FEATURE INSIGHT
Rolling pay into the future
Brian Sparling, payroll deliverymanager, Ceridian Europe, reveals the technology drivers
P ayroll is one of an employer’s However, for many the process is fraught with inefficiencies. Manual entries are error-prone while employees’ expectations are rising, and workforces are becoming geographically more dispersed, increasing complexity. On top of this, keeping abreast of emerging compliance and legal issues is resource-intensive. These pressures will shape how payroll services evolve in the future, from a service to a more strategic business function that can add value. Payroll’s future is defined by legal requirements, shifts in employee attitudes and businesses’ focus on competitiveness and productivity. More than ever, companies need technology to help ensure these realities are taken into account – to make payday a good day for all. Technology-driven innovation will play an ever-increasing role in this fundamental shift, based on these four major trends: ● More investment in bias-free AI – Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to be a major force in payroll transformation. By automating tedious and repetitive administrative tasks, human resources (HR) and payroll professionals will be freed up to do what they do best: driving important cultural change at their organisations, focussing on what sets them apart now and in the future. Payroll is an area where AI will become more prevalent in 2019. Current applications of this technology include tracking to help minimise payroll fraud, resolving issues between payroll and other HR functions and streamlining enquiry processes. With more AI, however, comes more responsibility: AI involves large amounts of data, and if that data is inaccurate or tainted with bias, the AI’s output will reflect those shortcomings. Investments to make AI effective and bias- free will therefore grow significantly in the years ahead to address this challenge. most important activities, and for many businesses their largest cost.
● Focus on local compliance at a global level – For companies operating on an international scale, visibility into the big picture is critical. They are dealing with elevated levels of regulatory complexity, and increasingly feel the need for human capital management (HCM) support – especially payroll. Multi-country payroll services are expected to grow very rapidly in the next few years. Technologies that enable global HCM and payroll are also witnessing rising demand with the ability to deliver an integrated multi-country payslip becoming a requirement for some. ...Technology- driven innovation will play an ever- increasing role in this fundamental shift... Here, while big data offers bigger opportunities to understand and engage the workforce, much of the data payroll departments handle is highly private and confidential. In most countries, this privacy is protected by law, including the General Data Protection Regulations introduced in the European Union in 2018. Businesses operating at a global scale also operate within a global threat environment. Over the coming years, employers will need to find cost-efficient ways to safely and securely keep an ever-growing, accurate set of data around payroll. Also, in-depth discussions around topics such as the minimum wage and zero-hours contracts have led to closer scrutiny from governments. The new UK payslip law, for example, which comes into force from 6 April 2019, requires payslips to show time worked and paid, to demonstrate that all pay is appropriate and in accordance with legal set minimums. Businesses must ensure they are compliant with each of these local rules, as failure to do so risks
fines, reputational damage and loss of competitiveness. ● Growing importance of the employee experience – Consumerisation is about providing employees with an experience at work that is comparable to their experience as consumers. Providing a platform to employees is no longer a ‘nice to have’, and this trend is expected to accelerate. In an age of instant gratification, payroll services need to be instant, with unnecessary waiting periods removed. On-demand pay is a key example of how this element of consumerism is coming to life in the market. Personalising payroll – creating relevant, individualised interactions based on each employee’s situation and needs – will further enhance their experience. Tools and processes that allow for employees’ opinions and feedback to be submitted, received, and acted upon will gain popularity – particularly if they can be used from mobile devices. ● Innovation through ‘orchestrated’ comprehensive data and greater efficiency that holistic HCM solutions provide. They must also look for solutions that, while being a single system of record for all HCM data, also provide access to a network of innovation, in areas of ‘edge’ functionality such as payroll. Holistic HCM vendors respond to this demand for innovation by developing a network of partners and providing easy access to that network. The vendor takes care of partner integration and interoperability typically through pre-built integrators, developers’ toolkits, single sign- on functionality, etc. Working with an end-to-end HCM platform that ‘orchestrates’ this network of innovation provides more value and powerful insight than working with several point solutions. The data is always up-to- date, and there is only a single relationship to manage. While providing a single source of truth, the platform also provides access to innovation. n HCM – In the future, employers will continue to gain value from the
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2019 | Issue 47 42
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