Most employees receive their pay checks, yet they’re never really concerned about the processes or systems that generate it. Like a utility, such as water or electricity, they expect a payslip to be produced efficiently, be there when it’s needed at the end of the month, or week, and for it to work on time. Yet, the roll out of effective payroll involves more than a spreadsheet and money transfers.
To ensure accurate, compliant and accountable payroll at least 16 processes should determine how it works. These are also divided into second and third level processes. Nothing should be left to chance. Anyone who’s been paid wrongly knows the pain associated with poor payroll. In an age when people, processes and technology can work effectively together this doesn’t need to happen.
At Zalaris the processes for determining how payroll is generated are strictly defined in an operations procedures manual. These are laid out in full. Every element of how a payslip is generated is documented in meticulous detail, from how employee data is managed, to validation checks, how finance is informed to generate payslips to details on money transfers via BACS and bank files. All steps are broken down from pre- to post-processing.
Many of us don’t realise what goes in to producing a payslip. Numbers and monetary values on a regular paycheck look like they’re simple to produce. Yet there’s a whole ecosystem of procedures, checks and systems that should be in place. For each payroll, for each payslip there’s a complex story
explains Stephen Burr, Director & VP Professional Services Zalaris UK & Ireland.
“Payroll is like an iceberg. Employees and many employers are aware of just the tip above the surface, the getting paid bit, yet a lot happens underneath that professional outsource companies are thinking about day in day out. Is your payroll GDPR compliant? Is it encrypted so it’s safe from hackers? Do you have full records of queries? Are you able to make corrections at lightning speed? Can systems automatically calculate exceptions in pay or make automated retrospective adjustments?”
A multi-layered, ecosystem of services
It is why Zalaris runs a multi-layered system to account for payroll, encompassing a powerful ecosystem of services, which is holistic and all encompassing. That’s because getting it right matters to the livelihoods of so many people.
The first layer is where the company manages the physical data servers. This is where payroll data sits on servers securely and is able to deal with disaster recovery, as well as good governance around hosting third-party business information.
The second layer involves Zalaris’ IP, or intellectual property beyond the technology platform that it deploys. This involves the systems and processes it has built in to PeopleHub, the company’s dedicated platform for payroll and HR services. This involves the help desk that it offers to all clients, the carbon tracker app, pay on demand and alumni solutions to name a few elements.
“We’re always building out our own IP, which is wrapped around the core engine for HR and payroll. These products are always evolving, and we are always investing as well as looking to improve. We’re also using technology to reduce costs. Robotic process automation can trigger tasks and reconcile data in the background. The aim is to automate the vast majority of payroll processes. You don’t have to print anything out anymore and businesses don’t have to send anything via email to employees,” details Burr, VP Professional Services Zalaris UK & Ireland.
“It is unbelievable that many businesses still send unencrypted payslips to employees via email. This highly sensitive information should not be communicated in this way. If there’s a query about a payslip, we can just point employees to the data. If payroll needs updating, with say new taxation or national insurance changes, payslips are refreshed quickly. It’s all about making sure payroll is compliant with any updated regulations.”
The third and final layer on top is the human element, or service layer. This involves service delivery and account management of the highest level. Many of the service delivery managers have decades of experience in payroll and HR services. The service delivery and management systems are what sets the company apart. Where payroll experts are using the PeopleHub platform with a handle on all the company’s KPIs and following the Operations Process Manual or OPM as well.
“Businesses realise when they see these 16 elements defined in the OPM that it’s going to take a bit more to run their payroll over five years than they thought. It’s going to need a bit more than HR just pressing a button. The fact that we have so many successful go-lives when we take over payroll and that they are rolled out with pinpoint accuracy, where everyone is paid on time, is testament to the technology, processes and people we have in place,” says Burr.
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The power of data
Multi-country payroll is also a point of differentiation for Zalaris, multi-national companies and enterprises operating in a number of countries are able to reconcile pay across a number of regions and jurisdictions. Then there are innovations in pay on demand allowing employees to access pay in advance, as well as access for alumni, those who left the company to obtain past paycheck details.
“We also operate a full payroll and HR system of record with operational reporting where payroll data is broken down by sex and age. We offer data on termination rate, male to female ratio in the senior management or average tenure. We’re talking meaningful HR data. Then there is the measurement of how effective our service delivery is and levels of service, explains Burr.
So, what of the future? “There is significant potential for a lot more data analytics over time. It will be a big plus going forwards,” he states. “Zalaris is certainly more than just payroll.”