Diminished Payroll Tech Budget?
Many businesses are redefining their FY21 budgets, which may have previously had the provision for a new payroll system (or Workforce Management or Human Capital Management software) or significant uplift projects. Is that the case in your business?
Businesses are setting themselves up for operational cost reviews to get through the next 12 months, but one thing that will remain constant is the need for an efficient and compliant payroll function.
As budgets change and spend is reduced, looking at any reduction to your Payroll Tech Budget requires a different lens to be applied. It’s important to ask -
What were the main reasons that there was payroll system spend allocated in the first place?
Was there are driver to help the Board solve payroll risk and exposure?
Is there a genuine need for significant changes from payroll, operations, finance? Is your current system not longer capable, or at end of life?
Was it to be the way and means to reduce the total cost to payslip or resource overheads?
Simply, the pays, were not consistently correct and it is causing issue with your employees?
Integration capacity needed to change to support source and receiving systems such as HCM, ERP, Finance or WFM?
So no doubt, even though the spend capacity to make change has diminished, these issues, risks and concerns still exist. If this falls in your remit how are you going to make change with reduced budget?
Larger organisations that have a Payroll Advisory function, are simply going to provide you with a tidy report with suggested outcomes, but may not necessarily drive real change. After engaging with an Advisory business the best outcome is making sure your protect the value from your spend, with a true action plan that is going to be affordable to achieve. This is often more achievable with niche providers.
By looking to specific Payroll Advisory Consultants, although few and far between, you are going to drive the changes and make the improvements required, that will help to provide interim solutions at a reasonable price point.
They also know how to drive change and negotiate commercials back to vendors that can provide minimal outlay to uplift. They understand payroll operating models in the real world - the non-negotiables and the absolute pain points that exist. They understand the value of process and procedure reviews, which often can solve things that systems may not be able to.
By using this time to bed down change, when the budget for tech becomes ready you will be more prepared than ever before. It is taking away the expectation that systems will solve problems. If your business has lost its healthy budget, but still needs to deliver to payroll change you still can get value for your spend. A Payroll Advisory Consultant will cut through the recommendations and deliver solutions.
We not only deliver this service ourselves but have a network of skilled and highly experienced professionals. Would you like to learn more?
We offer an off-the-shelf 4 hour assessment to help set realistic goals and objectives against your budget. For a $1,000 + GST introductory session we can start the ball rolling.
Please call Teneille Pasque on 0409 339 322 or email teneille@thepayrolladvisoryco.com.au for further information.