Employees expect payroll to provide greater access to information
The payroll department is typically an invisible part of the organization unless, of course, something goes wrong with the paycheques.
But now, with advancements in technology, many employees are expecting the payroll department to provide greater access to information and better customer service.
Properly empowered, payroll professionals have more time to focus on providing better customer service to the workforce. Technology has put an end to the day of manual calculations and counting out cash to pay staff. Payroll professionals now have access to tools that allow them to conduct payroll tasks more quickly and efficiently. Integrated payroll and human resource software solutions automate key functions and reduce data entry.
Electronic bank transmissions and direct deposit transactions reduce the amount of time payroll professionals spend printing and distributing paycheques. The bottom line: more self service from payroll translates into better customer service for employees. Not only does it give employees access to information when they want and need it, it frees up time for payroll practitioners to field a few more calls from staff if they can’t find the information they’re looking for or prefer to talk to a live person.
Self serve for employees
Self service technology gives employees the power to conduct their own tasks and find their own information. They can update personal information and access current and historic pay information. Employees also have access to online handbooks and regulatory information, as well as internal and government forms to help them process their own employment-related changes around-the-clock. This technology reduces the amount of time payroll professionals spend updating information, distributing forms and answering employee inquiries.
Through a desktop computer or company kiosk at work, or at home on a personal computer, employees can review and print their pay information. Payroll professionals can easily add “tickler” or reminder notes to an employee’s electronic pay stub to indicate how a specific deduction was calculated or explain why there is a difference in an amount paid from a previous pay period. This feature eliminates many of the phone calls and questions payroll professionals receive.
Employees can access and update tax forms online, such as updating the TD1 form used to determine the amount of tax that should be deducted from an employee’s pay. Employees can also set up and update voluntary deductions such as contributions to the United Way through self-service functions.
T4 forms can be made available electronically to the employees to review prior to receiving a printed copy from their employer. With the onslaught of collaboration technology, there even exists the potential for the electronic T4 to be linked directly to a tax service company, allowing employees to complete their taxes and electronically file via the Internet. Both of the above examples are already available through Internet services in the United States.
Managers help themselves
Self service technology can also provide important information and tools to managers. Manager self service tools are designed to provide information about employees, as well as approval and denial capabilities for various transactions.
Department managers can go online to access compensation information about their staff, including entering and approving incentives and bonus payments. Manager self service also provides online expense approval for managers to easily and quickly approve expenses for their staff. It is becoming more common for the payroll department to process these expense payments as the employee record already exists within their technology solutions.
Managers can also request off-cycle payments for their employees, eliminating less efficient interactions with the payroll department.
What if self service isn’t practical?
Deploying online self service options may not work well for some organizations due to the composition of the workforce and the corporation’s technical infrastructure. If an organization can’t improve customer service by deploying self service technology, then implementing a centralized call-centre approach might be the answer.
A payroll call centre can be combined with human resources to offer a more comprehensive solution, but technology still has an important role to play. The call centre will need to be empowered with information about the workforce and the accompanying policies governing the organization in order to service the incoming requests. There are vendors in the marketplace that will setup a call center for organizations. These vendors will even offer to fully outsource and manage the call centre operation and include sophisticated online self service tools at the same time.
Jeff Koven is executive vice-president of Cyborg Systems Canada, a provider of strategic human resource management solutions. For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.cyborg.com. His column appears regularly in Canadian HR Reporter’s Guide series. Look for the Guide to HR Technology in the Nov. 3, 2003 issue.
But now, with advancements in technology, many employees are expecting the payroll department to provide greater access to information and better customer service.
Properly empowered, payroll professionals have more time to focus on providing better customer service to the workforce. Technology has put an end to the day of manual calculations and counting out cash to pay staff. Payroll professionals now have access to tools that allow them to conduct payroll tasks more quickly and efficiently. Integrated payroll and human resource software solutions automate key functions and reduce data entry.
Electronic bank transmissions and direct deposit transactions reduce the amount of time payroll professionals spend printing and distributing paycheques. The bottom line: more self service from payroll translates into better customer service for employees. Not only does it give employees access to information when they want and need it, it frees up time for payroll practitioners to field a few more calls from staff if they can’t find the information they’re looking for or prefer to talk to a live person.
Self serve for employees
Self service technology gives employees the power to conduct their own tasks and find their own information. They can update personal information and access current and historic pay information. Employees also have access to online handbooks and regulatory information, as well as internal and government forms to help them process their own employment-related changes around-the-clock. This technology reduces the amount of time payroll professionals spend updating information, distributing forms and answering employee inquiries.
Through a desktop computer or company kiosk at work, or at home on a personal computer, employees can review and print their pay information. Payroll professionals can easily add “tickler” or reminder notes to an employee’s electronic pay stub to indicate how a specific deduction was calculated or explain why there is a difference in an amount paid from a previous pay period. This feature eliminates many of the phone calls and questions payroll professionals receive.
Employees can access and update tax forms online, such as updating the TD1 form used to determine the amount of tax that should be deducted from an employee’s pay. Employees can also set up and update voluntary deductions such as contributions to the United Way through self-service functions.
T4 forms can be made available electronically to the employees to review prior to receiving a printed copy from their employer. With the onslaught of collaboration technology, there even exists the potential for the electronic T4 to be linked directly to a tax service company, allowing employees to complete their taxes and electronically file via the Internet. Both of the above examples are already available through Internet services in the United States.
Managers help themselves
Self service technology can also provide important information and tools to managers. Manager self service tools are designed to provide information about employees, as well as approval and denial capabilities for various transactions.
Department managers can go online to access compensation information about their staff, including entering and approving incentives and bonus payments. Manager self service also provides online expense approval for managers to easily and quickly approve expenses for their staff. It is becoming more common for the payroll department to process these expense payments as the employee record already exists within their technology solutions.
Managers can also request off-cycle payments for their employees, eliminating less efficient interactions with the payroll department.
What if self service isn’t practical?
Deploying online self service options may not work well for some organizations due to the composition of the workforce and the corporation’s technical infrastructure. If an organization can’t improve customer service by deploying self service technology, then implementing a centralized call-centre approach might be the answer.
A payroll call centre can be combined with human resources to offer a more comprehensive solution, but technology still has an important role to play. The call centre will need to be empowered with information about the workforce and the accompanying policies governing the organization in order to service the incoming requests. There are vendors in the marketplace that will setup a call center for organizations. These vendors will even offer to fully outsource and manage the call centre operation and include sophisticated online self service tools at the same time.
Jeff Koven is executive vice-president of Cyborg Systems Canada, a provider of strategic human resource management solutions. For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.cyborg.com. His column appears regularly in Canadian HR Reporter’s Guide series. Look for the Guide to HR Technology in the Nov. 3, 2003 issue.
