COMPLIANCE
What is the future of payroll?
The CIPP policy and research team hosted a roundtable at National Payroll Week (NPW), led by Samantha O’Sullivan MCIPPdip, CIPP policy lead, to discuss how payroll might look in the future
Attending the roundtable were:
Damon Anderson – Experian / Pay Dashboard Gemma Creamer and Rosie McIntyre – Portfolio Payroll Paul Jackson – The Payroll Centre Sharon Kirby – QRails Samantha O’Sullivan MCIPPdip – The CIPP
Melanie Pizzey – Global Payroll Association Michelle Sutton MCIPPdip – Suez
Jason Sweby – Civica Steve Watmore – Sage Fran Williams – IRIS
NPW is a key date firmly set in the calendar for payroll professionals, and what a brilliant way to kick off the week, with our future of payroll roundtable discussion. The discussion topics were based on the results of the Future of Payroll Survey 2022, which provided interesting findings for the discussion.
really care about, so they struggle to come to terms with not being in an office. With the job and processes they’re probably productive, but they may struggle with the cultural stuff. Steve Watmore: There’s a huge amount of pressure on people to be ‘always on’. The definition of productivity needs to be clear in a business. Productivity must be really balanced, from a business point of view – we get the outcome we need, in terms of the things we’ve done, but have the people really been productive? That said, I personally feel I’m more productive working forward on a balanced basis. However, from a social interaction point of view, I can’t do it permanently. Paul Jackson: Training is difficult when delivering updates online, as virtual interaction is so hard. You’ll always learn more about a company from physically being in the company, rather than working from home. DA: A previous company I worked for implemented ‘no meeting Fridays’. Top down, across the company, for everyone. I don’t know if that’s too prescriptive. Sharon Kirby: I have just changed our weeks, so days spent in the office are now no meeting days. The whole point is coming together and just having time to discuss what projects you’re on and what clients have been discussing. What’s the point in travelling to the office, to sit on Zoom meetings, when you can do that remotely?
make a conscious effort to spend a lot of time meeting the team, so this is really hard. New starters miss out on learning about the culture of a new office. The consensus is that people are more productive when working from home. People don’t have the office distractions, so they’re able to focus on work. We’re now among the new way of working, so, there’s not going to necessarily be a right way, but maybe in a couple of years we’ll have got the balance right. We’re now among the new way of working, so, there’s not going to necessarily be a right way, but maybe in a couple of years we’ll have got the balance right Damon Anderson: If you have good technology, you’re probably doing alright, but if you don’t have good technology, you’re probably struggling. It’s the creative stuff, it’s the feeling like you’re part of something bigger. Younger people really want to join companies they have an affinity with, a purpose, something they
The key areas explored were: l the strategic value of payroll l future of payments l the importance of education l technology.
Q: 59% of respondents believe that the increase in flexible and remote working will result in increased productivity, whereas 8% think productivity will decrease. For those who are actively offering a flexible working environment, have you seen a change in productivity? Michelle Sutton: I’m far more productive when working from home. When we talk about new employees being inducted remotely, that’s much more challenging. I’m thinking of new starters and the learning they get from listening to you in the office, it’s completely gone. Dare I say, age. If you’re more experienced, you can hit the ground running in any organisation, but it’s the younger people joining the profession I think that’s the issue. Melanie Pizzey: We have employees working internationally, and they must
19
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 85 | November 2022
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker