The culture of work is in the process of undergoing a hugely significant change- all reports in the media and internally at many multinational organizations who are holding surveys with their international workforce, point to a new office space and hybrid work culture.
This hybrid work will involve a mix of working from home or remotely and office-based collaboration. It will be a confirmation that a full-time return to pre-pandemic office culture is not going to happen for most industries in global business today.
The implications of this are varied and widespread, and this article will focus on what it might mean for the delivery and management of multi-country global payroll. This is a business critical and essential service- after all, no matter what the future of work may look like, we can be certain that one thing will never change- that is the importance of paying employees on time, accurately, every single month or pay period. This is something that will never change and there is no room for any drop in standards when it comes to the delivery of global payroll.
So, if getting employees paid accurately and on time can never change, then what aspects of global payroll delivery will change?
Access will be remote
One significant change for global payroll delivery is likely to be new and improved measures around payroll data, employee information and procedure note access. If payroll is being delivered by remote employees, then access is absolutely essential to getting the job done.
Many organizations today are not remote working access enabled when it comes to data and procedure notes. Sharing of information between team members is still very much reliant on email and spreadsheet in global payroll teams today. But in a time-driven and extremely deadline focused environment, this is not a sustainable way to share data and information.
Access needs to be simple, flexible and always available. Accessing global payroll data from a cloud deployed digital platform is the future of global payroll. Properly authorized global payroll professionals can login to this digital platform, access the data they need and securely share information with other global payroll professionals around the world.
This is fast, simple and secure data sharing and will likely be among the first priorities for multinational companies who are currently unable to guarantee this. Long term global payroll delivery in a remote work environment and hybrid work model simply cannot happen without the right levels of access.
Automation will become more common
Global payroll data entry and validation is still manual in many organizations- this may be hard to believe in 2021, but unfortunately it is very much the case. Again, this is a part of global payroll delivery that is not sustainable.
Too much time is being spent entering, changing and double-checking global payroll data in excel spreadsheets or other manual files. It was never the ideal scenario but now it has simply become unmanageable due to companies scaling at a rapid place and on boarding new company employees in new locations, and subsequently onboarding new local country payroll providers to help get them paid. There is way too much data to be dealt with on a manual level.
Robotic process automation can take over the payroll data entry process- this innovative, machine learning technology is capable of uploading bulk data files containing payroll data for thousands of employees, in a matter of seconds. Checking and validation happens just as quick, errors are spotted immediately, and reports are generated rapidly for the checking of anomalies and confirming everything is correct.
This introduces a whole new level of speed and efficiency into global payroll data processing - it also makes the process more accurate by removing the likelihood of human error. Crucially, it creates breathing space and more time in every pay run cycle for global payroll professionals to focus on higher priority tasks such as analytics and reporting.
Reporting requests will rise
People have justifiable concerns about the level of visibility and transparency available in a remote environment- if people are no longer in the office and engaging in face-to-face conversations, then there are concerns about how to track and monitor the various aspects of global payroll delivery.
Reporting and analytics that identify what occurred in payroll delivery and how it was different from previous months will become important. These reports can give global payroll managers and human resources managers a detailed overview of what is happening in the payroll department. It will create a sense of visibility and control and enable the supply of fully documented audit trails for compliance purposes.
Reporting demands will not be restricted to the basics of who got paid and when- the requests will go far deeper than that. Country cost comparisons and reports on specific pay elements will be needed for various different stakeholders to understand the bigger picture when it comes to global payroll costs.
Multiple stakeholders will need different reports for a range of different reasons- you can expect to see a rise in these requests for specific reporting in this new hybrid working model.
This has major implications when it comes to the technology stack in use at global corporations for global payroll delivery. Many companies rely on their outsource provider or local vendors to deliver reporting for them- this kind of reporting tends to be basic and high level and does not go into the level of detail that is needed to meet these new demands.
Multi country, comparative and consolidated global payroll reporting is the future. This kind of reporting needs to be delivered quickly and efficiently, ideally in a self- serve capacity so stakeholders within an organization can pull their own reports as in when they need them.
Smart tools and strong digital platform capabilities will be needed to make sure this becomes a reality- organizations who are not currently capable of delivering consolidated multi country reporting need to put in place a technology stack that is capable of delivering these reports in the very near future.
Compliance management will be challenging
Global payroll compliance has never been easy but the implications that come with his new hybrid working culture means that it is likely to become more complex. Global organizations, local authorities and even governments are likely to introduce new legislation around working hours and culture to reflect the changes coming with this new hybrid working model.
There will be a greater need than ever before for powerful technology to help manage the compliance side of global payroll delivery. Employees working remotely means a strong likelihood that they will request to deliver their duties from a different country, possibly even a country where their employer does not have any presence.
With this comes tax, social security and labor law implications- at present, it is not yet clear how all of this will play out and what kinds of legislation will come into force to manage it all. What we can confidently predict is that the compliance challenge will become that bit more difficult, and strong digital functionality and real estate will be needed to manage it all.
Digital tools like transparent audit trails and compliance calendars can help global payroll professionals track and monitor their international compliance obligations as well as offer transparent proof of compliance when it comes to any internal or external audits.
Again, there will be a requirement here for a cloud deployed digital platform featuring tools that enable global payroll professionals (as remote employees) to enter, store and monitor information related to compliance activities.
A tech requirement
We have covered 4 things above that will play a significant role in the future delivery of global payroll and a new hybrid working culture. There are many others too and let's not forget that all of the previous challenges with global payroll delivery still exist and need to be managed.
All of this points to an increasing need for a technology solution- essentially a digital cloud platform designed specifically for global payroll. A platform that is flexible, agile and responsive. A platform featuring digital tools and smart reporting analytics- a platform where global payroll professionals are empowered with the tools they need to do their job. A platform to manage global payroll complexity and international compliance.
And crucially, a platform that can handle global payroll delivery in this new hybrid delivery environment while also facilitating the growth and scaling objectives of the organization.
Multinational companies need to be decisive and act right now- this new hybrid working culture is already in the early stages of development at some of the biggest brand names in the world as they prepare for the future of work and get ready for a post-covid-19 company culture.
Other global companies will follow suit with their global workforce and this new work policy will become commonplace very quickly. Any organization that does not have the technology in place to facilitate the paying of international employees under this new hybrid working culture, will quickly find themselves behind the curve and scrambling to keep pace. This is exactly the scenario that global organizations wish to avoid as they look to make up ground in the business economy that they have lost as a consequence of the covid-19 pandemic.
For information on the Payslip Platform contact us today.