Empowering your line-managers, freeing-up your payroll staff

by with No Comment EmployersEntrepreneursLatest Payroll NewsPayroll Administratorspayroll professionals

In a recent Accenture report entitled The Platform Economy, it was revealed that “81% of executives say [that] platform-based business models will be core to their growth strategy within three years.” This interesting claim makes it clear that managers and business owners have recognised that an excellent software platform may well be a significant contributor towards the ensured longevity of an organisation’s success.

Whether you’re a business owner, a manager or supervisor, we can all identify with the frustration of having to find and/or collate information in order to make a necessary business-related decision. For this reason, since your time is precious to you, pressure rapidly accumulates when you feel that your time is being misspent. When your employees demand immediate answers, there is no greater frustration than having to stop what you’re doing, in order to find the relevant information that your employees are pressuring you for.

Disempowering situations result in frustration

Now, cast your thoughts back to the countless, tedious authorisations and forwarding of claim documents that you’ve had to attend to. Or the innumerable leave forms that you’ve had to forward to your payroll department. (Come to think of it, perhaps we ought to spare a few sympathetic thoughts for payroll departments everywhere!)

For example, have you ever been in the situation where—when busy with the planning of your staffing schedule—you’ve had no clue which of your staff will be taking a period of leave?

Or, have you ever attempted to resolve an overtime-related remuneration query without having due access rights to the necessary system records in order to troubleshoot the query? Does this not compel you to take a walk to your payroll department so that they can provide you with adequate additional information in order to be able to resolve the staff query that you’re dealing with?

Similar examples abound: trying to (manually) run the company’s performance evaluation process, or trying to report on staff-performance trends for the past three years, or being charged with accountability of an entire recruitment campaign that necessitates the collation of several interviewers’ interview notes.

Paymaster understands and identifies with your frustrations

At Paymaster, we understand and certainly do identify with some of the frustrations that you may well continue to experience.

Paymaster understands that you fairly acknowledge that you know you’re expected to ‘deliver the goods’, regardless of these frustrations. After all, as a salaried manager or supervisor, you’re employed to make a significant difference within the organisation despite these frustrations. And, if you happen to be the business owner, Paymaster also understands that you’d much rather be spending most of your valuable time ‘steering the ship’ (i.e. your own business) into the exciting unchartered waters of optimal future profitability and future organisational success.

At Paymaster, we understand that your job-portfolio places a high priority on achieving results which will most likely be measured by successes that are best recognised on the bottom line.

Paymaster understands that your valuable time and energy is of paramount importance to your organisation too.

Empowering your line-managers and freeing-up your payroll staff

You’ll be pleased to know (possibly you’ll even be a bit surprised to know), that Paymaster offers you access to a leading (comprehensive) software platform that has been designed to automate the management of your business’ human resources administration and payroll processes. It’s a matter of fact that the Paymaster system may well turn out to be a significant contributor to the longevity of your organisation’s future successes.

Bottom-line: the net-effect is that you will be empowering your managers and freeing-up your payroll staff, thereby allowing them to get on with more relevant and engaging management imperatives and payroll priorities.

What does the Paymaster human resource software platform involve?

The Paymaster human resource software platform provides the assurance that all aspects related to the human resources within your organisation will be adequately managed. For example, this includes taking control of your organisation’s payroll process, …right through to the budgeting exercise for new vacancies.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]The Paymaster [Human Resource Software Platform] assures that human resources will be adequately managed. [/tweetthis]

A special feature of the software platform involves facilitating the management and tracking of a full recruitment campaign: beginning at the start (with the creation and placement of a recruitment advertisement), all the way to the scheduling and recording of employees’ exit-interviews.

The Paymaster human resource software platform is a “One system, One platform, Accessible to many” software platform.

Would you like to find out more? For an in-depth overview of the Paymaster human resource software platform, simply click here for all the details.


Conclusion

Once you’ve implemented the Paymaster human resource software platform at your company, your line-managers and payroll staff will without doubt be significantly more empowered because:

  • They will have significantly more free time to invest in working on tasks and projects that are of priority benefit to the organisation.
  • They will have to endure far less frustration, because the organisation’s human resources information will now be more easily and readily available at the mere click of a few (keyboard) ‘buttons’ (i.e. ‘right at their fingertips’).
  • They will be significantly more motivated because they would have gained the pleasure of being able to quickly and easily resolve HR-related enquiries.
  • They will be operating a software platform that maintains the strictest security and confidentiality of all HR-related
  • They will have complete peace of mind in knowing that all HR-related procedures are being followed, and that all HR-related documents will always be comprehensively completed and duly authorised.

What more could you wish for? Nothing really, because the Paymaster human resource software platform has got it all.[1]

↔◊↔

 [1] There are significantly more benefits and functions than this article covers: in addition, the Paymaster human resource software platform includes the following 5 solution categories: budgeting, position management, recruitment, performance evaluation and training. See brochure for more.

Would you like to know more? You are invited to contact Ian who will be happy to reply to any additional questions that you might have.

 

Two looming SARS deadlines (for 31 May 2016): Tax and ROE

by with No Comment department of labourLatest Payroll NewsSARS

Two looming SARS-related deadlines for 31 May 2016

1.  2016 Tax Year Submissions to SARS

The deadline for submission of EMP501 and Employee Tax Certificates, is the 31st May, Tuesday next week. Have you finished your submission to SARS yet? The SA Revenue website has this advice for employers:

“Employers are required to submit their Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) Employer Annual Reconciliations between 18 April and 31 May 2016 to SARS, confirming or correcting payroll tax amounts which were declared during the 2015/2016 tax period.

This year, employers are urged to accurately verify and update each employee’s personal and financial details before submitting their Annual Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) and Employees Income Tax Certificates [IRP5/IT3(a)s] to SARS.

Should these details be incorrect on an IRP5 certificate, the employee will be unable to file his/her Income Tax Return for Individuals (ITR12) during Tax Season. Individuals will no longer be allowed to make any corrections to pre-populated IRP5 details on their returns.

In cases where details are incorrect, employees will have to revert to their respective employers who will need to make changes on the IRP5 and re-submit these to SARS. This process can be time consuming and it may become problematic for employees to file on time.

Employers play a very important part in the income tax cycle which effectively starts on 18 April with the submission of the annual reconciliations. We rely on your cooperation to make the submission of ITR12s later in the year as stress-free as possible for all involved. Need help? Call the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277.”

2. Return Of Earnings (ROE) to the Department of Labour

Essential document downloads and login link

COIDA ROE DEADLINE EXTENDED — The Department of Labour has announced that the 2015/2016 ROE deadline has been extended until 31 May 2016. Submissions commenced on the 1st April 2016.

  1. Download the Online Submission Guide (Common Errors and FAQs)
  2. Department of Labour’s LOGIN PAGE
  3. Department of Labour’s Information Slides
  4. Download the Instruction Manual

Any further questions, please contact Ian@Paymaster.co.za

 

Are you responding to countless payroll-related questions? Here’s how to recover 3 hours of your valuable ‘lost time’…

by with No Comment EmployeesEmployersLatest Payroll Newspayroll professionalsProductivity

Problem: are you responding to countless payroll-related enquiries?

Often, it seems as if all of our time is consumed by responding to staff and colleagues’ countless payroll-related questions.

This type of time-wasting is an easy trap to fall into. In fact, ‘lost time’ is the default result of ineffective workplace systems and processes.

Do you often wonder how you might be able to recover some of your ‘lost time’?

When providing payroll-related answers to enquiries made by staff and colleagues, the act of doing so is, more often than not, rather easily dealt with. The trade-off however, is that this act does require you to momentarily cease a task that you’re busy, in order to divert your attention for a while.

Sometimes you may have a quick answer for the person making the enquiry. More likely however, you may well find yourself spending a good few minutes preparing an answer for the person whom you’re attending to.

Therefore, in the final analysis the point being made is this: when several of these ‘interruptions’ take place quite frequently— throughout the course of an average workday—a considerable amount of time is lost.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Frequent ‘interruptions’ throughout the course of an average workday, WILL result in lost time![/tweetthis]

Solution: automated payroll self-help enquiry service for employees

A recent informal survey conducted by Paymaster Payroll revealed that there is an inordinate repetition of payroll-related questions being (repeatedly) asked of management and supervisors within organisations that do not have the benefit of an automated payroll self-help enquiry service.

Findings from the Paymaster Payroll survey revealed some interesting truths. You may be surprised to discover that the most frequently asked questions were:

Top 5 payroll-related ‘time wasting’ questions

  1. Employee: “Please may I get a copy of last month’s payslip, because I seem to have misplaced my original copy.”
  2. Colleague: “I urgently need the home address and mobile contact phone number of [Sally/Joe] who works in my department…”
  3. Colleague: “How much cumulative overtime did my department work for last month?”
  4. Colleague: “May I have a list of my employees’ salaries, their net pay and their official job titles.”
  5. Employee: “How much total leave (sick and annual) do I still have for the current leave cycle?”

On average, recoverable ‘lost time’ will add up to (about) 3 hours

Many organisations have made the switch to the use of an automated payroll self-help enquiry service. Consequently, after having made the switch, management and supervisors have recovered about 3 hours1 (per week) of lost time.

Does this come as a surprise to you? If so, it ought to be good news too, because it means that you may well end up recovering more of your own lost time too.

Accordingly, you are certain to find more available time for yourself too: more time to refine your productivity levels, more time to spend on planning and operational matters, and more time to do just just about anything you like.

What a pleasure!

Would you like to know more? You are invited to contact Ian, who will be happy to reply to additional questions that you might have.

1 This claim is based upon Paymaster’s set of estimated variables that we used during the calculation and testing process of the productivity survey.

COID: MAXIMUM EARNING AMOUNT INCREASE & ANNUAL RETURN FORMS REVISED

by with No Comment department of labourLatest Payroll NewsPaymasterpayroll professionalsUncategorised


Department of Labour Legislation update

COID: MAXIMUM EARNING AMOUNT INCREASE & ANNUAL RETURN FORMS REVISED

Government Gazette notice no. 449 on 15 April 2016

Occupational Injuries and Diseases: Maximum Earning Amount Increase

Department of Labour published Government Gazette notice no. 449 on 15 April 2016 in respect of an increase in the maximum amount of earnings. Effective date is 1 April 2016. The prescribed amount under Section 83(8) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No 130 of 1993 (COIDA) has been increased to R377 097 per annum.

Occupational Injuries and Diseases: Return of Earnings Form revised

A revised return of earnings form (W.As.8) in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act has been drawn up and published on 15 April 2016 in Government Gazette notice no.444.  The previous form and rules have been repealed with immediate effect.

 

All employers are still encouraged to file the return online on the website of the Department of Labour.

To view the new W.As.8 form and rules, please follow this link

Return Of Earnings (ROE) — Essential document downloads and login link

by with 8 Comments department of labourLatest Payroll News


Return Of Earnings (ROE) — Essential document downloads and login link

COIDA ROE DEADLINE EXTENDED — The Department of Labour has announced that the 2015/2016 ROE deadline has been extended until 31 May 2016. Submissions commenced on the 1st April 2016.

  1. Download the Online Submission Guide (Common Errors and FAQs)
  2. Department of Labour’s LOGIN PAGE
  3. Department of Labour’s Information Slides
  4. Download the Instruction Manual

 

 

 

[Announcement] — Interest-rate change: the official rate of interest (for calculating fringe benefits) increases by 0.25%

by with No Comment Latest Payroll NewsUncategorised

Interest-rate Change

 

 When an employee obtains a loan from his employer (and either no interest is payable or the interest payable is less than the ‘official rate of interest’) then the difference between the two amounts is calculated at the official rate of interest.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_url=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Due to recent Repo rate increase by 0.25% (to 7%) on 18 March 2016, the revised official rate of interest is 8% — effective 1 April 2016[/tweetthis]

The amount is calculated at an interest rate determined by the employer. This is a taxable fringe benefit, which must be processed and indicated on the employee’s tax certificate — using the “general code” 3801.

The official rate of interest is defined as the rate of interest that is equal to the RSA repurchase rate (“Repo rate”) plus 100 basis points (1%).

The official rate of interest changes from the first day of the new month, following the date on which the Repo rate change comes into effect.

Repo Rate Change

Therefore, owing to the most recent Repo rate increase of 0.25% (to 7%) on 18 March 2016, the revised official rate of interest is 8% — effective 1 April 2016.

[Department of Labour NOTICE] — To All Employers Registered With Compensation Fund

by with No Comment Announcementsdepartment of labourLatest Payroll NewsUncategorised
[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Return of Earnings (RoE) submission deadline has been extended to 31 May 2016[/tweetthis]


To All Employers Registered With Compensation Fund —


The Return of Earnings (RoE) submission deadline has been extended to 31 May 2016.

Click here to download all details required for accurate
submission: Department of Labour — Guideline Document

RoE Advert

Which employee-related records must I keep in order to sleep peacefully at night?

by with No Comment EmployeesEmployersLatest Payroll NewsPayrollPayroll AdministratorsPayroll TipsUncategorised

An organisation has a legislated obligation to keep employee-related records

South African legislation makes it very clear that you, the employer, have an obligation to keep employee-related records. You need to make sure that the paperwork is accurate, on time, and available to your employees, to you company-representatives, and to any government representative who may request these during an inspection/audit.

Therefore, knowing exactly where everything is filed (whether it be manually or electronically filed), no doubt makes prudent company sense.

Two methods of filing exists: the ‘old-fashioned’ manual filing method, and the more contemporary electronic document filing method.

Allow me to proceed by discussing which employee-related records need to be filed, and who may request audit-access to these filed documents that ought (at all times) to reside in your organisation’s secure document archives.

What needs to be filed: BCEA-related?

A good start is to to turn to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75, of 1997 (BCEA), which informs us of the statutory requirement to have a written contract of employment. This contract ought to include the following details:

  1. the full name and address of the employer;
  2. the name and occupation of the employee, or a brief description of the exact type of work/duties which the employee was hired to perform;
  3. the place of work, and, where the various locations where the employee is required (or permitted) to perform his/her duties;
  4. the date on which the employment contract commenced;
  5. the employee’s ordinary “hours of work” and “days of work”;
  6. the employee’s wage (alternatively, the contract to stipulate the rate and method to be used in order to calculate his/her wages);
  7. the rate/s of pay for overtime work;
  8. any other cash payments that the employee is entitled to;
  9. any payment ‘in kind’ that the employee is entitled to, as well as to clearly state the monetary equivalent-value of this ‘in kind’ method of payment;
  10. how frequently remuneration will be paid (i.e. frequency of payment intervals);
  11. any deductions to be made from the employee’s remuneration;
  12. the exact categories/types of leave which the employee is entitled to;
  13. the period of notice required in order to terminate the employment contract, or if employment is for a limited/specified period of time: the date upon which employment contract ceases;
  14. a description of any bargaining council or sectoral determination that governs further regulations specific to the type of business/organisation which the employee works at;
  15. any period of employment (with a previous employer) that may need to be factored into the employee’s new employment contract;
  16. a list of any other documents that form part of the contract of employment, whilst also indicating where the employee may (reasonably easily) access a copy of each of these documents.

Once an employee’s service with the organisation ends, record of his/her contract of employment must be archived for a period of three years after their leaving.

More filing needed: all hours worked and remuneration paid?

The organisation is compelled to keep a comprehensive set of records of all employees’ monthly hours worked and full details of remuneration paid to each and every employee:

  1. the employer’s name and address;
  2. the employee’s name and occupation;
  3. the period for which the payment is made;
  4. the employee’s remuneration in money; (e) the amount and purpose of any deduction made from the remuneration;
  5. the actual amount paid to the employee; and
  6. if relevant to the calculation of that employee’s remuneration
    • the employee’s rate of remuneration and overtime rate;
    • the number of ordinary and overtime hours worked by the employee during the period for which the payment is made;
    • the number of hours worked by the employee on a Sunday or public holiday during that period;

This aforementioned information must appear on each employee’s payslip. Every single employee must be given a copy of their payslip (which may be done during working hours or within 15 minutes after the employee’s shift has ended).

The organisation is compelled to keep archival record of these documents for a period of 5 years.

Lastly, an inspector (that has been legally and duly appointed in terms of the BCEA) may enter the organisation’s premises at any time, without a warrant or notice, and proceed with a compliance audit. It is incumbent upon the organisation and its representatives to prove that all employment-related records are accurate. Dependent upon the type of contraventions that may be discovered by the inspector, the BCEA provisions for a punitive fine of up to R 500 per employee (and/or a period of imprisonment for up to three years).

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]No filing records: contraventions discovered by an inspector, may attract a fine of up to R 500 per employee… [/tweetthis] Consequently, prudence seems to lie in preparedness: Paymaster recommends that you ensure that your employee-related records are always duly filed (manually, or electronically) and are in order for possible inspection/audit.

Thankfully, Paymaster (after many years of professional service to its clients) has gained the experienced capacity to help make your organisation’s record-keeping an easy, effort-free enjoyment. With an automated payslip process, Paymaster keeps all your essential and valuable employee-records online (safely and securely stored in the Cloud). These records are readily and easily available (at the click of a button) at any time.

Sleep easy at night, without worrying about that BCEA inspector’s ‘knock on the door’!

Further great news: you may elect to process your payroll, Paymaster can do it all for you, on your behalf — a fully outsourced and comprehensive solution for your organisation.

Whatever you decide to choose, be assured that Paymaster has your organisation’s employee-related record-keeping needs fully covered. Ultimate peace-of-mind for you!

Become the centre of the Human Resource/Payroll network in your organisation

by with No Comment EmployersLatest Payroll NewsPayrollpayroll professionalsRecruitmentRemunerationWorkflow

Artificial intelligence  and automation to make payroll process redundant

Last week I wrote about the demise of the payroll process position.

In this article, allow me to emphasise that in 5 years time, I do believe that artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will result in the position (of payroll clerk) being made redundant. Instead, this employee’s role with increase in scope: he/she will become a ‘gatekeeper of policy’ and the ‘analyser of information’ within the organisation. The newly evolving role that he/she will fulfil is that of the Process Manager. As such, the process manager will become the centre of the human resource/payroll world! If you manage the software, you manage the world!

This newly-evolving position is becoming more and more apparent within the human resource fraternity of professional practice: i.e. the position of ‘systems manager’ or ‘traffic controller’.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]This newly-evolving position is becoming more and more apparent …that of HRIS ‘systems manager’… [/tweetthis]

The role of the systems manager

What does a systems manager do?

Plainly stated, the systems manager ‘manages’ each and every human resource process. They make sure that the human resource information system (HRIS) is correctly set up, that it is receiving the correct information, and that it is being used correctly.

Next, let us consider some examples of roles fulfilled by the systems manager:

Ensuring that the parameters within the HRIS system are correctly configured

The systems manager, for example, will ensure that the correct organisation-chart is reflected on the system, or that correct skills and competencies/qualifications are linked to correct positions. HRIS setup may also focus on the recruiting process by allowing the systems manager to determine which set of core questions job candidates will be presented with. This is critical to keeping the HRIS software up to date.

Controlling the accuracy of information in the HRIS system

The systems manager monitors changes in job descriptions and updates the HRIS system accordingly. She/he will also make sure that information inputted into the HRIS system makes sense — e.g. such as analysing feedback from an interview, or details of a training programme.

Controlling the flow of information

Upon receiving a request for a new employee to be recruited, the systems manager will configure (i.e. “set up”) the online adverts, the recruitment-questions, the screening mechanisms, etc.

A further critical task involves ensuring that the entire HRIS system is optimally configured. Liaising with line-mangers—regarding details of the human resources process—involves the setting-up of interventions or appointments, which incidentally, is a key focus-point.

Another primary task may involve ensuring that when line-managers log-in, that correct processes and information is available to them — for example, by the setting up of recruitment interviews and making sure that candidates’ CV’s are available online (inclusive of the core questions and scoring-sheet being available and ready for use).

Monitoring line mangers’ use of the software, …and assisting where required

My favourite example—to emphasise a real benefit of the HRIS system—is this: training managers use the system to get the information they want.

A further example includes how to request a report or compare payslips so that line managers are indeed seen to be helping their subordinates. The systems manager is also able to request an audit report, in order to see what the organisation’s line-managers are doing. By facilitating this, the systems manager enables line-managers to automate routine tasks. Consequently, within the organisation, the systems manager certainly will be making a (significant) difference.

Assisting with reporting and analysis

The HRIS system software itself allows you to demonstrate your specialised skills, by assisting line-mangers with important analyses of their payroll and human resources information. PS — …in addition to line-managers being able to gain information from regular reports which the system provides. This is where the systems manager gets to demonstrate that she/he knows how to operate the system, thereby enabling him/her to provide relevant details quickly and efficiently.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]The HRIS systems manager demonstrates that she/he knows how to competently operate the HRIS system…[/tweetthis]

So, what do you need to know in order to do this?

  • Most importantly, know and understand/work with a HR/Payroll system that offers this functionality (Allow me a quick punt: paymaster.co.za does indeed offer all of these features and functions).
  • A comprehensive knowledge of human resource practices.
  • A thorough knowledge of the organisation and its policies and procedures.
  • A full understanding of how the HRIS software operates and which functions it integrates with.
  • In terms of organisational mission, vision, goals and objectives, be sure that you know (exactly) in which direction your organisation is headed
  • Acquire a thorough working-knowledge and in-depth understanding of the needs of line-managers: i.e. determine what their wants and needs truly are

Do all this and you will become the centre of the HR/payroll hub in your company

The competent professional who will be managing this HR/payroll (HRIS) hub, not only needs to understand human resources well, but would need to understand the HRIS system too. She/he needs to know exactly how to optimally configure many HRIS processes, as well as how to keep line-mangers motivated during their own use of the HRIS system.

PS — the reader of this article would do well to recognise that (ideally) this is a full-time position.

Further good news is that for smaller organisations’ needs, this entire process may be outsourced — it is a comprehensive service which Paymaster offers.

 

Looking towards the distant horizon — the dedicated payroll department to possibly be ‘extinct’ within the next 5 years

by with No Comment Latest Payroll NewsMotivationalPaymasterPayrollProductivity


At the present moment you may well be thinking that the payroll department is the centre of the corporate universe.

Perhaps too, you are certain that organisations that rely on human capital, rightly consider their payroll department to be its primary axis.

These days most organisations simply cannot function without their dedicated payroll administrators sitting behind their personal computers, balancing countless figures whilst also faithfully keeping all the organisation’s human resource records in perfect order.

Stop. Reality Check!

Stop. The reality check is this: whilst the preceding introductory consideration may well be an accurate assessment of the current status quo in most organisations, the time has arrived for the (sensible) strategic thinking human capital professional to look towards the distant horizon, in order to consider the strong likelihood that the dedicated payroll department (as we know it), may well be ‘extinct’ within the next 5 years.

With that distant horizon fast-approaching, let us consider what the future of the payroll department might involve by highlighting 5 specialised services that it (in all likelihood) may need to offer the organisation in the not too distant future.

Provisioning of an all-inclusive Human Capital Management (HCM) solution

Market-leading HCM-solution software offers the fullest, most inclusive spectrum of operational functionality. Suppliers of preferred HCM software solutions are increasingly beginning to ensure that they cater for the broadest range of HCM functions that a successful and profitable organisation requires: from workforce acquisition, to workforce management, to workforce optimisation.

For example, software functionality is likely to include the facilitation of cutting-edge recruitment best-practices, inventive application of face-to-face and online training tools, optimal leveraging of automated skills-evaluation tools, the implementation of progressive performance evaluation controls, the rolling out of comprehensive digital document cloud-storage, and options to make constant software-adaptations to payroll management processes.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Seemingly, we are fast-beginning to see the end of purposed payroll-only software solutions. [/tweetthis]

Consequently, we are seemingly fast-beginning to see the end of purposed (i.e. isolated) payroll-only software solutions. On the rapidly approaching distant horizon, we are already beginning to see suppliers of ‘all-rounder’ HCM solutions claiming the traditional purposed/isolated payroll solution space.

Facilitating technical compliance with the utmost of ease

Nowadays, easily implementable software-development tweaks easily caters for additional HCM parameters to be built into software products. For example, consider your organisation’s ever-increasing need to speedily respond to ever-changing tax-table formulae. In a case such as this, the discerning human capital professional needs to procure a HCM solution that offers the fullest scope for manifold legislative requirements to be amended and managed with the greatest of ease (without experiencing any upgrade downtime either).

Empowering line-management

Progressive HCM executives (inclusive of their functional management teams) ought to be excellent all-rounders. The HCM function make a truly relevant contribution towards the realisation of line-management’s operational contribution to the organisation. After all, this is what the organisation’s executive management team expects — nothing less.

For example, innovative HCM-solution software allows line-management to authorise all payroll-related documentation. Consequently, in most cases, not only does the line-manager take usual accountability for production processes and outputs, but he/she now also takes a (shared) accountability for the employees working in his/her department.

At Paymaster Payroll, some of our clients (whom we provide our HCM-solution to) are beginning to (confidently) allow their line-mangers to process the full payroll-run for their respective department/s. For example, line-management is empowered with the management of additional cost-incurring overtime hours and takes responsibility for making changes to employees’ basic salary settings. The Paymaster Payroll HCM-solution ingeniously encourages line-management to take empowering accountability for the safe-keeping of relevant documents and files — in an extremely safe, secure and risk-free environment, if the supplementary online cloud-server storage is used.

Additionally, further empowerment of line-management is made possible when, for example, a line manger personally manages the full interview process: from the reviewing of CV’s/resumés, right through to the online cloud-capture of the interviewers’ notes, comments and recommendations.

Thus, as demonstrated in the aforementioned examples, it’s clearly evident that there is no longer any need for the dedicated payroll department to manage these HCM processes. Further, from an auditing control/oversight perspective, at the very end of the ‘production line’, the financial manager simply ‘signs off’ (i.e. approves) the payroll-run. Thus we see that, in this case, a dedicated payroll department is indeed unnecessary.

 

Distributed accountability through employee self-service tools

It is becoming increasingly popular (and practical) for employees to be entrusted with the accountability of maintaining their own biographical data, submitting and administering (online) their own leave applications (which is also ‘online-authorised’ by their line-manager). Immediately thereafter, all leave records are automatically updated.

By employing this process of ‘distributed accountability’ employees are given access to self-service tools that smartly facilitates the submission of their own overtime claims, …the input of their own subsistence and travel-allowance claims, …and the facilitation of numerous other (ad-hoc) employee-specific claims — all processed via the integrated self-service functionality of progressive HCM-solution software.

Employee self-service tools may also be programmed to allow unrestricted access to an employee’s personal payslip and tax certificate archive — which is (most) conveniently stored on your organisation’s dedicated secure servers, or online in a secure (shared) cloud-server environment.

Easy access to data analysis and exception reporting tools

In the present business-era where real-time decision-making is becoming increasingly necessary and (perhaps even) desired, HCM-solution software must possess a reporting-ability to enable managers (at various levels within the organisation) to instantaneously gain access to meaningful reports that facilitate informed (and accurate) management decisions.

With progressive HCM-solution software, skilled and informed financial mangers no longer require reams of printed documents in order to get a glimpse of what’s happening in his or her department (or within the entire organisation for that matter). With a single login instance, a request for a report, accompanied with the shortest of waiting periods, will allow a comprehensive payroll-run for thousands of employees to be authorised (without worrying that multiple errors may result).

With exception reporting and approval processes, the era of individual-entry verification and interim payroll-run verification checks is fast coming to an end.

Responding to the challenge — prepare for change

Should the reader of this article be suitably convinced that we may well be seeing a future where the dedicated payroll department may well be ‘extinct’ within the next 5 years, here are a few suggestions on how you may respond to the challenge by suitably preparing for imminent change:

— Make a critical analysis of what kind of HCM-solution software that your organisation will need in order to adequately prepare for a future that has no dedicated payroll department.

— As a payroll professional, periodic personal introspection is crucial to your career growth and success within the HCM field of expertise. Constantly consider what new skills you may require in order to remain employable and, (more importantly) to remain relevant once employed.

— From an organisational perspective, adequate training (at various levels) coupled with progressive change-management practices, needs to take place on a regular basis. In this regard, be sure that you do your homework thoroughly.

— Always consider your relevance factor. By setting a time-constraint to your medium-term career planning, constantly assess how you are you going to reinvent yourself (particularly within the next 5 years), in order maintain the highest ‘relevance factor’ that you are capable of.

[tweetthis remove_twitter_handles=”true” remove_hidden_hashtags=”true” remove_hidden_urls=”true”]Strategic-thinking HCM professionals take proactive, decisive steps to transition to what the future promises to be.[/tweetthis]

Concluding thoughts

This article presumes the almost inevitable arrival of a future where the dedicated payroll department is fast on its way towards becoming ‘extinct’ within the next 5 years. As this distant future horizon fast-approaches, a prudent planning approach—to be taken by the discerning strategic thinking Human Capital Management (HCM) professional—will see him/her taking proactive and decisive steps towards transitioning to what the future (almost certainly) promises to be. Be sure to source HCM-solution software that not only keeps your HCM function relevant, but guarantees that you maintain (or improve upon) your HCM relevance factor too.