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Accelerated Innovation In Payroll: How New Technology Is Changing The Industry

Richard Limpkin
Richard Limpkin

Chief Product Officer at Immedis

Mar 22, 2023 4 mins

More and more businesses are waking up to the significance of global payroll to their bottom line. The explosion in remote work since the pandemic began has been a major factor, showing businesses how crucial it is to get payroll processes right. Businesses need to cater to the next generation of working norms, as well as deal with more complicated payroll data.

During this time, the technology underpinning global payroll has been evolving, and there are more options than ever before. As work itself is getting more flexible, so is the payroll industry. Employees are demanding to be treated differently, with greater personalization and flexibility. The way payroll was run in the 20th century is gone, and new payroll innovations are taking their place. Many organizations are achieving business success by updating payroll systems to meet the needs of payroll today.

Some important new payroll innovations to pay attention to include:

  • On Demand Pay
  • Work From Anywhere
  • Automation
  • Integration
  • Self Service Options

And one of the best tools for taking advantage of all of these innovations is global payroll services, like Immedis.

On Demand Pay

Millions of people take out payday loans every year, because they need money sooner than their paycheck arrives. This results in immense costs to employees -- $9 billion per year in the US alone.

On demand pay is a payroll innovation that lets employees request and receive their paycheck when they want it. Whereas before they were largely limited to a weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule, modern payroll software can account for shorter or less regular pay schedules.

This is a powerful payroll innovation that gives employees a greater sense of power over their income. It lets them take an active role in the payroll industry, instead of feeling like passive bystanders.

Work From Anywhere

Remote work was becoming more and more popular and accepted before the pandemic, but in 2020 the cat was let out of the bag for good. Most office jobs can be done remotely, so most employees now demand some sort of remote work option.

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However, letting employees work from anywhere creates problems:

  • Tax liability can vary from country to country, and even from city to city. It is simply impossible to support workers working from anywhere without a global payroll provider that can comply with regulations everywhere.
  • Different living costs raise questions about adequate compensation. Some Silicon Valley tech firms are considering cutting pay to employees who move away from their expensive housing market.
  • This raises the likelihood of conflict over pay disparity. Employees don’t like to be paid less for the same work, simply because they move. But if an employee moves to an office where the cost of living is lower, they may face resentment from employees who were already being paid less.
  • Global payroll providers can help analyze data and smooth out the differences. One important payroll innovation is the ability to discover data trends and represent information in a more digestible way.

Automation

Many of the small tasks that have historically made up global payroll management are simple enough to be done by computers instead. There are now automated technologies, with varying levels of sophistication, that can handle a lot of the work.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) takes care of simple tasks like data entry. They are often created by employees who don’t have extensive programming knowledge by using Low Code or No Code development platforms. These platforms are sufficient for simple tasks, but they can create problems if your processes rely on them too much.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) platforms occupy the more advanced positions of this space. They can handle more complex tasks, and identify and anticipate errors. They are particularly adept at noticing inconsistencies in payroll data, which human actors can then look over and correct.

Integration

There’s nothing worse than having all of your company data stored across disparate systems, and having to connect them ad hoc. Some companies wind up having to resort to tedious pen and paper methods to force a kind of integration.

Having integrated payroll is crucial, because payroll is at the heart of every operation. Although many workers do see their job as a meaningful form of activity in and of itself, they are still showing up for a paycheck.

Integrating payroll applications with human resources software, like HCM, is particularly valuable. HR constantly needs to reference payroll information in order to make sure they are compliant with things like pay equity.

Self Service Options

Instead of having one employee manage each individual’s hours and compensation, some businesses are offering self-service options. In this situation, the employee keeps track of their own work, and reports it regularly online. The most sophisticated solutions offer service through mobile apps as well as through a payroll portal.

Although this can be a helpful innovation, be mindful of how you use it. While some employees may feel like this makes them more independent, others will see it as simply outsourcing extra responsibilities onto their shoulders. Done right, however, it simply connects with our modern world of personalization, mobile accessibility, and fluidity. Having self-service is becoming table stakes for employees to remain empowered.

Conclusion: Transformations for Payroll Innovation

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The safest and most effective way to transform your payroll process is to take advantage of an integrated global payroll provider, like Immedis. Global payroll provides several benefits, including:

  • Compliance with regulations in every country
  • Integration with HCM software
  • Automation of basic tasks
  • Flexible payment options
  • Unified reporting to enable better decision making
  • Exceptional Employee Experience

In this approach, a business can benefit from both sides of payroll.

Employees will report higher satisfaction and a better employee experience if they feel they have more control over the payroll process. Payroll managers and HR workers will be able to provide better services, be more efficient, and perform more payroll functions than before.

Ultimately, the solutions being pursued today will only accelerate innovation for the future, and create better outcomes for your organization. Global factors and organizational trends are driving accelerated innovation in payroll, meaning that failing to invest in global payroll today could lead to falling behind tomorrow.

Interested in learning more about this topic? Join In Immedis and GPMI as we host our next webinar, Impacting Business Through Global Technology Innovation on March 23.