TECHNOLOGY
Best person for the job: benefits of hiring implementation and project specialists
Patrick Day, director, executive division at Portfolio Payroll , explains why hiring implementation and project specialists is beneficial when implementing new payroll software
S electing the perfect payroll and human resources (HR) software for your business is a feat in itself, with a plethora of options. Assessing, understanding and matching business functionality requirements within budget while ensuring longevity for future growth requires both operational and technical consideration. There’s also the ‘small’ matter of implementing the new software, and onboarding and engaging employees to successfully deliver a fully functioning system. It is, therefore, extremely important to hire both an accomplished internal team alongside external proficient professional specialists to manage, navigate and guide your business through the ‘beauty parade’ and the implementation project for new payroll and / or HR software. As recruitment experts in payroll and HR for 35 years, we consider a competent internal payroll team to be vital. Hiring both an implementation consultant and a separate project manager will be integral to achieving a smooth transition. Here’s why: Quality time Let’s be honest, who in payroll or HR has time in between their own day-to-day workload to work on a project? A recent poll found that 18% of payrollers don’t believe they would have any time and 38% reported they would find it challenging to take on a project while managing their daily responsibilities – that’s over half not able to commit to a project alongside business as usual.
Using an external expert has less impact on the team’s productivity and allows for a more thorough and dedicated, agile job without compromise or affecting the performance of your payroll or HR team. Subject matter expertise Many businesses have internal programme and projects teams, however, by hiring a payroll consultant and project manager, you’re introducing a subject matter expert. They’ll have not only a strong understanding of the operational processes involved but also the advantage of being able to extract relevant key information from the internal teams. As an expert, they can assess the useability and impact based on current processes, mitigate potential pitfalls and ensure the business remains legally sound with their understanding of complex legislation. Analytical skillset These professional specialists have the added benefit of the required skillsets to proactively analyse, document and articulate the wider business requirements. This is based on their operational understanding, collating stakeholder needs at all levels and including strategic changes if needed. Onboarding Part of the successful adoption of any new system, and perhaps the most important stage, will be to gain the trust and buy-in of multiple internal stakeholders by convincing them this will be a benefit to their own
workload and the overall business – saving time, money and / or effort. Utilising an impartial project manager with a background steeped in the sector, someone who understands the payroll or HR process, will be more likely to gain confidence from internal operational teams and management than a non-industry expert. The consultant or manager you hire becomes an advocate for your business needs and will work alongside the sales and then onboarding team on the systems side, to ensure you’re getting what you need / desire, while building a relationship with your team to encourage full engagement. Fortunately, in recent years there’s been a rise in this exceptional talent in the market whose expertise is implementation or projects, with the critical advantage of first-hand experience of payroll or HR processes. The quality of talent continues to grow, as more individuals look for new and different challenges in a marketplace where payroll and HR software technology is thriving to compete in our paperless, remote-working post-pandemic world. As new software launches each year, with new, bigger and better functionality, the pressure to choose the right software for your business is extremely high. The knock-on effect is the demand for expert payroll or HR implementation specialists. Our advice is to act fast to secure the talent you desire, by using video interviewing and accepting remote or hybrid workers to improve your chances of the perfect fit for your business. n
About Portfolio Portfolio Payroll and Portfolio HR Reward; part of the Portfolio Group, is a 5* Trustpilot rated specialist recruitment agency sourcing talented professionals across payroll, and HR and reward since 1988. We have a reputable track record recruiting at all levels of the market, across the whole of the UK and into a multitude of industry sectors. With a proven success in permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, we pride ourselves on having a fast, efficient and consultative service, with an enviable client base.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | May 2023 | Issue 90 48
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