitizing payroll means moving everything into a single SaaS model platform with a single dashboard view of all countries. Visibility and control are immediately enhanced as payroll professionals can access and view consolidated real-time data in a single location, they can actually see what is happening with each individual payroll country and the necessary steps and actions they need to take in order to process effectively.
This consolidated view replaces the old non-digitized way and traditional software. This was the unsatisfactory scenario where payroll countries were processed in different spreadsheets and data was received from different local country vendors in different formats. Getting a clear handle on what was happening was very difficult and the process was often different for each country.
Consolidated data also paves the way for more comprehensive and detailed multi-country real-time reporting, which can be consolidated at a global level for bigger picture insights and analysis. Consolidated data enables the payroll data to be comparative, you can compare one country to another and get real insight into how they differ and why.
Data gets standardized
The lack of standardization in non-digital payroll is a major blocker to progress. Different data in different systems, all arriving in different formats at different times means there is no standardized way of doing things across all of your countries.
Everybody is dealing with different data, and they are often duplicating this data from one system into another to try and make sense of it all. A digital payroll process can enable the standardization of data so that payroll elements are mapped in the same way for each country on your payroll. The data and process are the same for each country. Payroll professionals now know exactly what they are doing and can see exactly what is happening across their payroll. The process becomes far more efficient and streamlined-standardized data leads to global payroll harmony.
Standardized data also helps with scaling activity as companies grow into new countries. Once you have standardized data as part of a digital payroll process, you have a template in place to add new countries quickly and in the same format. New countries are now processed in the exact same way as your existing countries, this can be a significant advantage when it comes to the speed of onboarding and implementing a new country that you have moved into.
Undergoing a digital transformation that will standardize your payroll data will require an investment in a cloud-computing technology solution. This kind of payroll technology can automate and standardize payroll data and also support integrations with HCM systems. The result of implementing such SaaS applications will be a huge improvement in how payroll is processed and will result in accurate, automated, and standardized payroll system information.
A better employee experience
Employees want access to their payroll and pay-related data. They have a certain expectation of digital efficiency from their personal lives, and it is human nature to carry this into their professional life. A digitized payroll process enables companies to set up an employee self-service portal which they can enter anytime they want from any location in the world to view, access and download payslips and tax information. This is a positive employee experience, good for company culture and employee engagement.
This is digital payroll benefiting the employee experience and this experience can be the same for every employee regardless of the location. This could turn out to be hugely beneficial for the payroll and human resources department too, as there is a massive reduction in the number of queries from employees around their payroll or requests for backdated payslips. The employee now has all of this information at their fingertips on the mobile device of their choosing. This could help the employee feel more in control of their own information and their finances, by having all their payslip information available to them at any time. This can help improve the rate of employee retention within the organization.
Implementing digital solutions for payroll can result in a number of improvements for the entire process. Payroll professionals no longer have to use spreadsheets, and can instead automate and streamline the payroll process, making the data flow quickly and seamlessly. Payroll data becomes consolidated, and the process of payroll becomes much more manageable. Digitization can result in standardized data, making the process more efficient. As well as this, the employee experience can be improved, as companies can set up an employee self-service portal, allowing employees to access their payroll information whenever they want.
For more information about our Global Payroll Control Platform contact us today.