How an HR system can support payroll

More and more employers are now using both HR and payroll systems to efficiently manage their data. Each system has its own individual benefits – but these are magnified when the systems are automated to work together:

• Golden source of data: A well-maintained HR system can directly feed information into payroll. This means only one system needs to be updated and monitored. This triggers a data flow from HR to payroll and back out into accounts information.
• Reduction of effort: A data process flow will be reduce the duplication of effort. Many employers still have teams entering data into multiple sources, but if information can be managed in an original source, such as an HR system, the number of times data is touched will be significantly reduced.
• Mitigation of risk: Reducing the number of times data needs to be recorded also vastly reduces the risk of error. Staff responsible for maintaining all information in an HR system can trust the system to supply payroll and beyond with the same, more accurate, data.
• Time and cost savings: Many employers find that reducing the amount of time staff have to spend on recording data frees their teams up to take on other important tasks, and can even save money on resourcing.
• Important data gathering: In an ever-changing world, knowing your workforce is more crucial than ever. Some employers like to hold information on the coronavirus vaccination status of their workforce, for example, and reporting on gender and ethnicity pay gaps has been made much easier by HR systems. From a day-to-day operations point of view, information about employee whereabouts can reduce business risk – some employers were caught out during the first pandemic lockdown when their employees were either trapped overseas or returned to their home countries, creating both resourcing problems and thorny tax issues.
• Managing absences: Payroll can manage employee absences to an extent, but it can be tricky to keep clear records without HR systems. An HR system can hold significantly more information, including recording absence patterns that could indicate specific performance issues.

These are just some of the many benefits HR systems can offer to the payroll world, including our People Manager software to help streamline your HR function. To discuss them in depth, contact Simon Balaam for further information.