Safeguard Global Pay, a leading global managed payroll provider, has released research exploring the challenges payroll professionals face and how they believe they are perceived and valued.
Payroll is a complex and essential process that impacts the entire organization. Yet, for many employees outside of its operations, it remains a mystery. Chief among the challenges encountered by the payroll leaders surveyed in the report were consistency in policies and processes (56%), the accuracy of inbound data (53%), keeping up to date with legislation and compliance (51%), and reporting and analytics (42%). Additionally, the data found a discrepancy between who owns the payroll process with 47% of respondents stating that payroll reports to HR in their organization, while 42% report to finance.
This complexity can also be seen as payroll professionals themselves report wearing many hats. Almost half (45%) said they manage a behind-the-scenes process that ensures everyone gets paid correctly. Meanwhile, 34% said they are problem solvers and strategic advisors for their business, ensuring smooth financial operations. As companies expand into new geographies, paying the global workforce accurately and on time can present a huge logistic and compliance challenge. But despite these pressures, a whopping 86% of payroll leaders report feeling valued and respected within their organizations.
“Payroll is one of the most critical functions within any organization, yet its complexities are often misunderstood by those outside the industry,” says Danny Gillespie, president at Safeguard Global Pay. “These professionals are not just number crunchers – they are experts who navigate a complex web of processes to ensure accuracy and transparency at every step. As our data indicates, they are increasingly proactive in driving clarity and delivering actionable insights to their organizations. These insights are the invitation to the strategic conversations surrounding their company’s total workforce.”
“Payroll professionals are, and always will be, the unsung heroes of the professional landscape, playing a pivotal and often complex role that is vital to the success of many businesses and the harmony of the professional workplace,” says Melanie Pizzey, CEO and founder of the Global Payroll Association. “Unfortunately for many payroll professionals the role they play often goes unnoticed by those they primarily benefit and many employees will wrongly assume that payroll is just one singular function of a wider human resources department, rather than the vital, standalone entity that it truly is.”
Additional key findings from the report include the following.
- Over half (60%) of payroll employees believe that AI will enhance efficiency and accuracy in their job function. That said, 77% of respondents said they are not currently using AI in their payroll operations.
- Over three-quarters (76%) of respondents found the ability to see gross pay information on a Gross Pay Dashboard essential. This sentiment was even stronger in response to the importance of consistency in reporting formats, with 80% of payroll professionals finding it essential.
- Payroll analytics that provide payroll spend data visuals were found to be somewhat essential by 70% of the senior payroll professionals surveyed.
- Respondents reported that industry media and independent research online (both 74%) are the most popular ways to stay abreast of payroll trends and technologies.
