Global payroll is currently being delivered by remote teams at multinationals around the world due to people movement restrictions arising from the Coronavirus situation. There have been challenges to overcome, but many global payroll professionals are used to operating in an imperfect environment where they are delivering payroll accurately and on time in testing circumstances.
Therefore, it is not a major surprise that global payroll teams filled with dedicated and passionate professionals have responded to the coronavirus challenge in a positive and proactive way. They have adapted to the new situation and focused on the things they can do in the here and now, while flagging issues which are causing a problem with the delivery of global payroll.
What happens next?
The result has largely been the effective delivery of global payroll in a remote working environment. Payroll professionals no longer have the advantage of face to face daily contact but have adapted well to video technology, conference calls and business continuity procedures. This success has raised important questions for the future of global payroll, as many now wonder if remote delivery will become the new normal?
In this article, we take a look at what the immediate future of global payroll delivery could look like as countries across the world come out of lockdown and adjust to new office measures being put in place at multinationals in response to government or local public health guidelines.
Global Payroll Managers
Every person in a leadership role at a multinational will face significant challenges as they attempt to bring their teams back into the normal office environment. Global payroll managers are now looking at how best to adjust to office life in the post COVID-19 working world.
It is pretty much accepted the things cannot simply go back to the way they were before, certainly not in 2020. Public health and government guidelines are likely to dictate office behavior and structure for the next year or two as countries everywhere must remain focused on doing everything possible to limit the spread of COVID-19.
From a management perspective, this likely means that some things will remain within their control and other things will simply be out of their hands. And they will need to have a plan in place to help them respond to the things that are out of their control.
Team Concerns
A global payroll team, like many office teams, will contain a variety of different people who are returning to work with different concerns and priorities arising from the COVID-19 situation. Global payroll managers will have to field different questions from members of their team approaching work based on their personal needs. There will likely be some documented office health guidelines from government and local authorities, but there is simply no one size fits all scenario.
This means that managers will need to be flexible, adaptable and forward thinking. They will also need to listen carefully and be sensitive to the very specific needs of the individuals in their teams. Payroll team members, especially those with families will have a range of questions about what their future working environment will look like and they will be seeking reassurances that their health, safety and mental well-being is being prioritized by the company they work for. Below is a selection of some important questions that will require answers:
- What social distancing measures are in place in terms of the office layout?
- I need to work from home more often to avoid public transport as I am concerned about my safety, is this an option for me?
- I am not willing to risk my health using public transport as part of a daily commute for the foreseeable future, what do you suggest?
- What can I expect to see in the office in terms of hand sanitizers, face masks and additional hygiene facilities?
- Our team has proven capable of delivering global payroll remotely, why don't we simply continue to deliver it in a remote environment to protect our personal health?
Health Concerns
Some countries are slowly coming out of lockdown and office life will begin to re-emerge in the weeks and months ahead, but there are likely to be significant changes. Online and social media debates have allowed people to voice their concerns, and one of the biggest areas of concern is crowded public transport which had become a way of life in the daily commute to the office before everything changed.
Global payroll professionals may no longer be willing to risk their health by getting on crowded trains and buses to get to an office and deliver services which they now know they are capable of delivering remotely. A global payroll manager may not be in a position to tell them that this is not an option. Managers are likely to receive guidance from HR and the wider leadership teams at multinationals, but it is widely expected that a certain level of flexibility is going to be needed.
Some major corporations like Google and Facebook have already anticipated scenarios like these and have formally allowed their employees to remain working from home for the remainder of 2020. Employees who need or wish to return to the office can do so when restrictions are lifted, with enhanced safety measures in place, but the option is there to continue working from home for the rest of the year.
Employees living with elderly family members who are in the high risk category of exposure to coronavirus will very likely state that they are unwilling to travel on public transport to a crowded office and risk exposing this family member to the virus in the future. So, at some level, global payroll managers need to be ready to deal with situations on a case by case basis. Dealing with a frustrating and imperfect future is unavoidable, and a new managerial skill set will need to be developed to achieve an outcome that is flexible and works for everybody involved.
Remote Future
All of this begs the question, will remote delivery play a significant role in the future of global payroll? In the short term at least, the likely answer is yes. This raises more questions around the suitability of remote delivery- just because remote global payroll teams have been managing successfully to deliver payroll, this does not mean that everything has gone easily and smoothly.
There is a strong need for innovative technology that ensures payroll can be delivered remotely in a secure, safe, accurate and risk-free manner. Not every global payroll team is currently equipped with the kind of technology and internal processes that allow for this kind of feasible delivery of remote global payroll. Fit for purpose technology is likely to become an immediate priority for global payroll managers in the coming weeks and months.
If companies have undergone a strong digital transformation in recent years to upgrade their technology and processes, then physical location is much less of an issue when it comes to the delivery of even the most essential services. Global payroll can adapt and even thrive in such companies, but the unfortunate reality is that the payroll department is one of the last business functions to become digitized and therefore many payroll professionals find themselves working with legacy technology and non-standard processes. This kind of situation does not lend itself to a long term and sustainable delivery of global payroll.
Payslip and remote payroll
Our cloud-based platform can help with the remote delivery of critical global payroll services. Payslip technology is flexible and innovative, and therefore very suited to helping global payroll professionals deliver services in a remote environment.
Our automation and integration technology introduces automation to remove manual repeat tasks and reduce risk. It also integrates with local country providers to facilitate fast and efficient processing of global payroll. All pay- run data and payroll procedure documents can be accessed remotely in the cloud by any employee with the correct level of authorization.
Companies already integrated with the Payslip platform find it straightforward to deliver global payroll remotely while also enjoying a much more comprehensive level of global consolidated reporting. This helps with data analysis, trends and business insight along with global payroll cost figures. Our platform features include employee communication tools and task switching facilities, both of which are major assets in the remote environment.
If it seems likely that global payroll will be delivered remotely for the foreseeable future at your company, talk to our team today to find out more about ways in which our technology can assist with remote global payroll.