A new year has begun, and we thought we would start it by reflecting on some of the best global payroll processing advice we heard last year-end. Despite the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, we got to a few external events by the end of the calendar year and had some face-to-face meetings with clients, peers, analysts and industry experts.
There was plenty to discuss and every meeting is an opportunity to learn something new. Like any industry, global payroll, and how it is delivered and managed on a day-to-day basis is evolving and changing in response to what is happening in the market. We are pleased to see some innovation happening and new technology is beginning to be adopted. People are starting to think about the future and are wondering whether their current processes for delivering multi country global payroll are sustainable.
The future of work is very much on the minds of everybody, especially global payroll professionals, who have the challenging task of ensuring that a new kind of workforce, comprised of hybrid, full-time and remote workers, is paid accurately and on time, every payday or pay period. They have a lot on their minds and continually point out the need for a digital transformation within their departments to help them cope with increasing demands on their time.
Conversations flowed and advice was sought and given- below are some examples of what we consider to be some of the best payroll advice we heard last year. We will be advising a lot of our clients could follow it in 2022!
Ditch the spreadsheets, once and for all
It might surprise you could learn that even last year, a large number of modern and advanced organizations were still relying on excel spreadsheets and email to deliver their payroll services. They input and check data like salary, payroll tax, irs info, social security numbers, federal government deductions, medicare, time tracking, sick leave, timesheets and more using excel.
Many other business critical departments within the company had benefitted from a digital transformation or investment in innovative technology, but somehow, the crucial global payroll department seemed to miss out. Instead, they continued to calculate, verify and validate global payroll data inside excel spreadsheets and then use email to transport these spreadsheets around the world.
Slow, awkward and cumbersome- managing data in spreadsheets is certainly not sustainable. It is also highly unlikely that such a process would pass any data security or information protection protocols. Manual spreadsheet data entry should really be a thing of the past in a business-critical unit like global payroll. So, ditching the spreadsheets once and for all is one of the best pieces of advice as we heard.
Standardize the data, then the process
If you take this advice, it can really transform the speed and efficiency with which you deliver and manage global payroll. Think about it, you have multiple countries and subsequently, multiple different processes. All of this inevitably involves multiple data streams coming at you from various different systems and software. it sounds like a nightmare, doesn't it?
The good news is that there is a payroll software solution-and that solution is to standardize all of the data across all of your countries, and then standardize the payroll delivery process across all of your countries. When you do this, everybody is operating from the same page and looking at the same data structure. Things immediately become easier, faster and more efficient.
There is a bit of groundwork involved, but it can be done relatively easily using a global payroll control platform. It is a matter of directing all of the data into a centralized system, mapping and classifying the pay elements in a standardized structure and then duplicating this process across all of your payroll countries. The benefits are enormous- visibility is immediately increased and you can see exactly what is happening across all of your countries. Professionals based in one country would be in a position to process payroll from another country, because of the standardized data and processes. And crucially, standardized data for all payroll countries is immediately available and extractable into data which can be consolidated for detailed and comprehensive multi country payroll reporting.
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Take a global first approach
This is connected to the above point about standardizing the data, but it takes it a step further and applies real structure and discipline to the overall framework in which you deliver your global payroll operations.
This is about a global first approach to data so that a global framework is in place. But crucially, this framework is created in such a way that it can accommodate local country nuances for things like tax filing, tax forms, reimbursement and tax returns.
Payroll by nature is local and it will always be this way. Every country is different, and each country may have to account for local laws, regulations and compliance requirements. Taking a global first approach involves standardizing the data in such a way that the payroll data features that are common to all countries are accounted for, and there is space remaining to account for the local nuances such as local tax, different national holidays, country specific labor laws etc.
One of the great things about a global first approach is that you then have in place a global playbook- so that when your organization wants to scale into new countries, you have a framework in place that can be followed- it can be duplicated very quickly in the new country and then simply adjusted to allow for the local nuances of that country. This can result in the setting up of a new country or local country payroll provider in a matter of days instead of weeks. This is a massive time and efficiency gain that can also be a competitive edge as a global first data framework really helps the global payroll department facilitate the seizing of opportunities in new countries. Such an approach really does need to be implemented via a global payroll control platform-as such a platform would be underpinned by a global first data approach and therefore purpose built to help.
Make zero touch your new payroll normal
This is in line with ditching excel spreadsheets but takes it a step further by looking to remove all manual parts from the multi country global payroll process, wherever possible.
This is about seamless and integrated data flowing effortlessly between global payroll systems and HCMs as well as local country provider systems. When these 3 core payroll data systems are connected via seamless integrations, then a very powerful and effective zero touch process can be implemented.
With zero touch, data will flow in an automated fashion, from original input to checking and validation, to automatic transfer back over to the local country provider for payment processing.
The role of the global payroll professional will be immediately transformed with a sharp move away from checking data, and a move towards analysis, reporting and continual process improvement. Zero touch creates time in the monthly payroll cycle and gives back days.
Bulk data uploads can happen during zero touch, so if you have a lot of payroll countries to process, this can be a huge timesaver. Automation and integration technology can create a zero-touch environment with errors and discrepancies immediately identified and resolved. There is more time for variance reporting and analysis, and it is a far more efficient use of internal resources.
These are four great pieces of advice for global payroll processing in your organization in 2022. All of these can be put in place on our global payroll control platform, which was designed to make payroll processing smarter, faster and better. We do this via automation and integration technology, standardized data and processes and zero touch payroll processing. Our team is ready and waiting to show you a demonstration of our platform and how it can help transform how you deliver and manage global payroll this year-talk to us now.
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