Hiring insights for successful software implementation (Portfolio Payroll) Hiring insights for successful software implementation
Patrick Day Director - executive payroll interim division, Portfolio Payroll
Recent years It’s been three years since the private sector interim market was shaken up with IR35 legislative change. However, this is beginning to plateau as understanding how to hire this workforce improves over time. In the early days, many clients opted for the risk-averse approach with a blanket ban on hiring outside IR35, believing this was the safest option. This immediately stalled projects while both businesses and contractors navigated the new IR35 changes. As we came out of the pandemic, projects started to move forward again which in turn encouraged more businesses to learn how to assess projects against IR35 criteria. This meant the doors re-opened to recruiting contractors via their limited companies, and the market started to boom again. The market now Although there’s progress, there’s still resistance from some businesses to categorise assignments as ‘outside IR35’ and this is causing recruitment challenges. This mentality rules out an exceptionally talented, flexible and specialised workforce that’s required for projects such as system implementations, and this becomes unsustainable when trying to attract the top talent. We’re increasingly noting this as a disconnect between business demands and candidate’s desires. It appears that some businesses are seeking a lot more flexibility with their hires, angling for fixed term contract (FTC) professionals inside IR35 who would carry out a hybrid of responsibilities; someone who has the skill set to implement new software and someone to support with day-to-day processing, while able to offer their expertise outside of project work – all of which is prohibited by outside IR35 rules. The profile of this type of talent in the market; those with necessary implementation or project skills; tends to fall outside IR35, with their mentality being that they want to focus on the job in hand and to be paid handsomely for this skill set and experience.
The solution Businesses who accept and hire contractors outside IR35 are more likely to secure talent without the need to compromise. For those businesses still under constraints or desiring a temporary professional able to absorb discretionary tasks alongside project work, the key is compromise. If you’re willing to consider using your internal payroll or HR professionals with the understanding that their knowledge of your brand, culture and ways of working will be excellent but their implementation and / or project skills may be less honed; seconding your most senior payroll professional to the project and backfilling their operational role could be an easier and cheaper alternative. Essentially, when approaching a software implementation project, it’s critical to plan how you build the right team. From restructuring your own internal teams to investing in specialists, you must assess your options for accommodating the additional workload that a project of this size will take, and select your strategy to hire the best professionals to ensure your new system is delivered successfully. Fortunately, there’s exceptional talent in the payroll market. Therefore, our advice is to consider all hiring options in a bid to secure the best payroll and HR professionals. About Portfolio Portfolio Payroll and Portfolio HR and Reward, part of the Portfolio Group, is a 5* Trustpilot rated specialist recruitment agency sourcing talented professionals across payroll and HR and reward since 1988. We have a reputable track record recruiting at all levels of the market, across the whole of the UK and into a multitude of industry sectors. With a proven success in permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, we pride ourselves on having a fast, efficient and consultative service with an enviable client base.
Why new software? The desire to invest in technology continues to dominate payroll and HR strategies. Motivations for new payroll and HR software range from requiring more sophisticated system functionality to needing better customer support, and in some cases, it could be said that businesses are simply wanting the latest and most popular software on the market. Payroll and HR teams are often working more closely to select systems that integrate for both their divisional responsibilities and strategies, such as the desire for more data-driven decision making, compensation and reward benchmarking and improved financial well-being, including the introduction of pay on demand. Whatever the reason, as technological advancements continue to define the payroll landscape, the requirement for specialist implementation and project managers remains in demand. Hire a specialist Investing in new payroll and HR software will bring benefits, improvements and changes to your team’s ways of working. Therefore, the implementation and onboarding stage is critical to its success. The question is who is the best person for this job? Hiring accomplished implementation and project experts is the best way to navigate this period without hindering the performance of your current payroll or HR teams. By employing an external contractor, you can be sure that you have a subject matter expert with the relevant skill sets, including someone who will work holistically, have the time to analyse processes and with the impartiality to gain buy-in and engagement from end-users. When it comes to sourcing implementation and project specialists, you’ll find the majority are contractors and a high proportion of those will operate via their own limited company, i.e. outside of IR35.
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CIPP SOFTWARE DIRECTORY 2024
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