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Global Payroll

Global Payroll - Slot into Place

Global payroll might sound to some like domestic payroll on a larger scale but, as Nick Bland, Partnership Director, Ceridian International Services, points out in a recent article for Payroll World Magazine, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Global payroll providers regularly claim they can make the process of paying workers abroad easier, trouble-free and more cost efficient for their clients, but they often fail to deliver the envisaged benefits.

An outsider looking into global payroll would see the need to align people, processes and data. Technology provides the ‘enabler’ element to this puzzle; however, it is the underlying elements that make everything fall into place. So what are those elements and what happens if they are missing?

Without the experience that is gained from leading global payroll projects that are built into a global payroll initiative, anyone implementing the project will not know the pitfalls, must-haves and know-hows to guide the programme along a low risk, comprehensively planned and controlled path. Without this expertise, time will be lost as the programme heads down blind alleys and precious budget is spent on mistakes.

Global payroll providers need to ensure they are supporting their clients by providing expert people who have a demonstrable record. From day one, all activities must have support from solution consultants – the folks that have a briefcase full of experience and examples of previous learning.

After setup, when the payrolls are live, experts need to continue to own the payroll process to ensure nothing is missed and payments happen on time. Cutting corners within resources and experience will, without doubt, result in costly mistakes.

Underpinning all payrolls must be a defined, understood and followed process. The number of dependent elements within a global payroll operation demands that tight controls are placed on the movement and control of data. Making sure that the workflow is tightly controlled and fully audited are critical to a cohesive process.

Again, having enough highly experienced resources means that payroll processes are effective and run like clockwork. Many payrolls are run against a short processing window, which adds to the need for a shared payroll process to be used by all stakeholders in a consistent and reliable way.

Data is the fundamental element of any global payroll solution – it is, after all, input and output.

It is the standardisation of this data through the process that is critical to ensuring that payroll output is consistently right. Only when data and process are joined to bring standardisation can real cost benefits be realised globally. Maintaining a country or regional bespoke approach to payroll will not enable clients to reduce costs through repeatability and gain access to critical global reporting available within one currency.

Providing clients with the tools they need to manage their data is essential in assisting in the standardisation of data and process. Maintaining the old way of doing things does not provide clients with the mechanisms needed to shift their organisations to an effective and cost-efficient model.

Technology is clearly needed, but it is the enablers – people, process and data – that are the critical elements. These are must-have components that all successful global payrolls need.

Ceridian provides global payroll services, and are present in over 50 countries. For more information, contact our International payroll team on 0800 0482 737.