Embracing AI, but Not Losing Ourselves I’m excited about AI making payroll better and more accurate. But payroll is a people business masquerading as a process business. The more automated it becomes, the more this truth stands out. So let’s keep building better systems. Let’s automate, integrate, innovate. But let’s never forget that it’s people who press “send,” people who pick up the phone, people who make the difference when it matters most.. As we move forward, my hope is that we don’t just get excited about what AI can do, but also stay focused on what only we can do. Because, in a world of infinite intelligence, emotional intelligence will set us apart. Click to read Richard’s first article, Is There a Future for Managed Payroll Services?
to redesign services around human moments. Build workflows that leave space for human intervention at critical points. If AI does the ‘heavy lifting’, your people should do the ‘hand- holding’. EQ should also be a lens for your product or service innovation. When you develop new services or tools, consider how this will make the client feel. Will it empower them, reassure them, or make them feel disconnected? Lastly, as a leader, it is important that you lead by example. Founders and managers who demonstrate emotional intelligence create a culture where EQ can thrive.
When issues arise, how we handle them matters. I’ve seen underpayments needing urgent resolution because someone needed that money for rent. AI might flag the error, but a human must step in, take ownership, and make things right. This is critical in global contexts, where cultural norms and expectations vary widely. EQ helps navigate these nuances in delivering news, responding to feedback, or collaborating across time zones. Context is everything, and EQ helps us read it. AI doesn’t truly understand context. It can flag anomalies, but doesn’t know why they matter. That’s where EQ steps in. We need to read situations, understand wider pressures, and respond with balanced accuracy and compassion. That might mean knowing when to push back on a rushed request, and when to pull out the stops because a client is under pressure.
Payroll is Personal It’s easy to think of
payroll as numbers, but it’s deeply personal. For employees, it’s about livelihoods. A pay mistake isn’t just inconvenient;
it has real-world consequences.
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ISSUE 12 GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE
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