The payroll department doesn’t get many kudos. So long as the checks are going out on time, no one feels like they have a reason to complain. Still, inefficiencies in your payroll department may be costing your company serious money and your employees valuable time.
Ask these questions to determine whether inefficiencies are hampering your payroll department today.
Are Employees Constantly Asking About Vacation?
Vacation accruals are almost as important as a paycheck for some employees. Planning for that next big beach weekend or week long getaway can make the 9-to-5 grind fly by. If employees don’t have an easy way to access that information, they are probably pestering your payroll employees non-stop.
Having a mechanism in place to give employees necessary information without requiring payroll employees answer every inquiry is essential to reducing inefficiency. Opening up access through a workforce management system or a periodic email can help free up payroll employees to perform their job duties more efficiently.
Are Benefit Deductions Being Entered Manually?
Manual entry hits on two big opponents to efficiency: error and time. Manually entering benefit deductions leaves your company open to accidental error, like deducting too much or too little. Manual entry also requires much more time on the part of your employees, which can siphon off resources towards other projects. In today’s workplace, relying on manual entry is simply a poor way to do business. Automating your benefits deductions or any accounting process eliminates user error and requires much less employee time.
Is Your Payroll Information Secure?
With the average data breech costing companies $3.5 million, security is nothing to scoff at. Yet sadly, most companies aren’t adequately securing their payroll data. With access to social security numbers, insurance, and pay stubs, a security breech in the payroll department can be catastrophic. Ensuring that all payroll data is safe and secure may feel like an added layer of inefficiency but in reality, it can save companies in lost time and potential money.
Is Payroll Integrated?
Payroll departments often use their own software but not integrating that software with your workforce management system or timekeeping software may be killing your efficiency. An integrated system can consolidate and electronically transmit hours worked to payroll and back out to employees without any user interaction. This seamless workflow eliminates user error and allows payroll to work faster.
Are You Consolidated and Payroll Minimized?
The job of payroll employees is already tough enough but when a company has multiple payroll schedules based on site or position, it can be a nightmare. Consolidating your pay cycles and minimizing the amount of cycles annually can help save time for your payroll department. An organization that moves from biweekly to monthly paychecks can save up to 50 percent of payroll costs and consolidating payroll software across an organization can save even more. Ensure that your payroll department is consolidated and paychecks are minimized to increase efficiency.
Just because the checks may it out every Friday doesn’t mean your payroll department is as efficient as it could be. Reducing some of the common inefficiencies found in the payroll department can not only help save your company money but also allow your payroll employees to focus on other cost-saving measures. Start with these five simple questions to determine inefficiencies in your payroll department.
