REWARD
F or many, the times of employees ‘dropping in’ to the payroll department to solve a problem, ask for guidance or just to have a quick catch- up really doesn’t seem that long ago, but times change. There’s now the emergence of a new way of delivering outstanding customer service through service desk technologies and a virtual experience.
“For payroll professionals, this results in the transactional queries being dealt with through automation, with only the more challenging scenarios requiring further attention and resolution from a member of the team”
can service desk technology ever replace the human interaction?
team to operate more efficiently, avoid duplications and to create capacity to focus on more complex issues. Finally, there’s the power of the data and of receiving customer feedback. Service desk technology comes with a wide variety of reporting which can give tangible insights into: l the types of queries received l the delivery against the formal standards l what improvements can be made to the payroll operation going forward. Putting people at the heart of service desk technology Service desk technology doesn’t mean there has to be a loss of the personal touch and connection with employees. What’s important is to ensure employees are involved in the design of how they want the technology to work. Customer experience underpins all activities in our life nowadays and expectations are high, therefore we must ensure that when we’re scoping the service desk operation, we make the user experience a key priority. The service needs to consider not only the start-to-end process but also the individual experience. For example, is the communication too much or too little? Is it easy to track a ticket? Are user guides and videos achieving the desired effect? If users are involved in the design process and feel they can shape the service desk, then their expectations are clear and can be factored into the build. This will ensure that, when it comes to the launch, users feel empowered, knowledgeable and part of the process, rather than feeling like this has been imposed on them. It isn’t always going to be possible to please everyone, but you can definitely ensure that everyone has a voice. n
“This means that, if we can automate the
What is service desk technology?
What’s changed? The reality is, a lot, and over a short period of time. The in-person presence isn’t always as easy to achieve due to the ways organisations now operate and because colleagues in payroll are now allowed to take a less paternalistic approach to how they carry out their activities. This approach allows a greater degree of autonomy and flexibility which many professionals now see as important. As employees ourselves, we also have a greater awareness of ensuring our work and home lives can operate more interchangeably, and this is even more heightened when thinking about Millennials / Generation Z colleagues when they choose their careers and employers. It could be argued that we live in a data-driven culture, in which reporting on delivery against a service level agreement, along with the ability to progress and update on interactions outside of office hours, lends itself to the more advanced automation that technology now permits. As a payroll function, our time is incredibly precious and can be better spent driving the organisation’s value-add first line of query response, our roles can evolve to have a greater impact”
Service desk technology sits in between the employees and the payroll team, co- ordinating the communication between the two. The service desk can be set up in a way which encourages first line self- sufficiency by using a suite of frequently asked questions or a chatbot to try and find solutions through a virtual dialogue. This also means users can access instant, comprehensive support, which is standardised and aligned to set policies and procedures. This means it can also serve as a learning opportunity to prevent the same questions from re-occurring. This cannot be achieved as effectively through a telephone conversation which wouldn’t necessarily be structured and might not reference relevant policies. For payroll professionals, this results in the transactional queries being dealt with through automation, with only the more challenging scenarios requiring further attention and resolution from a member of the team. The benefit of a ticketing approach means that alignment to a service level agreement can be really closely monitored, and tickets prioritised or escalated where needed. In practice, many queries received by the payroll department via phone or email are employees chasing up on a prior enquiry or stressing a sense of urgency against unknown expectations. The ticketing system consolidates all updates relevant to that query into one central place, enabling the payroll “Can service desk technology ever replace the human interaction?”
agenda in respect of: l financial well-being l promoting employee benefits
l working on continuous improvement. This means that, if we can automate the first line of query response, our roles can evolve to have a greater impact. But
Next time around, we’ll be exploring how service desk automation can create a culture of control.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 99 | April 2024
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