Global payroll implementation: instructions to success

With the new technological development and global competitiveness in the workplace, the transformation into a global payroll system is no longer a thing of option. Global payroll system is a necessity which is important for driving the efficiency of business. It also assists the business to keep in line with global best practices. What then is this global payroll system, and how can you integrate a global payroll solution for your business?

Global payroll implementation is the process whereby the payroll systems of a company is centralized around the world with a single provider. This process is needed for the standardization of data, process streamlining, and ensuring the global compliance of the system with regulations of the world business environment. The implementation process usually takes some time which spans over several months depending on the nature of the project as well as the collaboration that exists between the provider of the global payroll and the company in need of it. However, with a global PEO, the process is easy, simple, secured, and straightforward. 

Tips For a Successful Global Payroll Implementation

As a business enterprise, you might have been putting up with a payroll system that is outdated or even a payroll system that no longer serves you and your employees, and you are now preparing payroll system for the suitability of your business. Transitioning from a system to another requires you to make a consideration of the work which is involved. This involves working with a technology that is not familiar, having to get the data and mapping of your employees and also conducting the training of your employees on the new payroll project that you are transitioning into. This process can quite be overwhelming which is why we have drawn up some useful and important tips that can be of great use to you and your business. Therefore, the major elements in a payroll system implementation that assists in minimizing stress and unnecessary workload are?

Interaction Within the Team for Global Payroll Implementation Success

There is the need for you to get in touch with your team members so as to ensure your global payroll system is successfully implemented. Even though most of the payroll system implementation is done by the provider of the global payroll system, there is the need for the team to understand that collaboration and effective interaction is needed for a successful implementation of the payroll project.

For the payroll implementation project plan, there needs to be a continuous and a centralized communication with the team members. The global payroll implementation usually includes a lot of people that are working together for its efficiency. This is why for this process to be successful and achieve the payroll goals, there is the need for the setting up of a regular project meeting which will help in bringing together every member of the team so that there will be the review of the progress that is being made. Most importantly, it helps to track the milestones set for each of the countries that will be included in the implementation. Since this is a global system, the projects are divided into countries and regions which makes the process a bit bulky and overwhelming. With effective communication and interaction with the team members however, it helps to make the process move seamlessly and also helps to keep in check everyone in their project, keeping them aligned on the payroll project. This also helps to carry everybody along in the scenario where there exists a challenge.

Correctly selected Payroll/HR System

The process of choosing a new system that will serve your company’s purpose for a global payroll system involves some critical consideration and evaluations. Selecting the right payroll system is extremely important and necessary as this involves your employee and employer data that needs to be protected and safeguarded. This process of selecting the proper payroll/HR system at times seems to be extremely overwhelming due to the fact that there exists so many companies that serves as providers of a global payroll system in the market of today. Therefore, in the selection of the right company that provides the right payroll/HR system, there is the need for you to make a careful evaluation and consideration of what your organization needs both internally and externally, the emergency support system of your payroll provider, and your budget.

Internal Needs

It is important that you have a clear understanding of your business needs when on the lookout for a global payroll system. Your internal needs should involve the things which you will like this new payroll system of yours do for business. Is it a system that you need as an upgrade to your existing payroll system? Do you need the system to help you in tracking the number of new employees that are being employed to your workplace? Or do you need a new system so as to better track the performance reviews of your company which makes for the better exchange of data from your payroll to your HR system. All these conditions are necessary to be considered for the effective fulfilment of your intended payroll goals.

As soon as you have come to the full understanding of your internal needs for a newly improved payroll system, you will then be able to cross-off some providers who doesn’t offer what you want for your internal needs from your payment implementation checklist.

The payroll provider’s support

For payroll success, it is really important for you to carefully research the speed at which your payroll provider provides support in any emergency situation. This involves you knowing if your payroll provider listens well and provide appropriate response to any of your complaints that you present before them. It is also important that you consider the commitment of your payroll provider to your onboarding process which involves provision of specific details by your provider for an effective payroll implementation. As a business that is running globally, working with a global PEO like WeHireGlobally is one of the best decisions you can make while selecting a payroll handler. A PEO will handle and manage your payroll with maximum speed and accuracy that will be compliant with the region’s regulations.

Your budget

There is the wide variety of pricing models that exists among several global payroll providers which is why it is important for you to make the consideration of your budget with the pricing that is provided by each provider that are on your global payroll implementation checklist. WeHireGlobally offers one of the most affordable PEO charges in the industry.

Human Capital Management System (HCM) in process of integrating global payroll

Integrating the global payroll system with your Human Capital Management System is really important as it helps your company in a number of ways. It assists you to ensure compliance with a single source of employee data, reduce the rate of inefficiency that may occur while streamlining global processes as well as helping you to save precious time through the minimizing of repetitive data entry.

There is however the requirement of the transfer of a clean and accurate data transfer for an effective payroll system as well as integration of the HCM system. You may wish to customize your HCM data fields based on the country and region of your employees. This process can lead to the complexity of your integration process which is why it is important that you find a provider that offers an already built integrations as well as country-specific integrations with your HCM.

Best practices to choose payroll provider

As said earlier, it is really important for you to choose the right payroll provider for your global payroll implementation. There are a host of providers that claim to provide global payroll solutions. But how can you be able to decipher the right vendor to provide you with the best global payroll system? How do you know about their implementation success rate? There is the need of following some best practices for the successful implementation of the payroll project.

Regions with the largest employee population

Regions with higher population of employee tends to experience a more complex transitioning for their payroll system. There is the therefore the need for you to prioritize regions and countries that are more populous as this help you in your implementation planning better. It helps your company to establish a global standard quickly which will help you to take this to other regions and locations in your framework. It helps your company to establish a global standard quickly which will help you to take this to other regions and locations in your framework and ascertain payroll success. At WeHireGlobally, we’ve helped you in navigating several countries around the world, and we have collated a detailed checklist of regions and countries with emphasis on their population, economy, policies, market, etc.

Don’t take too much locations at a time

Taking the implementation process to many regions at a time increases the amount of complexity that you will experience as well as the rate of noncompliance. You therefore need to take a phased approach towards the global payroll implementation process because focusing on a few countries and locations at a time helps you as a company as well as your payroll provide to reduce the risks of mistakes that can occur while navigating between countries and compiling their data, conversions of their currency as well as requirements report.

Timing is Key for Large-Scale Payroll projects

It is really important and necessary to make sure to time things wisely while working on payroll projects that are of large scale. This entails that you ensure that your payroll vendor do avoid any unnecessary complications or error in reporting to the local tax authorities. There is also the need to align the tax quarter as well as the year ends which can come up whenever possible for your large-scale payroll project.

WeHireGlobally: Payroll & Payments Solutions

The task of hiring abroad and managing a global workforce tends to be an overwhelming process. This is why we at WeHireGloballymakes it our mission to assist you regain control of your work process as we take full responsibility of your employee’s payroll. We offer a complete transparency as we give you a consolidated overview of your global payrolls, while integrating fully your HMS, HRIS and ERP that ensures full legal compliance. We ensure that all your employee’s no matter their country or region are added on the payroll and their salaries are paid in a local currency under the local laws. This ensures peace of mind for you as a client who may be based in the United States and is willing to pay an employee in Hong Kong. We invoice them in USD and take care of the international transaction and currency exchange, so that the employee is sent money to their local bank account in a local currency.

FAQ Global payroll implementation

  • What is a global payroll strategy?

    Global payroll strategy helps in making decisions, compliance as well as adopting a standard practice across business modes regardless of the country at which the business is operating.

  • What is a global payroll implementation?

    Global payroll implementation is the process by which the payroll systems of a company is centralized around the world with a single provider.

  • How does global payroll work?

    Global payroll is the management of an organization’s entire payroll function for all locations through the International PEO provider.

  • Hannah Kohl
    Author:
    Hannah Kohl. Head of Customer Success. Has extensive experience in the HR and IT industries. Helped 100+ international clients to achieve their global goals.

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