Striving for human resources and payroll efficiency in the workplace

In the present day, managing a large organization or business is really about managing the intricate web of processes necessary to sustain its operation and promote its future growth.

This often requires the use of various software applications that rarely communicate or integrate with one another. This is a challenge for modern enterprise as the list of required software continues to grow and the lack of crossover or integration between systems can lead to inefficiency or costly errors.

ADP, Workday, Quickbooks, Netchex, and BambooHR are just a few names that spring to mind when discussing HR and payroll software, but there are many other applications available. How does a business choose and when is it time to change? 

Risk and Inefficiency

Often, a large company or organization will implement new software in order to address a particular process, but continue to rely on previous applications to handle everything else instead of utilizing the full capacity of the new software.

Over time, this becomes increasingly cumbersome, frustrating for staff, and presents additional risks to the business. For example, it is surprisingly not uncommon for a company to have staff track their hours in one application, handle payroll through a second application, and have tax documents, such as W2 and W4 forms, managed by a third application. 

While some risk is minor, such as staff being forced to recall separate login and password information for various portals, other risks that arise from relying on multiple systems can be more serious.

If overtime is not being paid correctly because the system that tracks employee time is not communicating properly with the payroll system, for instance, a company may find themselves in trouble with their state or federal Department of Labor.

Payroll errors, such as overpaying or underpaying a team member, do occur, and they can be costly and stressful both for the employee and the employer. Beyond pay calculations, errors can also occur when applying taxes or withholdings, especially when various types of income, such as hourly wages, salaries, and non-employee compensation, are being managed simultaneously.  

The Role of HCM and Payroll Software

Duties the human resources office may be assigned include, but are not limited to, recruiting new talent, onboarding new staff, managing payroll and benefits, handling complaints, processing contracts and documents, ensuring compliance with regulations, and evaluating employee performance.

Selecting the right software to manage this workload is important and has many potential benefits for the organization, including ease of tracking data, automating repetitive tasks, reducing paper waste and storage, and improving workplace efficiency.  

Nevertheless, implementing or migrating to a new software system comes with risks. A small portion of payroll implementation projects fail and a significant number encounter difficulties.

This can result in hours being paid incorrectly, wages and salaries being miscalculated, or paychecks failing to be issued entirely.

Companies should be very careful when making changes to these platforms as damage to their reputation and employee satisfaction may result in higher staff turnover.       

Federal Contractors

These same considerations, along with additional regulations and concerns, apply to those working with federal contracts.

Huntsville is, of course, home to a number of federal agencies and a multitude of government contractors which support their efforts. Due to this, a national payroll and HR company, serving this market, has opened a local office.

GovConPay provides payroll and HR technology solutions exclusively within the government contractor marketplace. While GovConPay already serves nearly 300 government contractors across the United States, one client of particular note is Navigator International.

This company recognized that their current payroll and enterprise resource planning systems were not meeting the needs of the business and creating obstacles instead of promoting automation and efficiency.

By working with Unanet and GovConPay, Navigator International was able to create a tailored solution that was the best fit for their company. Executives reported that this new, customized system meant they were spending less time on management tasks which meant more time available to focus on advancing the business.  

Conclusion

It should be no surprise that receiving the correct pay on-time is one of the most basic expectations that employees have of their employer.

Making sure that the necessary HR and payroll systems are working properly and smoothly should be a top priority for any company or organization. Errors or breakdowns in these areas should be considered critical and promptly addressed.

Consciously and effectively managing human capital can be the difference between a company that excels into the future and one that becomes mired in tasks and inefficiency as the mountains of paperwork and errors divert attention from growing the business.