A new global payroll processing and delivery year is underway, and it would be advisable this year to consider the employee experience when examining any internal and external payroll processes at your organization.
The great resignation was in the news a lot last year and will continue to make headlines in 2023 also- employees across a range of different industries around the world are looking again at their life priorities and questioning the value of committing all their time to corporate work and office life.
As a result of this global phenomenon, which has seen millions of employees quit their jobs around the world- HR team members, managers and leadership teams at multinational companies have been getting their heads together to look at ways in which they can enhance the employee experience in an attempt to put a stop to this global trend which is having a significant negative impact on international business.
In this article, we will examine why an employee self-service portal giving global employees access to their Payslips and global payroll related data, is an important employee benefit to offer in 2023.
Employee self-service: Payroll and retention
For too long, payroll has been accepted as just one of those things that happens naturally and effectively every month. It does, but this takes diligence, effort and ongoing commitment to execution excellence in a business-critical function.
More recognition is required around the importance of payroll in the employee experience- once you start looking at payroll in this context, then you can begin to develop ideas around a relationship between payroll and retention policies.
Employee retention is now a major priority-new employees have more options than ever before due to remote working and hybrid working opportunities. Location is no longer a major factor in recruitment; therefore, any unsatisfied employees are people with options in front of them. They can deliver their skill sets in a remote environment and therefore can apply for jobs around the world- so, giving them reasons to stay in their current roles should be a huge priority in 2022.
Considering payroll as part of a retention strategy is one of the many things that currently reflects the heightened market anxiety about employee attraction and retention. Payroll is the ‘physical’ regular embodiment of the basic employer and employee contract of engagement and simply has to be 100% excellent every time. Any complacency, mistakes or lack of attention in this crucial service delivery can lead to enormous reputational damage as well as providing experienced and longstanding employees with a valid reason to leave. Ensuring that payroll is correct every month plays a role in retention, especially now that global employees are scrutinizing every aspect of their experience in the work environment.
Those organizations that go a little further and look at what else they can deliver for the employee in the payroll experience space, find that the positive impact on the employee experience is well worth the time investment. Employees consider all benefit enrollment options and are looking closer at benefits programs when making decisions during the open enrollment period. In the past, their focus may have been on health plan benefits, life insurance, health insurance, dental plans, tax deductible and reimbursement options but now they look deeper at plan options.
The experience beyond the paycheck
The employee experience can cover a broad range of topics ranging from healthcare eligibility, benefit plan premiums covering family members and dependents, retiree options, insurance plans and special enrolment benefit options. All parts of a benefit plan count towards how an employee will view an organization. When it comes to payroll it is about the experience beyond the paycheck.
This is about the workflow data behind the payroll and making sure, that regardless of location or preferred device, global employees can access their payroll related information anytime they want to. This is achieved via an employee self-service portal- a helpful and intuitive online interface, that gives them access to payslips, payroll data, tax information and annual leave entitlement/eligibility data.
This is also a reflection of the digital capabilities of the company the employee is working for - this can be crucial for both attracting and retaining talent. employees or candidates for employment now have an inbuilt expectation when it comes to digital capabilities and benefits enrollment. They have experienced the power of digital innovation in their personal lives, from online booking portals to online banking notifications as well as social media and content consumption- this is a mobile device world with a focus on the mobile first experience.
This creates a demand for instant access to information 24/7 on a mobile app regardless of location. Companies who are unable to provide them with this experience can be considered dated or behind the curve-it creates a negative impression and could be the difference between a qualified candidate accepting a job are switching focus to a competitor.
A win for HR and employees
Global employees want a positive digital experience, fast intuitive and easy-above all they want to be able to access it at a time of their choosing on their preferred device-this is a great win for employees, meets their remote work digital expectations and helps to create a positive view of the company they are working for. All of this really does matter, employees talk to each other and there are numerous opportunities now online to network and share views about employers, so anything you can do to create a positive working environment could turn out to be news that spreads.
It is important to also realize what a win a self-service portal is for human resource teams and managers. For far too long now, they have been dealing would rather mundane day to requests for historic payslips, year-end tax documentation and other payroll data. Employees may require these from time to time in their personal lives for example a credit card or mortgage application- it should no longer be the job of HR to supply employees with this data and it should no longer be acceptable for employees to have to wait two or three days for an email response. HR professionals will be delighted to have this administrative burden removed from their daily task list, allowing them to focus their energies on high value work and other important employee retention strategies.
Payslip’s employee self-service portal
The Payslip platform features an Employee Self-Service portal for easy employee access to their personal payroll data anytime they want to, anywhere in the world. The portal can be accessed 24/7 via desktop, mobile and tablet.
Employees can view and download current and electronic past payslips and also enjoy access to a broad and comprehensive range of personal and pay related information: job, compensation and benefits information including salary data, progression and history. Plus, they can view and download commonly requested items like end of year tax statements
Our 2023 mobile responsive ESS enhancements (including enhanced login) empower the employee to use any device of their choice to access their payroll documentation and details.
We strongly believe that an employee self-service portal should be part of a range of different digital tools to enhance the employee benefits at multinational companies around the world. It meets a growing demand among employees for digital innovation and self-service access to their personal and pay related data- this could be a key differentiator in a recruitment strategy while also being a valuable retention tool.
Employees want options, digital innovation, intuitive design and 24/7 access to data that they are interested in. Some simply like it, others demand it but all generally agree that an organization that does not offer this may not be the kind of forward thinking and progressive organization they wish to commit their time to.
If you would like to learn more about our employee self-service functionality on the global payroll control platform, our team is ready and waiting to show you exactly what it can do-talk to us today.
For information on the Payslip Platform contact us today.
