Yes, we know - the payroll market offers so many options that it can be overwhelming to choose the solution that best fits your business needs. Should you hire local providers for each country you operate in, or one that can cover them all? If you opt for the latter, will you still have the same level of oversight? The risks of not choosing the right payroll provider are too many and too high for the company and even for you!
When outsourcing payroll, we recommend
you first make a list of the 'musts' and the 'nice to
haves'. In other words, a set of criteria that will guide you
when assessing providers, so you don't get distracted from what
really matters to you.
As we've been in the payroll
outsourcing world for quite some time, we've pulled together a
list of the top six criteria that should be 'musts' in your
checklist.
1. LOCAL
COMPLIANCE
To understand the local
legislative environment and get a feel of where it is going, it is
essential to work with local professionals, as opposed to regional
centres. You'll need access to them when required, so you can
learn about the latest regulatory changes happening in-country.
With a regional centre, you don't have that 'on the
ground', real-time understanding of how things are changing,
which risks exposing your business to penalties for
non-compliance.
2. PROCESS
CONTROL AND VISIBILITY
Every payroll director, especially
at multinationals, needs to monitor payroll, plan their day
effectively, and streamline processes and payslip delivery –
managing these through one global, online tool is an ideal
solution.
3. MEANINGFUL
REPORTS AND DASHBOARD ANALYTICS
Sounds fancy, right? It is
actually quite straightforward, but not all payroll suppliers
provide this. Take it from us, you'll need to provide your
stakeholders with reports with actionable insights to help them
make smarter decisions and carry out practical assessments of
performance and costs.
4. INFORMATION SECURITY
STANDARDS AND DATA PROTECTION
Certifications such as ISO 27001 and
ISAE fundamentally unify the core requirements of how services need
to be delivered, providing global clients with consistency, quality
assurance, and common standards applicable across the globe.
It is worth checking
providers' credentials to ensure they are certified, reliable
and able to protect employee data.
5. STANDARD SCOPE AND
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Your payroll provider should be an
extension of your payroll team, forming a strong, flexible
partnership that evolves as your business does, with a feeling of
being one team.
It is a combination of
understanding the client's needs and approaching the
relationship as a partnership: with healthy and fluent
communication, proper SLAs in place (and compliance with them) and,
of course, providing the local knowledge mentioned above.
6. EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCE
The accurate and timely delivery of
payroll underpins employee experience. It is vital for maintaining
morale, productivity and trust. Eliminating payroll delays and
mistakes should be one of the basics for any business seeking to
improve the experience and satisfaction of its workforce.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
