Payroll Professionals: the capstone human resource in an organisation

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Do you desire to be known as the ultimate payroll professional?

Do you wish to be the ultimate ‘go to’ person in the payroll department? Similarly, do you dream of being that ‘one particular person’ within your organisation, that is truly indispensable to the running of the business?

This is possible and it ought to be an achievable reality too.

Payroll professionals need to boldly step up to the plate. The payroll professional is an essential component within the smooth-running operations of most enterprises. Long gone are the days where the payroll clerk merely occupies desk-space, punching numbers (whilst apologising for getting in the way of the other business functions).

The time has arrived for the payroll professional to be recognised! All too often, in the past, the payroll clerk was only ever noticed when mistakes were made. But not anymore! The payroll professional is the much-needed capstone human resource within many types of organisations.

3 building-blocks: relevance, indispensability & being pro-active

The primary building-blocks of any payroll department comprises its relevance, its indispensability and its ability to be pro-active when business challenges arise. Without these building-blocks, the modern payroll department will not survive the contemporary era of automation and process-driven payroll operations.

Relevance

In everything you do—as a proud payroll professional—strive always to make your contribution relevant. Be sure to have accurate, correct facts and figures at your fingertips. Be ready to highlight the relevant challenges being faced (and how to possibly address these challenges):

  • Alert management to increasing overtime spends, particularly if it is leaning towards becoming a trend.
  • Raise an early white flag when you sense that labour-turnover rates are starting to look problematic.
  • Sound the alarm bells when new legislation stands to impact an organisation and its employees.

In order to make a relevant contribution, line-management oftentimes inadvertently forgets that the payroll department requires a wealth of rich meaningful information. The payroll professional should never have to repeatedly beg for information from other departments within the organisation. To be relevant, you need information — make sure you get the relevant information, on time, all the time.

Indispensability (your absolute necessity) to the organisation

Work towards gaining a thorough personal understanding of the human resource production line, right from the very beginning through ‘til the very end — from preliminary planning phases, to recruitment processes, …right through ‘til possible termination phase. This fosters and entrenches your indispensability to the organisation.

Importantly, don’t settle for only knowing how to operate your payroll software, but strive to master your use and understanding thereof. Once you’ve mastered this, you naturally become the central resource (information-hub) which others will feel drawn towards. For example, make it your primary speciality to know exactly how to set up a new employee record, …how to create an interview appointment, …or, how to issue the query for that complex management report.

Remember this: the line-management function prefers to manage. Intricacies and details of the payroll system is not their forté or interest — it’s yours, the payroll professional. Make sure that your indispensability comes from your special expertise.

Be Pro-active

The ability to be a pro-active payroll professional takes nothing more than a little well-considered thought and the ability to think ahead (i.e. planning).

Some common-sense examples include, the setting up of regular (and ad-hoc) meetings, …provide feedback on changes, …‘walk the floor” and/or engage others via e-mail, …start your own departmental Facebook Page, …use instant messaging to communicate with your employees (nowadays a standard built-in function with many payroll software packages).

Pro-actively build relationships with your various customers. Be sure they know what you expect from them. Remind them of what you consider to be your definition of outstanding service delivered to them.

Pro-active payroll professionals:

  • Expect to see the consequences of today’s actions, materialising sometime in the near or distant future.
  • Are expected to prepare management reports before being asked to prepare them (an automated feature which payroll software is easily able to do).
  • have forward-looking, forward-thinking minds, particularly when it comes to planning for public holidays and unexpected work stoppages.
  • Always think about next month (and next year) while processing the current payroll.
  • Are always anticipating the unexpected to happen — if the unexpected does indeed happen, it’s bound to be at the worst time. The pro-active payroll professional knows this.
  • Always double-checks their outputs/work — …“always reconcile and balance” is their trusted motto.

The payroll professional truly is (and always ought to be) the capstone human resource within the organisation.

 

Bottom line: The payroll professional actively works towards wanting everybody in the organisation to confidently say, “To be sure, let’s ask our payroll professionals first”.

6 Ways To Motivate Employees by Using Little to No Money At All

by with No Comment EmployeesLatest Payroll NewsMotivation

Keeping your employees happy and motivated is a key ingredient to running your small business.

Did you know that 13% of employee separations are voluntary—and it’s usually the best and brightest ones who move on the fastest.

However, you know that your small business enterprise doesn’t have the means to pay premium salaries or fund the benefits of a Fortune 500 company, so how can you event beging to foster loyalty amongst your prized employess, whilst also retaining your top workers?

Consider the following six examples from small business owners across the country:

Drum Up Win-Wins.

When Matt Hudgins needs to cut costs at his Atlanta-based financial advisory firm, Mosaic Wealth Management LLC, he asks employees for their input. “Who better to know where to cut the fat than the employees?” he says. To motivate them, he offers 10% of the savings that are realized. (The same idea could work with business expansion proposals.)

Fulfill Their Dreams.

Bettina Hein, CEO of the Boston-based video production company Pixability, asked her three employees to list as many of their lifelong dreams as they could during a 20-minute meeting. She then pledged to fulfill one of these dreams within 90 days of the New Year. One employee wanted to witness a shuttle launch, so Hein sent him to Cape Canaveral for $350. “You wouldn’t believe how happy this made them all, and it cost me very, very little money and a bit of effort,” she says.

Get Personal.

When an employee of Rex Direct Net Inc., an Internet marketing firm in Cherry Hill, N.J., reaches a work-related goal or goes through a significant life event, the CEO acknowledges it with a handwritten, personal note. “Making the time to communicate your satisfaction can motivate employees who thrive on recognition and attention from the boss,” says Jennine Rexon, CEO. It’s a small step that can yield loyalty from your employees.

Sweat the Small Stuff.

Mike Lieberman of Square 2 Marketing in Warrington, Pa., says a handful of small, but important things motivate his employees. Every quarter, he hires a limo to take his team into nearby Philadelphia for dinner and an event. On Fridays at 3 p.m., employees enjoy an in-office happy hour thanks to a stocked office bar. And he regularly holds video game tournaments—in the office—to “help the team blow off some steam.”

Do What the Big Guys Can’t.

Owning a small business means you can be more flexible with employees’ personal needs than a large corporation. Kathleen Henson, who owns Henson Consulting Inc. in Wheaton, Ill., allowed one of her employees to set up a portable crib and bouncy seat in her office during the months after her maternity leave. “Traditional work environments can be taxing on families, so creating a work setting that puts family first is the cornerstone of my business,” Henson says.

Appeal to the ego.

Not all rewards are tangible. Public praise is often a powerful motivator. When employees make successful choices, let everyone know. Recognize and share behavior that results in money-saving ideas attracting the most new customers, or even healthy behavior. Flattery can also be contagious. An “Employee of the Month” designation, for example, can get employees’ competitive juices flowing and motivate them to make work harder.

If these examples don’t spark any ideas for your company, consider going back to the basics.

Your employees will always take much delight in being treated with respect, says Jim Gellas of Pictopia: “It’s funny how often this can be taken for granted, but yelling at, insulting and demonstrating a lack of appreciation can be strong de-motivators,” says Gellas. “Said differently, employees really respond when they feel appreciated, their feedback is considered and their efforts valued.”

About running an international payroll. The in-country partner’s challenges.

by Latest Payroll NewsMotivationPaymasterPayroll Tips


It is 10 o clock at night in South Africa 

To all our clients all over the world. An open letter from a payroll company processing payrolls on behalf of clients in America, United Kingdom, Europe and India.  We love working with you. We enjoy the interaction and the intercultural learning experience.  It is fantastic to call people all over the world our clients. 10 years ago this would never have been possible. Unfortunately, it has it challenges.

I would like to share some insights of running a payroll with overseas partners. Don’t misunderstand me, it is not a moan session. This is a heads up, an eye opener and I hope an insight into a payroll company based in Cape Town, South Africa, coping with the requests from around the world. Here are 5 challenges we face regularly.

1) Time zones:

Time Zones do exist. When it is 7 am in India, it is 4 am in South Africa and 10 Pm in America. It is 2 am in England.  We do work long hours and yes, we try to meet deadlines. But when you phone us at 2 pm your time from the USA and ask us if we can have it back to you by the close of business the same day, please understand that we are working way into our night to meet your deadline. (our clients will tell you that is what we do). So please be nice when you are dealing with service providers from another continent. We are working long hours to deliver.

2) Language and Culture:

We are different. We see things differently.  We even have different words for the same thing.  A trunk in America and a boot in England and South Africa mean the same thing.  But a boot in America also means a boot in the rest of the world. When you communicate with us please understand that we do our best to interpret what you require. We are not trying to be difficult when we ask for clarification.   For us Please and Thank You is a very important part of everyday business. If we sometimes forget under pressure and come across really business – like, forgive us. Our culture one of trying to deliver.

3) Expectations:

This is a sensitive one. Work needs to be done on time and accurately. We all understand that. There is also only so much we can do. When our Receiver of Revenue says 21 days turnaround time, then no matter what your expectations are, there is nothing we can do. Shouting at us and putting pressure on us to get an answer does not work. We do understand that in your part of the world that would be unacceptable and you would get an answer a lot quicker. Sometimes we cannot meet your expectation through no fault of our own.  (our clients will tell you we do move mountains where we can).

4) Infrastructure.

It is a fact that infrastructure differs from country to country. Lightening fast internet is a given in certain countries. A postal system that works is another given. For a while a stable consistent electricity supply was a big challenge to South Africa.  We all have different environments we are working in.  We Know that a deadline is a deadline. But when the internet has gone down and you are working on a shaky 3G connection it takes a bit longer. A simple word of understanding sometimes goes a long way to keep us motivated to go that extra mile to make sure your accurate payroll is delivered on time.

5) Legal process.

As in your country, we too have laws that govern our payroll. We have laws for basic conditions of employment, we have minimum wages (depending on your industry) and tax laws that we need to apply to your payroll. At Paymaster we do not break the law. We will be legal and make sure all our clients are legal. Please understand when we say NO, we think that should not be done. We are only trying to look after your best interests.

Thank you for listening.