Even if for the uninitiated seems repetitive and boring, the payroll process has its charm in the eyes of specialists. The many cases that depend or not on the industry, sick leave, overtime, bonuses, various periods of salary calculation (once a month or twice a month – advance and liquidation), all these spice up the work of the payroll professional.But what happens when spices are too intense, when legislative changes occur more and more, when time is limited and every employee seems to generate a distinct situation, different from one month to the next?
The average time spent on payroll by a human resource professional may be 40% of the total activity, with major risks of human errors. In a digitized world, the banal and yet complicated process of calculating the salary should be an implicit part in streamlining and automating the HR processes.
The Black Holes of Payroll
As in any other area, there are positive aspects and others, quite unpleasant. If the predictability and the routine could be viewed in a positive way – you know the rules and apply them, so you do your job well and the chances of mistakes are minimal, others aspects can be true permanent stressors:
- Frequent and unpredictable legislative changes – the almost completely changed method of calculating the change from employer to employee, industry differentials, minimum salary increases, changes in meal vouchers system etc.;
- Personnel fluctuation in the HR department;
- The complexity of situations and the pressure of fairness;
- The data security and the increased privacy.
As a HR specialist, how long are you willing to spend on legislative extra-training and change adaptation? How much do you dream in the night about situations and misplaced salaries, perhaps one of the most sensitive topics in an organization? How many times did you find yourself staying alone on barricades or, on the contrary, accept the challenge of a new job and having to replace more colleagues?
The solution is natural – outsourcing the payroll process. But are the costs justified?
When You Do Payroll, but You Yearn for a Tropical Island
A rule of business efficiency says that non-core functions are outsourced. In most organizations, administrative and back-office activities, such as payroll, are considered secondary functions and, implicitly, have high potential for outsourcing.
The basic question is what do you actually get if you opt for outsourcing payroll. The benefits of outsourcing counterbalance the effort made to choose the supplier, the transition process and the related costs?
Ideally, the outsourcing allows three major objectives:
- Time and resources redeployed for key business issues;
- Access to technology and expertise for a more efficient payroll;
- Reduced costs and risks.
Even if the payroll process does not generate increased sales, if it is incorrectly done it can negatively affect the business. And it can undermine the time and the attention needed for development – be it an entrepreneurial organization or the key role of the HR department.
And How Do You Choose Who to Care for Your Children If You’ve Decided for That Island?
The salaries of your people, those who keep your business standing, are a similar responsibility as taking care of your own children. Therefore, when choosing a supplier, you normally look at the following:
- Price;
- Offered services;
- Reputation.
But when it comes to payroll, there are other points you should consider:
- The security and trust that the payroll company provides;
- If it has clients with business similar to yours;
- Complementary services – personnel management, recruitment, legal consulting etc.;
- Technology;
- The interface with which your employees interact.
Would you have other criteria? We invite you to a meeting where we can discuss everything you want from your payroll provider, write us here!
You could also be interested in: