Creating the HR & Payroll Foundations for Success

When it comes to deploying a winning HR strategy, it’s vital to get the foundations right.  

For SD Worx, continued success comes from understanding the goals and challenges of our customers. Through our Future of Work and People survey with 3,000 HR and payroll leaders across Europe, we have gathered a wealth of enlightening and inspiring knowledge. This has been analysed and interpreted by leading experts to forge a new series of high-value whitepapers. 

Backed by comprehensive insight and filled with actionable advice, this series deep dives into the strategic drivers of operational efficiency, pay propositions, data & insights, and employee experience.  

We will explore how HR leaders can execute the agenda of the CEO and create a thriving ecosystem to turn strategy into reality. 

Without a solid operational HR foundation, organisations can run into compliance issues, payroll problems, or process issues that erode employee trust and derail HR strategies. 

It’s clear that there is a desire and fundamental need to change but frictions within organisations could be hindering these goals from coming to fruition.  

We explore how HR is reinventing the future of the workforce as business models change. We’ll also investigate why creating the right HR & Payroll ecosystem lies at the heart of every successful HR strategy. 

Bolstered by actionable tips, we are helping HR leaders lay the groundwork to execute the agenda of the CEO. Once seen as administrative overseers, their true calling is being revealed as the architects of business transformation. What part will you play?  
 

Key takeaways: 

• How are HR strategies changing to serve an increasingly fluid and digital workforce? 
   
• What are the tactical and operational challenges that can derail HR strategies? 
   
• How can HR data and insights drive evidence-based decision making? 
   
• Who should be at the wheel when choosing HR & Payroll solutions? 
   
• How do you get the basics right, so you can focus on the strategic? 

Operational efficiency is the number one priority for HR leaders. However, there is a disconnect between aspiration and reality as a considerable proportion of companies have difficulty accessing high-performance tools and organising payroll operations. Put simply, there’s no time to support and drive business change.  

40% of those surveyed found it “difficult” or “very difficult” to provide data to business leaders and 64% struggle to manage basic reports. 40% have no single source for their data and this lack of consolidated reporting is leading to few data-driven decisions being actioned. 

But how can payroll rise above these challenges? Should it become its own function rather than sitting under HR or Finance?  

Key takeaways:  

• How do inefficiencies in payroll happen? And what can be done to fix them?  
   
• Is cloud-based software the key to operational efficiency? 
   
• What factors make for a successful business case to execute strategic change? 
   
• Should payroll become its own function?  

Whitepaper:  COMING SOON! 

The ‘war on talent’ is putting employees in the driving seat, with the highest rates of resignation since 2009 sending shockwaves through traditional approaches to work.  

Employers are scrambling to hold onto employees and attract new talent, from offering more flexible working arrangements, increasing salaries, and offering flexible numeration packages, but which tools could be the secret weapon in recruitment and retention?  

Flexible pay propositions, such as pay-on-demand, are giving employees to access their salary when and how they want, instead of waiting for pay day. Pay propositions are empowering employees and offering businesses a competitive edge against the war for talent.  

But standard payment systems locked into monthly cycles may not flex towards automation. And if you don’t have all the data you need in one secure place, businesses could be creating a maze of admin that is near impossible to navigate unscathed.  

You need to have data you can rely upon – you need a single source of truth from payroll. But where do you start?  

Key takeaways:  

• How can the industry’s spike in resignations work in your favour?  
   
• What are the business benefits of offering pay-on-demand to your staff? 
   
• What risks could affect your staff’s financial wellbeing?  
   
• Who owns pay-on-demand? Is it HR, payroll, or finance? 

Whitepaper:  COMING SOON! 

Data isn’t just a necessity of HR; it’s an opportunity to widen the understanding of what makes your employees (and the very business itself) tick.  

Absence rates, salaries, holiday schedules, location data, national minimum wage payments, statutory sick pay – these are just some of the data streams that can answer wider strategic questions such as “Are we addressing the gender pay gap?”, “Are we an inclusive and diverse employer?” and “Where should we open a new branch?”.  

Payroll data can be integrated with other forms of HR data to create a complete picture of the workforce, but without care and attention the clarity of that picture will diminish and distort, and could potentially send you off course.   

Here we examine the power of HR and payroll data and insights to add value and steer change in your organisation.  

Key takeaways:  

• How organisations are using HR data to achieve their strategic goals 
   
• Why regular clean-ups of HR data are essential 
   
• What are the most effective strategies for integrating data across the organisation?  
   
• Where should your business start with its data audit? 

Whitepaper:  COMING SOON! 

How organisations communicate with and nurture their people is fundamental to retention, wellbeing, and advocacy. A more fluid and flexible workforce can enrich the employee lifecycle but it’s just one piece in the puzzle when it comes to unlocking staff potential.  

From onboarding to exit interviews, HR and payroll impacts hugely on employee experience. Payroll can offer more than just the promise of a monthly payslip. Staff are demanding more too.  

Examining your organisation’s existing offerings and exploring innovative technology solutions are among the key steps in personalising the employee experience. But what should you focus on first?  

Key takeaways:  

• How can HR and payroll work together to create an end-to-end user experience? 
   
• How are developments in business technology such as payroll and HR, starting to match consumer tech standards? 
   
• What business-changing insights can employee experience deliver to the c-suite? 
   
• How do you empower your managers and staff through technology? 

The ‘new normal’ found many businesses at a crossroads. The nature of work is continuing to evolve, partly due to digital transformation accelerated by the pandemic, and partly from employee's increasing expectations for fluid work.  

Amid this societal and professional flux, HR leaders now operate in a pressure cooker of change. They have been tasked with reimagining the workplace to drive engagement and performance for their teams as well as the overall organisation.  

With challenge comes opportunity: The status of HR has been elevated even further within businesses. HR leaders are business leaders, not administrative overseers. They help deliver business transformation, by facilitating change management, communication, and engagement. And they are responsible for building a unique culture to distinguish their organisation from others. It is no longer unusual to see a CHRO sitting at the top table as part of an organisation’s steering committee. 

By laying down solid foundations for success, these HR leaders can deliver a blueprint for true business growth.