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Technically Speaking Brave New Payroll The cloud, mobile solutions, and employee self-service are all redefining a once sleepy market. By Madeline Laurano Payroll is not typically described as an innovative market. The majority of organizations invest in solutions in order to ensure compliance and lift the administrative burden placed on HR and finance departments. Yet, during the past few years, payroll has undergone a seismic shift, as both organizations and solution providers have rethought their existing processes and embrace cutting-edge technology. control and visibility over their payroll information and can access information to improve their personal and professional finances. Manager self-service also allows decision-makers to run their own analytics queries and access relevant financial and workforce performance data. This greatly reduces the cost to deliver payroll services, and it frees up business leaders to focus on value added activities. Many of today's organizations, particularly in the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market, are now rapidly embracing solutions and services that will both improve efficiencies and create a positive employee experience. In fact, 82 percent of SMB organizations are automating the payroll process through a thirdparty provider, compared to 71 percent of enterprise organizations. Three major trends seem to be driving payroll decision-making including: cloud-computing, mobile solutions, and employee selfservice. How are these trends impacting payroll, and what should SMB organizations expect? Below are a few ideas to consider from Aberdeen's upcoming payroll report: Additionally, self-service can improve engagement among employees and managers. Self-service, and more specifically mobile access to self-service, has been found to be a critical driver of employee engagement. If individuals can use smartphone applications to check their bank balances at their convenience, they want to do the same with their paycheck and work timesheets. For these reason, 75 percent of SMB organizations are leveraging selfservice tools for payroll. Mobile Mobile has changed the way we work. Organizations of all sizes expect the same level of personalization and user experience from their enterprise technology that they get from personal devices. Payroll is no exception. Mobile allows organizations to greatly improve productivity as well as user experience. For example, employees expect to have 24/7 access to their pay statements from any leading mobile device. Senior leaders want to review and approve payroll information on their mobile devices without having to access their PCs. Although many leading providers are responding to an increased demand for mobile, 57 percent of SMB organizations still do not have these solutions in place, compared to 43 percent of larger organizations. Of those organizations leveraging mobile, 32 percent are using web-based mobile sites, 10 percent are using native apps, 8 percent are investing in branded apps, and 7 percent are investing in tablet solutions. When asked to identify the top mobile capabilities in place, SMB organizations cited access to pay statements (45 percent), employee information (40 percent) and deductions and transactions (28 percent). Employee Self-Service According to Aberdeen's 2012 Workforce Management: Efficiency, Effectiveness and Engagement report, nearly all (94 percent) of Best-in-Class organizations support at least some level of manager and employee self-service. This option allows individuals to query for paychecks, benefits information, and other HR services without requiring a phone call or conversation with an HR or finance professional. Through self-service, employees have greater [56] HRO TODAY MAGAZINE | APRIL 2013 Cloud-computing Cloud is becoming a compelling differentiator and a key factor in all payroll decisionmaking. It is also no longer viewed as a luxury of enterprise organizations since small companies experience the same benefits. Yet, despite its growing popularity, making the move to the cloud is not always an easy decision. The challenge for organizations embracing cloud will be in understanding the value of these solutions and selecting a viable provider to deliver results. One of the greatest benefits of investing in cloud is that IT no longer needs to focus on hardware, maintenance, and operating systems. Instead, cloud technology providers are able to handle all IT-related functions, allowing internal IT professionals to deliver on more strategic initiatives that will provide value to the organization. For example, by investing in cloud, IT can focus on areas such as exploring and implementing potential changes in payroll processes. SMB organizations are nearly three times as likely to invest in cloudbased solutions compared to enterprise companies. In fact, cloudcomputing is the second most preferred delivery model after ondemand, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. SMB organizations are also less likely to invest in on-premise or hosted solutions. One reason is that many of these companies do not have pre-existing relationships with payroll providers and are investing in payroll for the first time- making a decision around cloud much simpler. If your organization has not embraced 21st century payroll, the time has come to start thinking about it. Madeline Laurano is Aberdeen Group's research director for talent acquisition solutions. She can be reached at madeline.laurano@aberdeen.com.