The 2019 “Getting the World Paid” industry survey conducted by the Global Payroll Management Institute (GPMI) provided an inside look at the global payroll industry. The survey enabled the GPMI to gauge industry trends in the rapidly evolving global payroll landscape.
In the months leading up to Global Payroll Week (GPW), 29 April-3 May, approximately 670 global payroll professionals from around the world shared their professional insight on key areas of global payroll.
Global Payroll Challenges
The annual survey asked individuals to highlight their three biggest global payroll challenges. In response, an overwhelming 72% stated that compliance was their biggest challenge. Coming in as the second biggest challenge was designing the best operating model, with 43% of respondents identifying it as one of their top three challenges. In third was managing costs at 34%.
Each country contains its own unique and challenging set of labor laws and tax regulations. When asked which countries payroll professionals found to be the most challenging to pay employees, the United States, China, and France formed the top three.
Global Payroll Performance
Payroll standardization and performance remains a work in progress for many processing payroll internationally. When asked to rate the standardization of their global payroll policies, 33% of respondents stated they were currently working on standardization.
In addition, the annual GPW survey asked, “How do you track your global payroll performance against objectives?” In response, 32% of survey respondents stated they do not track global payroll performance.
Service Providers
Payroll service providers can be of extreme help to payroll professionals when setting up and managing multiple payrolls across the world. When asked, “What is the primary resource or method you use to answer questions relating to global payroll processing?” 26% of respondents said they use global payroll providers. Local partners and professional networks were also popular strategies utilized by global payroll professionals.
Most payroll professionals also indicated they rely on more than one service provider to help them process their payrolls. According to the survey findings, 44% of respondents use two to five providers, and an additional 23% depend on six or more to process their payrolls internationally.
In addition to the areas highlighted above, the survey analyzed several other global payroll areas, including:
- Industry footprint
- Service delivery model
- The global payroll profession
Complete results from the survey were revealed during a complimentary webinar presentation on 2 May as part of the GPMI’s Global Payroll Week celebration. If you were unable to make the live presentation, the webinar is available on-demand in the GPMI’s virtual storefront.
Thank You to Our 2019 GPW Sponsors
GPMI would like to thank the sponsors of the 2019 “Getting the World Paid” industry survey.
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Brandy Gaskins is the Public Relations and Social Media Specialist for the American Payroll Association (APA) and the Global Payroll Management Institute (GPMI).