Back in January, many people involved in global payroll were thinking about some of the challenges they would be facing in 2020 and contemplating the solutions available to overcome them. COVID-19 was not a priority at the start of the year, and nobody could have predicted the astonishing impact that this global pandemic has had on worldwide economic activity. Everybody and everything is affected by the pandemic and with businesses everywhere focusing on survival, it seems prudent that business continuity tops the list of any challenges that global payroll or any other department must deal with as a priority in 2020.
In this article, we will discuss global payroll continuity measures in light of COVID-19 and also re-visit some of the other challenges facing payroll professionals this year. These challenges are likely to require technology-based solutions capable of empowering global payroll teams to meet new demands being placed upon them.
Global Payroll Continuity
COVID-19 has changed everything -the first challenge of any payroll department has now become about finding an efficient way to process payroll as normal. Previously, normal referred to in house or office-based processing of global payroll and following standard procedures. Things have changed now, and everybody is working remotely. So, what worked in the past may not necessarily work right now. Business continuity measures need to be put in place to ensure payroll gets processed accurately and on time so that all employees in a multinational can be paid on time. This is crucial for company morale and employee welfare at a time when both of these are under extreme pressure.
Global payroll continuity can start with answering some key questions- the answers to these will help professionals focus their minds on which tasks are the most critical for delivering payroll right now.
- Remote access: Can your global payroll team access all the payroll data information they need when they are working from home?
- Task switching: can you easily switch tasks between people in different countries and time zones should you need to cover enforced absences?
- Reporting- is your current software flexible enough to deliver additional, ad hoc or customized reporting? you can expect numerous requests for payroll reporting as leadership teams look to assess cost analysis during COVID-19
- Provider replacement- should an outsourced payroll provider fail to meet an SLA, is your team in a position to source and on board a new provider quickly?
Standardization
This is a key area- data arriving in different formats from different regions of the world causes problems when it comes to establishing clear reporting. A lot of manual intervention is required, placing additional pressure on the already stretched resources of many payroll services departments. Many payroll teams state that most of their time is spent keeping pace with employee payroll deadlines and they have no free time to focus on other business demands. Standardizing the data will reduce time, save costs and improve efficiency but innovative technology and a willingness to invest in a new approach is required to make this a reality.
Security and data privacy
Data breaches are never far from the news and they can be very costly when it comes to both financial and reputational damage. There is no excuse for any kind of relaxed attitude when it comes to data privacy and security. This is especially important in payroll processes where sensitive employee information is handled on a daily basis.
A global payroll software solution will automate process wherever it can, meaning there is less room for human error and unnecessary access to confidential data. If implemented correctly, your employees’ information will be in less hands and stored with better technology, keeping it safer than ever before.
Implementing a global payroll management software will help when storing employee data and give companies the tools and resources required to meet the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
Consolidated Reporting
Just as local legislations vary across countries, so do systems, processes and reporting when working with local payroll providers/in country partners (ICPs). If there is a single payroll system which integrates with the ICPs, the organization can retrieve crucial data quicker and with significantly less human involvement. The single source and format of the data will help businesses get a global understanding of their payroll operations along with a comprehensive cost analysis.
Introducing a global payroll technology will provide visibility over global payroll by producing comprehensive and customizable payroll reports. These reports will be easy to access and share and can even be scheduled to run automatically at pre-selected times. Such an agile payroll process would save time, greatly reduce manual input and eliminate a lot of risk.
Global level compliance
Expanding into new territories means having to deal with local, country specific regulations and nuances. Concerns over compliance, taxes, penalties and fines have traditionally been the main inhibitors preventing firms from moving to a global operation. Maintaining compliance can be difficult when you have employees in multiple countries. Every country has different rules and regulations, and require different types of information to be submitted, in different formats, and at different deadlines. Keeping track of all these can be time consuming and, in some cases, requires additional resources. It is also likely that data requests around real-time reporting will only increase as companies need to prove they are compliant. A global payroll software can help you implement digital technology to solve these problems, putting the business in a strong position to meet its compliance obligations while scaling rapidly.
Technology and Integration
Integrating your global payroll into your Human Resource Information System (HRIS) or Human Capital Management System (HCM) can be a complex project. This is usually due to a lack of standardized data, collected from multiple different systems across a range of different countries. A technology solution is required to integrate these two systems in a way that users of both systems can access and analyse the international payroll data flowing between them. This integration solution must also be capable of standardizing data, automating processes, and delivering comprehensive reporting. A global payroll management software is a way to bridge the gap between international payroll and your HRIS in order to get a clear and consolidated view of HR and Payroll. This solution should also be scalable, allowing companies with ambitious growth plans to on-board new locations in a seamless fashion and quickly hire new employees.
Cost management
Cloud based technology has significantly improved things in terms of overall cost and time management. Global payroll software has become an accessible and very worthwhile investment. It does however require a change in attitude and a commitment to structure change at several levels of payroll operations.
Partnering with the correct technology partner can make a real difference when it comes to processing and execution times. Software can be deployed relatively quickly, and it is possible to receive a fully managed end to end payroll solution in a short space of time. This will require commitment, but it is time well spent to end up with the reward of a streamlined and standardized payroll process that will reduce costs over the long term.
COVID-19 is currently dictating how multinationals behave, but we must also remember that we are at the start of a new decade, and it is important to think about global payroll challenges and priorities in the longer term too. Multinational companies everywhere now have the opportunity to futureproof their payroll operations for the next decade and beyond. Choosing a technology partner like Payslip is one way to do this. Our platform is designed to be agile and responsive- it can accommodate short term activity like business continuity responses to COVID-19 while also allowing companies to look at the tools they need to meet ambitious expansion plans. They can scale up activity on our platform when the time is right by adding new payroll countries. Our team is ready and waiting to help with both your present and future global payroll needs.