IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION
JGA foreword Managing global workforce issues while adapting to future work demands is an area of priority for organisations. As a result, the future of payroll, at least in the short term, seems to be hellbent on transformation! From systems to processes and from flexible working to borderless workforces, the changes predicted to impact the future of payroll by 2025 have accelerated and are affecting everyone right now. During the pandemic, payroll professionals helped shift the value perception needle as they successfully navigated the complexities of Covid-19. They ensured employees were paid accurately, at a time when employee and employer tensions have never been higher. Millions of employees were put on furlough, and left suffering from financial or mental health anxieties, which placed payroll at the heart of the conversation. In response, strategic discussions emerged concerning pay-on- demand opportunities, flexible payment solutions, global payroll models and disruptive technologies that could improve processes and workplace well-being.
Nick Day ACIPP Managing director, JGA Recruitment Group
Anyone reading this will appreciate that payroll plays an integral role in all organisations. However, broader business leaders have also begun to recognise its importance. Businesses began to realise the impact payroll can have on achieving organisational objectives, particularly where enhancing the employee experience. Meanwhile, the great resignation (or, as I prefer to call it, the ‘great awakening’) has resulted in many people changing employers. It’s highlighted how employees now value work-life balance and well-being over financial rewards. This power shift has had a phenomenal impact on the world of work and has resulted in companies making changes to how they treat, attract, retain and reward employees. Add other disruptions, such as regulatory and technological changes and globalisation into the mix, and it’s apparent why organisations are reviewing their payroll strategies to keep pace with this change. The world of payroll technology began to adapt and evolve to meet employees’ and employers’ ever-changing demands and needs. Likewise, payroll responsibilities have started to change and evolve in response. Here at JGA Recruitment, in collaboration with the CIPP, we undertook a payroll research project which identified several new payroll career pathways now available to payroll professionals (over 60) in 2022. A significant increase in the traditional path from payroll clerk to payroll manager, which existed only a few years ago. Meanwhile, the great awakening forced employers to reassess how they invest in improving the overall employee experience. Ensuring employees are paid accurately, on-time and intuitively has become an essential ingredient in this equation. So, the payroll process has become more than a function focused purely on the process, because payroll can help make the employee experience a positive one. Expect the future of payroll to focus on solutions which improve employee engagement and well-being. Expect increased importance and investment in implementing employee self-service, interactive payslips and on-demand pay-based solutions. In 2022, businesses are demanding more data and insights from payroll departments to help them make informed decisions about their workforces. The level of detail found within payroll data has allowed payroll leaders to provide strategic insights that have helped business leaders to navigate, understand and address workplace or workforce challenges more effectively. For example, if we consider the great resignation, payroll data has helped to identify trends in employee behaviours, helping employers understand what’s important, so they can make changes that improve satisfaction scores, increase productivity and support talent acquisition and retention challenges. The overwhelming drive for businesses to transform payroll has also resulted in a significant increase in the adoption of cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, especially as employers seek to engage with their workforces. Technology advancements have reduced human errors and repetitive tasks, enhanced cyber security, reduced fraud detection and improved employee access and transparency. Automation and AI have provided payroll leaders with more time to focus on delivering value-added payroll strategic insights.
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