How to Automate Your Global Payroll Processes

According to a 2023 survey, 83% of UK desk workers said that time-saving technology enables them to focus on more impactful work.¹ A quarter of these workers also said it improves their engagement, meaning their job is more fulfilling—leading to higher performance beyond the initial time-saving measures.

Today, HR automation is the key to increasing efficiency. While automation has many applications, it’s particularly beneficial when applied to payroll management.

So, what are the benefits of payroll automation? And how can your company take advantage of them?

Below, we’ll explain how to automate payroll tasks at your company and review six perks of payroll automation.

Select the Right Payroll Automation Tools for Your Business

Before you can take advantage of payroll automation, you’ll need to employ the right human resource solution at your company. There are multiple methods of accessing payroll HR automation, including working with:

• Automated payroll software features
• HR information system (HRIS) software
• Professional employer organizations (PEO)

These payroll management solutions have different features, price points, and additional benefits.  So, how can you select the right automation method for your business? Simply follow these steps:

• Consider your needs – While a small business may be able to get away with automated payroll software, a larger company might prefer the more robust payroll support of a PEO. PEOs provide various support services, including payroll processing and automation.
  
  
• Upload your payroll data – Once you’ve chosen a solution that fits your needs, you need to upload your payroll data. If you’re using a software solution, such as certain types of HRIS systems or payroll systems, consider getting the support of an IT professional to manage your employee data migration.
  
  
• Notify and train your employees – While HR automation can make employees’ jobs much easier, it’s natural if you experience resistance to change.² It’s always important to bring employees into the conversation and provide training and support before the implementation of an automated system.

6 Benefits of Automating Global Payroll Processes

We’ve communicated the various benefits of an automated payroll process. So what are those benefits exactly? Let’s examine a few in turn.

Increased Efficiency

Manual payroll processing can be time-consuming. By automating your company’s payroll, time-tracking, tax calculations, and paycheck distribution, you can help it run more efficiently. And with fewer of these tasks to attend to, your HR team can devote more of their attention to ensuring positive employee relations.

Improved Accuracy and Legal Compliance

In addition to being time-consuming, manual payroll processing is often more error-prone. After all, it’s easy to miscalculate a tax deduction or mail out a paycheck late on accident. Not only can these mistakes harm your employee relationships, but they can also impact your legal compliance. Fortunately, payroll automation solves these problems.

Higher Employee Satisfaction

Employees like getting paid on time. By automating your payroll tasks, you can increase employee engagement and satisfaction. Some payroll software also comes with self-service features that enable employees to review their pay stubs, tax documents, and remaining paid-time-off (PTO) days online at their convenience.

Stronger Data Security and Privacy

Many companies choose to keep their payroll data confidential. Protecting employee data privacy is harder when paperwork is involved. In contrast, payroll software is often equipped with comprehensive security features, from encryption to access controls.

Superior Scalability

As companies grow, so do their payroll obligations. For this reason, global companies need scalable payroll operation solutions to ensure smooth expansions. Automated payroll systems can scale up with ease and factor in foreign countries' currency exchanges and legal requirements in a few clicks. Companies like Mural Pay are examples of global payment platforms that enable bulk vendor and contractor payments in more than 40 currencies.

Reliable Reporting

 It’s important to keep detailed documents of your payroll practices. You never know when your company may be audited by tax authorities or regulatory boards. Luckily, automated payroll software can generate payroll reports and store them securely.