As the business world rapidly changes, many important operational procedures have stayed the same. This can be detrimental over time, especially when payroll functions don’t match the speed of your company’s growth. Payroll is one of the most basic services a company provides for its employees, and your department needs to keep up.
How Has Payroll Changed in the Past Few Years?
Many high-growth businesses are shifting to more integration between departments to break down silos and maintain better levels of collaboration. Some payroll departments are even advising financial officers on how to maintain a healthier bottom line, according to HR BLR. More payroll managers report directly to executives. Payroll is no longer seen as a far-removed element of the business. However, this means many payroll employees have to navigate through more complicated processes. In addition, federal and state employment regulations keep evolving, and payroll managers need to keep up.
Compliance is one of the most important aspects of the modern payroll department. Most teams are composed of highly educated individuals because they need to pay attention to changes in regulations and set the rules for how the business will maintain compliance. Employment laws have shifted to protect the employee more than the business, the article stated. While there are rarely significant changes in laws, nuances shift all the time, making it difficult to keep track. Some payroll teams are even responsible for educating other departments on regulatory shifts and compliance.
What Changes Can You Expect In the Near Future?
The current pace of business doesn’t show signs of abating any time soon, which will require more changes from the payroll department. This is especially true for high-growth businesses that are hiring a large number of employees at once. In fact, these changes mean skilled payroll professionals are in higher demand, and they are expected to have more knowledge of financial and human resources matters. Efficient companies break down the barriers between the payroll department and the rest of the business.
Employee preferences are rapidly shifting as new technology becomes more available. Smartphones are everywhere, and many employees want to be able to submit requests for time off or check their pay stubs on the go. Mobile devices do so much, and workers don’t want to have to juggle multiple systems. If employees are required to travel, they need to enter business expenses. The more systems employees are expected to use for different functions, the less convenient it is. Plus, it creates more paperwork for the payroll team.
Using Technology to Fix Inefficiencies
More systems complicate matters for the payroll team and can lead to significant inefficiencies, especially when there’s overlap. In addition, manual processes can open the door for errors, further increasing your team’s work. Adding a self-service channel to manage employee-facing payroll operations and benefits can cut down on these inefficiencies.
As priorities change for the payroll department and employees need to place greater focus on compliance issues, self-service channels will be more important.