FEATURE INSIGHT
Jerome Smail, freelance journalist, reveals the views, insight and predictions of industry luminaries The future of payroll
I t’s fair to say that the payroll sector is used to change. In fact, one of the key attributes of the profession is its ability to adapt seamlessly to new developments, whether centred around technology, working methods, legislation or regulation. This is especially impressive given the unpredictable nature of those changes. Who can say what the future will bring for payroll? While no one knows for sure, those at the heart of the industry are well-placed to see what’s on the horizon. With that in mind, we asked a range of prominent leaders in the sector for their views on what the coming years have in store for payroll. Here’s what they had to say... Rise of the robots “One of the biggest innovations facing payroll over the next few years comes with the increasing development of artificial intelligence (AI) and ‘bot’ software. AI is becoming more and more part of everyday life – those of us with smartphones will be familiar with our online assistants such as Siri, and as this technology becomes more established and available within the business world, we can expect to see more of this in the workplace. “Chatbots can be programmed to learn
the nuances of payroll and individual business to be able to respond to employee queries, while other bots can be used to automate simple routines, thus reducing the need for manual processes. And while there is always the fear of job losses alongside any automation, this kind of development can also create opportunities to upskill existing staff to work on adding value in other areas of payroll.” Ben Hancock MSc FCIPP, head of payment services, London School of Economics and Political Science ...more focused on automated transactions made in real time... “In the future we will see payroll departments make increasing use of AI, in particular virtual assistant chatbots, to remove much of the daily administrative burden they face, such as dealing with routine payroll queries, and which enable variable input such as expenses, overtime claims and absences to be entered by the employees, anywhere, anytime. “Embracing chatbots to handle many of
the repetitive transactional tasks will help to free HR [human resources] and payroll professionals from distractions and time- consuming chores so they can spend more time on meaningful work. “I think we will also see increased flexibility over when payments are made. People are used to financial transactions with their banks happening in real time and will start to question why they should have to wait a few weeks or even months to be paid by their employers for the work they do or be reimbursed for expenses they incur. “As a consequence, payroll will need to become less based around batch processes executed, often manually, at defined intervals, and more focused on automated transactions made in real time.” Neil Tonks ChMCIPPdip, legislation manager, MHR “In the short-term, the role of the payroll professional is likely to become increasingly specialised, as technological innovations automate processing tasks and allow greater focus on strategy and compliance. This should enable the profession to attain a higher profile and greater recognition within organisations. “As Generation Z employees start to
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2019 | Issue 47 46
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