Conference 2016 - Survey Results

Out of office: How to prepare for holiday leave this summer

With summer just around the corner, businesses face the inevitable yearly challenge of balancing an influx of annual leave requests with keeping the company running at full capacity. Absence management is a vital, yet often overlooked part of running a business – get it wrong and the impact of summer holidays can last all year round.

The Living Wage: Engagement, Efficiency and Empowerment

I just don’t understand why organisations do not see the Living Wage, and I mean the Living Wage, NOT the government’s rebranded minimum wage (National Living Wage), as an *opportunity*. This is an opportunity to increase “engagement”, “efficiency” and to “empower” employees. Yet far too many organisations just see it as yet another cost they have to accommodate.

Using Analytics and AI to Build a Better HR Strategy

More than anything, this year’s data highlights the need for a new and more agile approach to HR. Conservative strategies simply aren’t going to cut it going forwards, because by the time the ink is dry, things will have moved on. Increasing business agility is now the #2 business driver for 86% of HR professionals, second only to increasing performance and profitability.

Pick n Mix - How to reward your employees! Part 2

How do UK businesses tend to approach reward currently? Is there a shift in approach and if so, what is causing this?

Pick n Mix - How to reward your employees! Part 1

How do UK businesses tend to approach reward currently? Is there a shift in approach and if so, what is causing this?

2018 is all about Digitising your HR Function

Autonomous Vehicles And Smart Warehouses Are So Last Year – 2018 Is All About Digitising Your HR Function.

Hear from our CEO Steven Van Hoorebeke during an interview with The Business Debate.

SD Worx European Conference: Driving Collaboration in the HR and Payroll Industry

On 6^th February at Hilton Park Lane in London, we joined HR and payroll professionals from across the globe for the SD Worx European Conference 2018. With the "Future of Collaboration: HR leading the way" theme, this one-of-a-kind event played host to industry-leading experts, practitioners and organisations.

Time, technology and talent: what five generations want from today’s workplace

Millennials: entitled, lazy job hoppers. Gen X: cynical and poor team players. Baby Boomers: out of touch, independent, money-driven workaholics. And what about the iGen: those house-bound, tech-obsessed kids who were born with a smartphone in their hand? These stereotypes are bandied around regularly, but is there really any truth in them? And do different generations expect to be treated differently by their employers?

Payroll Services Alliance attends SD Worx European Conference 2018

On Tuesday 6^th February, at Hilton Park Lane in London, we were delighted to join our partner SD Worx at its European Conference 2018.The theme for the day was close to our heart: ‘The Future of Collaboration’. This unique event played host to the industry's most influential experts, practitioners and businesses, attracting leading HR and payroll professionals from all over the world. 

A reflection of my first SD Worx European Conference

Adam Burgess, Business Development Manager at SD Worx UK & Ireland reflects on his first experience of an SD Worx conference. SD Worx hosted its 22nd Annual European Conference at the Park Lane Hilton in London in February 2018, with "The Future of Collaboration" as its 2018 theme.

Multigenerational workforce; are the differences a myth?

At the SD Worx European Conference, held at the Park Lane Hilton on Tuesday 6 February, a panel of six individuals from different generations gave their thoughts on age-based stereotypes, their personal values, career aspirations, the challenges they’ve encountered and what, if anything, can be done to address the differences between the age brackets within the workplace.  

Egos are not present within our business: A reflection of BKO 2018

As a Business Development Manager, I am often invited to most company events. Certainly anything client or prospect facing, and usually internal gatherings too. The SD Worx Business Kick Off 2018 was no different. Hosted in Manchester over the course of 2 days, we had a packed agenda and over a hundred colleagues in attendance, all ready to be WOW’ed.

The new era of HR: digital transformation

With the aim to build a model employee experience, HR departments are compelled to rewrite the rules by revolutionising talent practices. Human resource management is designed to maximise staff performance, and the HR department should be a key component in an organisation’s digital transformation.

Top 3 technology trends set to shake up HR and Payroll

Technology is the wheel that never stops turning. If Moore’s Law is to be believed, the sheer power of processing units will have doubled within two years – and that means plenty of new pieces of tech that could shake up HR and payroll processes. With that in mind, here are three technological trends that could significantly alter your industry.

Don’t believe the hype! Lip service with the ISO 27001 standard

As an employee who has the privilege of representing SD Worx to an awful lot of prospective clients, I get to hear what’s important to the market straight from key decision makers. ISO 27001, and data security in general, is one of the hottest topics in our market space.

The end of the road for the company car?

With the ever-increasing benefit costs for company cars for both the employee and the employer, and the new rules for Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OpRA), is a company car as cost-effective as it once was?

Christmas is coming to payroll teams

During Christmas and the associated holiday season, payroll managers experience some annual adjustments and events. Simon Parsons takes us through some of the festive benefits – and the associated tax implications.

New Year resolutions – preparing for the UK new tax year

UK payroll managers have a new year window of 3 months to prepare for the much older UK (and Isle of Man) new tax year start. With the setting of new year resolutions, it is a good time for payroll professionals in the UK to review their preparations on items which are not purely system change, but challenge process and rules within employment.

It's all a question of gender!

Read Simon Parson's latest blog where he answers the frequently asked question: 'Do you know if HMRC are likely to want us to include more options for employees that may be transitioning or don’t identify themselves with either gender?'

AI & HR: the impacts on the transactional processes in Human Resources

The terms artificial intelligence and robotics are often used synonymously but are quite different, albeit complementary, in their application. Robotics, in simple terms, means process automation - using technology to remove human intervention in some of the lower value add activities such as information keying, data analysis and performing complex calculations. Artificial intelligence is a somewhat different concept

HRevolution1

AI and Tech fears? HR to play a pivotal role

Nobody is safe, according to many scientists and technology gurus. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots will soon to be able to do almost everything better than humans and will take over most jobs, including that of a doctor, lawyer and other professionals. Our Managing Director, Doug Sawers, shares his thoughts...

HR Tech World: Demos, discussions &… HARRI

HR Tech World Congress, the UK’s biggest annual HR technology show, took place at the ExCel in London last week with the theme of "The Future of Work". It was a fantastic two-day event attended by more than 3,500 exhibitors and delegates, with plenty of interesting speakers! Read our highlights from the event...

Technology in the workplace; what happens when it’s the focus?

Technology in the workplace is not a new phenomenon but a continuous drive towards automation which has been taking place to varying degrees since the rise of Manchester Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. As such, there is much we can learn from history regarding the nature of work...

Vlog - HR Tech World Paris 2016

We were delighted to exhibit at HR Tech World 2016 in Paris. Check out our short video here to get a flavour of this successful event.

Prepared & Proactive? HR & its Role in the Future of Work

Never before has it been more vital for businesses to optimise the ideas, strengths and skills of their entire workforce – and of others within their industry and beyond. Is it time for HR to become more proactive? Hear Doug's thoughts, MD of SD Wrox UK & Ireland, on HR and its role in the future of work.

Pet companionship & the workplace

In the UK alone, there are 11 million households with pets, equating to 57 million animals and a subsequent market where £4.6b is spent annually on pampering these additions to our family units. Despite this; pet owners do not feel confident to use their pet as the reason for a need to take unexpected absence when requesting time off or for needing flexible working. So is it not time for us to recognise the benefits that pet ownership has on both our employees and our businesses, and put stronger policies in place that continue to nurture and support our employees’ relationships with their pets?

The Impact of ‘Brexit’ – Is Your Business Prepared?

On 23rd June 2016, UK voters decided in favour of leaving the European Union (EU) in a landmark referendum. Since then it’s fair to say that UK politics has seen a fair amount of turmoil. One thing we can be sure of is that, whenever it does happen, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will have implications for workers and employers. In this blog I want to focus on what this could mean...

True Love Lies in Payroll and HR

In today's world, "human capital management" seems to be the hot topic of choice. A complete HCM solution covers all the people related processes and data in an organisation, and by its very nature can get pretty full on and complicated to implement, with greater upheaval and cost involved. For that reason, it is not always appropriate for an organisation to consider changing all aspects of their HCM in one fell swoop.

Vlog - HR Tech World 2016

Interview by FDE TV at HR Tech London 2016. David Woodward, our Chief Product & Marketing Officer, speaks with Darina Ivanova from FDE about HR and Payroll technologies, workforce optimisation and what it means to be "digital" from an enterprise level perspective.

The Apprentice

In the 2015 Queens speech, the Government set out to create 3 million new apprenticeships by 2020. As part of the Enterprise Bill, apprenticeships would gain the same legal treatment of degrees. ‘The Richard Review’ brings new standards being developed by ‘trailblazers’ and new funding trialled giving employers greater control over spend on training delivery.

How to get the most out of a Workforce Management System: Get Flexible! (part 2)

In my last blog I described how keeping the labour model as simple and transparent as possible increases the chances of user buy-in whilst still generating an accurate labour forecast. Today I want to talk about how critical the flexibility of your workforce is to the successful implementation of a WFM system...

How to get the most out of a Workforce Management System: Keep it simple! (part 1)

Our WFM System experts, describe how keeping the labour model simple and transparent could increases chances of user buy-in, whilst still generating an accurate labour forecast.

6 Technology Predictions that will impact the world of HR & Payroll

Welcome to the future! I am back with a new blog, this time I look at 6 technology predictions over the next 5 years that will impact the world of HR & Payroll. Who knows where we’ll be in 2020? My predictions are based on detailed research, analysis of past and current technology trends, and consumer purchasing behaviour.

5 ways the resume is changing in modern recruitment

Before the advent of the internet, applying for jobs was a fairly straightforward process. Now, with an incredible amount of technology infused into the recruitment process, there’s an entirely new approach to talent acquisition. Here are 5 ways the resume is changing in modern recruitment...

5 tips for finding your most productive work time

As an HR leader, your assignment from day to day and from month to month is to maximise employee engagement, while increasing employee retention and productivity. Your company is investing a great deal in talent – and you want to make the most of that talent. So what makes us productive, and what doesn’t?

Paying the living wage: Retail & Hospitality

Paying the living wage isn’t optional for survival, but neither should it be a problem. Lidl were the first supermarket to recognise the benefits of paying the living wage. Their stores may be no frills but their operation is efficient. Lidl’s customers, many deserting the likes of Waitrose and Sainsbury’s for all or some of their purchases, have clearly embraced the shopping experience...

5 things to look for when recruiting via social media

The initial challenge of recruiting can be divided into two important parts - first is the step of sourcing, and second is evaluating whether they're a good fit. HR offices everywhere are looking for new, innovative strategies for improving in both of those areas. But is corporate recruiting via social media a worthwhile use of your time?

HR & Marketing: A perfect blend (Part 2/2)

Through HR and Marketing, you can promote internal success and employee achievement to greater extents. HR can pinpoint outstanding employee performance and Marketing can spread these positive actions through internal communication channels

HR & Marketing: A perfect blend (Part 1/2)

Like many, I believe that HR and Marketing are, and will, continue to move closer and closer. This belief has been further accelerated by increased and dominating use of both social media and mobile.

Favouritism in the workplace

We often hear about favouritism occurring in classrooms, amongst friends, or even families, but how about in the workplace?

5 ways to encourage collaboration between Generations X and Y

A great deal of the conversation in human capital management concerns the on-going movement of generations through the workforce. There are two undeniable trends happening in the present day - one, the baby boomer generation is gradually moving into retirement, and two, millennials are entering the office in full force.

Managing conflict in the workplace

Every organisation experiences conflict in one form or another, not only in the workplace but in our homes and our social life. Honestly, it's bound to happen with people working and being together with different personalities, values and culture but actually in some situations conflict can be the base for a healthy debate. However, it's not so much the conflict that causes problems and issues but how it is managed.

HR transformation and the importance of the little "i"

There is little doubt that HR transformation is big business with many of the leading advisory firms reporting strong demand and healthy pipelines of future work. However, while we support the importance for the HR function to evolve in ensuring it delivers optimum value to the business, we see scope for improvement in the execution of such programmes

3 tips for improving workforce productivity

The long-term goal in HR is always to drive employee retention and productivity upwards - you're given a staff with a certain number of employees on board, and your job is to maximise their output. You want every single worker under your roof to have the highest possible impact on the achievements of the company, so that in the long run, the business stays profitable and everyone's happy.