At That Point
  • home
  • services
  • about us
  • our work
  • our thoughts

The importance of payroll in an organisation

2/9/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture

Payroll is often seen as merely a processing function. Christelle Helling, Executive Committee Member at the South African Payroll Association (SAPA), says payroll affects every aspect of the business, from the morale of its employees to its reputation.

Boost employee morale
Helling says people come to work for their salaries and inconsistent or late salary payments not only affects their livelihood but has a ripple effect on morale at the workplace.

“If payroll misses one of its deadlines, it could mean that staff don’t have funeral cover, medical aid, or a contribution towards a medical fund that they’re relying on for their old age. This has a drastic and immediate impact on the morale of staff and it’s a responsibility that rests solely on payroll’s shoulders,” says Helling.

A watchdog for businesses
The payroll department is the watchdog of the company. Payroll professionals are the ones who must continuously stay up to date with tax and legislation changes as well as ensure that these changes are implemented throughout the business.

“Whether a change in policy or legislation results in a benefit percentage change or behind-the-scenes administrative compliance changes, payroll needs to lead the way with change management for the rest of the business. Payroll needs to align itself with Human Resources’, the business’ and the government’s requirements to make sure everyone sticks to the rules,” says Helling.

Spearhead the uptake of technology
The payroll departments of industry-leading companies are often the first to adopt digital tools such as new ticketing systems or moving to centralised shared services.

“My payroll department launched a ticketing system that enables employees to launch queries and ask for assistance on the fly from their mobile phones. We’ve also automated reporting to free up resources and we use business analytics to drive decision-making. As the people who report on the bottom line, other departments look to payroll to take the lead when it comes to implementing future-focused processes and systems,” says Helling.

A haven for people
People are often worried about approaching a payroll professional with questions about their salaries, benefits or deductions. Being welcoming to questions about the most important aspect of people’s lives – their livelihood – is what makes a good payroll department.

“Knowing a person’s take-home salary isn’t exactly a conversation starter. Payroll professionals know it can be daunting to approach someone with salary-related questions. One of the most important but unseen roles of payroll is to be a friendly, accommodating and empathetic face that welcomes queries. A good payroll professional will reassure a person that their questions are valid and important,” says Helling.

A barometer of the way a company does business
The payroll department is often a very good barometer of how companies treat their employees, says Helling.

“If a company reliably pays employees every month, it says something about how they value their staff. If payroll is disciplined, it will filter into other departments. How a payroll department works tells you a lot about how a company works,” concludes Helling.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosa-Mari Le Roux, 060 995 6277, rosa-mari@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on SAPA please visit:

Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association

1 Comment
Anne-Marie Coetzee
6/9/2019 09:51:57

I cannot agree more.
In the past, when I stated to my clients that payroll's mandate is to report trends to Management, because they are the big central link to the rest of the company, I was labeled as "the trouble maker and whistleblower".
If the Payroll employees accept input not meeting the control criteria, they will follow, and their output will be unreliable financial reporting, and eventually non compliance will follow.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the South African Payroll Association newsroom.

    Archives

    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    13th Cheque
    2001
    AA88 Notice
    Accountability
    Arlene Leggat
    Artificial Intelligence
    Attendance
    Auditing
    Baby
    Basic Conditions Of Employment
    BCEA
    Benefits
    Big Data
    Blockchain
    Bonus
    Bonus Payment
    Business Strategy
    Career
    Cathie
    Cathie Webb
    CFO
    Chatbots
    Code Of Good Practice On Equal Pay/Remuneration For Work Of Equal Value
    Compensation And Benefits
    Compensation For Occupational Injuries And Diseases Act
    Compliance
    Confusion
    Constitution
    Consultation Paper For Regulatory Proposals On Payroll Deductions
    Continuous Professional Development Programme
    Courts Of Law Amendment Act No. 7 Of 2017
    CPD
    Data Security
    Deadline
    Debt
    Department Of Labour
    Digital Payroll
    Downgrade
    Easy Payroll
    Economic Outlook
    Economy
    Emloyee
    Emolument Attachment Order
    Employee
    Employee Benefits
    Employee Engagement
    Employee Morale
    Employee Privacy
    Employees
    Employee Satisfaction
    Employer
    Employment
    Employment Act
    Employment Equity Act 55 Of 1998
    Employment Tax Incentives (ETI)
    Employment Termination
    Equal Pay
    Ethics
    Fair Pay
    Families
    Family
    Female Dominated Sector
    Finance Minister
    Financial Security
    Flexi-time
    Fraud
    Future-ready
    Garnishee Bill
    Garnishee Order
    Garnishees
    Gender
    Gender Shift
    Gig Economy
    Global Trends
    Good Governance
    Governance
    Health
    Home-based Job
    Hospitals
    HR
    Human Resources
    Imbalance
    Income Tax
    Increase
    Industrial Action
    Inequalities
    Internet Of Things
    IRP5
    James McKerrell
    Job Requirements
    Jobs
    Junk Status
    Key Performance Indicators
    King IV
    KPI's
    Labour Law Amendment Act 2015
    Lavine Haripersad
    Leave
    Legislation
    Lifestyle
    Malusi Gigaba
    Manager Benefits
    Medical Aid
    Minister Of Labour
    Minister Of Labour In Government Gazette Notice No. 588
    Mobile Payroll
    Moira Du Plessis
    Morals
    National Budget 2018
    National Budget Speech
    National Health Insurance
    National Minimum Wage
    National Payroll Week
    NHI
    Nicolette Nicholson
    No Work
    Now Pay
    NQF Level 4 And 5
    Occupational Health And Safety Act
    Overtime
    Paternity Leave
    Pay
    PAYE
    Pay Gap
    Payroll
    Payroll Career
    Payroll Data
    Payroll Deductions
    Payroll Effectiveness
    Payroll Errors
    Payroll Fraud
    Payroll Innovation
    Payroll Professionals
    Payroll Staff
    #PayrollWeekSA
    Payslip
    Performance Bonus
    Performance Management
    Personal Data
    Personal Information
    Pravin Gordhan
    Privacy Rights
    Productivity
    Professional Membership
    Protection Of Personal Information Act
    PTSD
    Public Health
    Qualifications
    Qualified
    Recession
    Reduced Benefits
    Reduced Pay
    Reliable
    Remote Workforce
    Reputation
    Resession
    Retirement
    Retirement Annuity
    Retrenchment
    Risk Mitigation
    Salary
    Salary Increase
    Salary Increases
    Salary Negotiations
    Salary Raise
    SAPA
    SAPA 2018 Conference
    SAPA Awards
    SAPA Conference
    SARB
    SARS
    Sharing Economy
    Sick Leave
    Skills
    Skills Development
    Small Businesses
    South African Board For People Practices
    South African Economy
    South African Payroll Association
    South African Revenue Service
    Staff
    Strikes
    Successful Payrol
    Tax
    Tax Application
    Tax Professional
    Tax Reform
    Tax Risk
    The Basic Conditions Of Employment Act
    The National Union Of Metal Workers Of South Africa
    The Payroll Practice Standard
    The South African Payroll Association
    The South African Reserve Bank
    Third-Party
    UIF
    UIF Benefits
    Unemployment
    Unemployment Insurance Act
    Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act Of 2002
    Val Forrest
    Voluntary Deductions
    Wage Overpayments
    Wages
    Wellbeing
    Women's Month
    Work Environment
    Work Ethic
    Work-life Balance
    Youth
    Youth Month

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • home
  • services
  • about us
  • our work
  • our thoughts