Payroll administration is still considered one of the most important and strategic areas of business management today. In order to ensure full compliance with legislation and the highest level of accuracy, decision makers scout for the very best of the best in personnel – but increasing skills requirements and credible recruitment channels remain challenges claim HR experts.
In addition to compliance with legislation and the need for accuracy and consistency, payroll administrators have to pay particular attention to executive salary structures and the management thereof.
Often the person, or people employed to handle payroll, is not in the position to deal with these structures, or management is reluctant to hand over this specific responsibility.
Teryl Schroenn, CEO at Accsys, a national supplier of management solutions within HR, payroll administration, time and attendance and access control, says this is because these structures or packages often demand complex payroll requirements and call for more specialist skills sets.
“Companies are seeking to partner with- and outsource this function to experienced, established service providers that have a proven track record in payroll administration, solution development and application,” says Schroenn.
The company has established Accsys PeopleSource, its outsource payroll bureau, which effectively enables companies to “run executive payroll out of the house”.
According to Schroenn the outsource bureau represents a flexible payroll management option.
“Payroll experts are brought in to ensure accuracy, compliance and confidentiality. They are tasked with the responsibility to ensure that everything is processed correctly and therefore they remove the headache and risk for the client. At the same time the client has ownership of the information supplied, as well as the ability to track the progress of developments, and therefore retains a strong element of control.”
The cost factor is calculated on a ‘per employee’ basis and, according to Accsys management, reinforces the flexibility of this services model.
Although it does work in cycles, in general the outsourcing option is gaining popularity in the market says Schroenn.
“We have experienced a general upward turn as far as interest in outsourcing is concerned. The advent of employee self service and cloud-computing within a virtual environment is a strong driving force. This advancement in systems and infrastructure helps service providers to deal with the challenges of tight deadlines, limited time, meticulous attention to detail and availability of data,” she adds.