COMPLIANCE
“Some companies that talk about transformation underestimate the level of resource and commitment that change needs, highlighting that payroll has grown and become more complex”
funeral costs. Also, delegates said discounts on grocery shopping really help employees, offering huge savings that can be made over the year. But simply offering financial wellbeing initiatives and employee benefits isn’t enough. Payroll and human resources (HR) teams need to promote them and involve the senior leadership team, delegates advised. They said communication is essential, and this can even be done via the payslip to increase uptake. Employers also have a duty of care. While they aren’t responsible for people’s debt and payroll teams are not debt counsellors, they can signpost advice and support to people and provisions that are trained to help. Once staff feel supported financially, they will be more productive and organisations will experience better staff retention, providing a huge return on their investment. Payroll careers now and in the future In terms of how payroll careers are shifting and how much payroll professionals are now involved in other parts of the organisation, more than half (56%) of those surveyed for the Future of Payroll Report 2024 said they hadn’t experienced a shift, while the remaining 44% said they had. Roundtable delegates explained payroll’s involvement in the businesses often depends on the organisation, with some professionals having a greater presence now compared to in the past through initiatives such as company roadshows, benefits booklets and much more. Looking at the key skills payroll professionals must hold, the report found legislative knowledge topped the list, noted by nearly all (96%) of those polled, closely followed by organisational skills (93%), technical knowledge 90% and communication skills 90%. Interestingly, industry knowledge was deemed a key skill by fewer than three in five (57%) respondents. Roundtable participants disagreed with the majority of survey respondents, explaining that legislation and industry knowledge can be taught, but passion and a willingness to learn is more important. They said providing you know where to go to gain knowledge, you don’t need to have it from the outset. However, analytical skills and problem solving are really important, according to
they feel there’s been increased pressure to implement changes in shorter timeframes, more than three-quarters (76%) of respondents said yes. As many as one in two (51%) revealed it had increased stress levels on the team, while nearly the same percentage (49%) said it had increased the team’s workload, resulting in overtime. Participants agreed that, when professionals have had to deal with change in short timeframes, it’s often been thrust upon the profession by government, such as the changes to National Insurance over the past few years. Since this isn’t usual practice, they hope for no further ad-hoc in-year change. However, social media has brought more criticism of the government, so it has to be reactive, which the experts said could be likely to bring shorter timeframes for implementing changes. There was also talk about the legacy left by Covid. During the pandemic, fast-paced internal and external changes had to be implemented at the right time, such as those brought about by furlough. Since payroll did well to deliver these so quickly, there’s now an expectation that it’ll be able to manage any changes within a shorter timeframe than pre-pandemic. Some said legislative changes didn’t affect payroll professionals that much since the systems suppliers needed to implement the changes, but acknowledged they still had to test what the software providers were doing and educate employees about any alterations. They discussed how payroll software vendors may also encourage change in terms of updating systems, introducing AI solutions or getting rid of legacy technology. Internally, delegates said some companies that talk about transformation underestimate the level of resource and commitment that change needs, highlighting that payroll has grown and become more complex. Experts noted a behavioural shift too, explaining that pressure on payroll has increased with the cost-of-living crisis. Unions are fighting to get pay awards backdated, which is having a big impact on
payroll’s workload. At times, payroll is also bringing in change by taking matters to the board and leading the movement, although participants admitted it was rare for payroll to approach C-suite for buy in. Future wellbeing initiatives When exploring data from the report that showed just 7% of employers offered earned wage access (EWA), while a further 4% said they were planning to and the vast majority (89%) don’t provide the option, roundtable attendees described the results as “shocking”. However, they agreed the topic is a polarising one, with some employers arguing it may not encourage good spending habits. In certain industries and businesses, such as in the hotel trade, EWA is expected, and organisations would see a huge plunge in staff retention if they took the option away from employees. Most attendees believed that if organisations didn’t offer EWA, desperate employees would find a way to get the money elsewhere – with some turning to extreme measures. They said good employers would take some responsibility for their workforce’s financial wellbeing, giving them the option not to have to go to payday lenders or even alternative, illegal lenders. And it’s not just low earners that make the most of EWA, some delegates reported. The fact that employees can use it if they need to also provides “reassurance in their pockets” for any unforeseen expenses, such as if someone’s washing machine breaks or they need a new boiler. People also use it to book holidays or take advantage of sales periods at certain times of the year, such as in January. One delegate suggested that the common practice of changing pay dates to ensure staff are paid pre-Christmas could be interpreted as a version of EWA. There was general consensus that EWA is just one part of a broader wider financial wellbeing package. Some organisations provide grants, such as those introduced in Covid, to help with
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | November 2024 | Issue 105 22
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