The hidden ways HR can benefit from managing payroll internally

Every business must have payroll in some form or another. It is arguably one of the most important HR responsibilities for any employer. You must process payslips and payments correctly on time, every time. Payroll mistakes can leave you at risk of hefty fines, and so traditionally, payroll has been one of the most outsourced processes in the business world. However, managing payroll in-house is fast replacing the tendency to outsource the role, as cloud automation continues to simplify and streamline a once difficult task.

Naturally, one of the biggest advantages of processing your payroll in-house is the level of control you’ll have over the entire process. This means you can be more flexible with last-minute changes to timesheets or quickly correcting errors. It also may be more cost-effective to run payroll in-house as the cost of payroll software becomes ever more affordable. Businesses can save money by bringing their payroll in-house compared to outsourcing to a third party.

An in-house payroll process means you can keep all your employees’ information private. Some employers feel more at ease by controlling who can see salaries, benefits, bonuses and other sensitive employee data. Interestingly, the number of global companies with a fully outsourced payroll function dropped by 7% in just two years. It’s clear that attitudes towards outsourced payroll are rapidly changing in favour of an in-house operation.

So, what about other benefits that are not so obvious? Fortunately for HR professionals, cloud innovation can have a big impact on workflows, especially when it comes to the crossover between HR and payroll tasks. Read on to find out four ways your HR department can benefit from managing payroll in-house.

1. Fewer calls and emails to HR: Employees can be invited to their own secure online self-service portal that can be downloaded via an app on their smartphone or tablet device. Historical payslips and payroll documents are accessible 24/7 by the employee, instantly reducing a huge volume of time-consuming requests to HR. Gone are the days of employees requesting a history of past or lost payslips, for example, when they are applying for a loan or mortgage.
2. Effective employee management: BrightPay Connect offers employers a central online location to keep employee records safe and secure. Not only are payslips and payroll documents automatically available, but other HR and company documents can also be uploaded. Employment contracts, company handbooks, training documents and company newsletters can all be uploaded for easy distribution, again reducing the volume of related queries to HR. Documents with restricted access can be added, for example, appraisal and disciplinary documents to aid in ongoing performance evaluation.
3. Easier annual leave management: The cumbersome nature of managing annual leave is made much easier with BrightPay Connect. With the employee self-service portal, employees can view their annual leave entitlement and leave balance remaining. They can also request annual leave through their self-service portal. This can reduce the high volume of tedious paper-trails and email traffic to HR. Payroll and HR managers can easily approve leave requests through the online employer dashboard. Approved leave then automatically synchronises back to the payroll software on your PC and is instantly updated on the company-wide online calendar, and so HR can easily track leave and plan staff cover.
4. Happier employee culture: Research consistently shows that when employees feel empowered at work, it has the knock-on effect of stronger job performance, job satisfaction, and commitment to the business. BrightPay Connect’s employee smartphone and tablet app can empower employees by giving them access to view and manage their data online, providing a source of independence, power and control. That convenience adds up to creating a happy and productive workforce culture, the highest aspiration for any HR management team.

If your business is curious about how an in-house payroll solution can make your payroll process easier, book a demo today to discover how BrightPay can streamline and automate many of the day-to-day payroll and HR processes.

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