Record-breaking payroll figures highlight a need for more efficient processes

With statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing that the estimated number of payrolled employees in June increased by 31,000 month-on-month, reaching a record 29.6 million, leading global employee pay provider, CloudPay, has warned that payroll processes need to adapt to meet the added demand.

CloudPay CEO, Paul Bartlett, commented:

“With headcount increases being noted across the board in the UK, payroll professionals will be facing additional pressures and additional workloads. When we consider that many payroll teams are themselves, under-resourced, these record-breaking figures present a slight concern. We can’t overlook that payroll processes haven’t evolved at the same pace as wider corporate digital transformation has. Yes, automation has streamlined a lot of repetitive tasks, but overall a significant proportion of the function’s role hasn’t changed. Treasury functions, for example, are still reliant on legacy infrastructure and the complex banking system, with the way transactions are made and how employees receive their wages the same as it has always been.”

“If payroll teams are to keep up with the level of demand, greater efficiency through innovative technology adoption is needed. That includes using tech to enable employees to have greater control over their wage access. Pay On-Demand and Pay to Card solutions – which we’ve recently launched in partnership with Visa Direct – allow staff to instantly access their earned wages when they need them, via a mobile app, all without additional work from payroll teams. Tapping into these tools can reduce the need for supplemental runs, automate processes further and, perhaps more importantly, create a more efficient process for payroll teams.”

“It’s understandable to question why processes that on the surface are working need to be adapted. But as the pandemic clearly demonstrated, it is almost impossible to predict what the future holds. In this environment, questioning how efficiencies can be delivered will be the best means of ensuring payroll processes can match the demand of an ever-changing landscape.”