Looking to shake-up global payroll processes?
Whether it’s implementing a new delivery and management process or simply considering future changes to a department, how a global payroll team transitions—or implements change management—is crucial for the overall success of new projects.
In this free on-demand PayrollOrg webinar, “Managing a Global Payroll Change Project,” sponsored by Payslip, experts presented best practices in handling change management and how global payroll teams can achieve high adoption rates through these strategies.
Mary Holland, CPP, Chief Customer Officer and Payroll Evangelist at Payslip, and Consultant Lara Smart, ChFCIPPdip, led the conversation by emphasizing that payroll is about people and that everyone should be involved and considered during a transition project.
“Language and culture are huge in a change management project,” said Holland. “We must make sure everyone understands what’s happening, but we also must be considerate of customs. We must be patient, and we have to listen.”
Transition Roadblocks
Holland and Smart warned attendees that every transition comes with its own unique challenges that can inhibit pace and efficacy. Common problems to watch for during a change include the following:
- Change anxiety
- Poor communication
- Lack of inclusion within the organization
- Poor support from senior management
“Nothing is more awful in any situation when you’re doing a project then when senior management doesn’t support it or show any interest in what is happening,” said Holland. “I find it extremely hard for projects to move forward when you don’t have that management support.”
Holland advises that when a project is executed without a strategy and ignores change management, the situation can become dire fast.
“I’ve talked to payroll professionals and people in different parts of an organization [as a consultant], and they would tell me that their project never went live. That we did all this work and decided it was not the right solution and never went live,” Holland. “No one is going to be on board for a new change.”
Expert Insight
Smart shared her insight with change management and assisting organizations through their transitions as a consultant. She recounts working through a transition that she considers a successful implementation that others can learn from by example.
Smart explained that the business used people’s performance objectives so they would understand their part in the success of the project. “At the end of the year, their objective was whatever their role in the project was to support it. You had company-wide backing to make this project a success, and it was driven on merit and performance goals with salary increases and bonuses and that really helps motivate people,” Smart said.
Smart added that other key drivers to a successful transition are clear communication, good budgeting, and cooperation among all divisions of staff.
“When you have the right governance, the right structure, the right funding, the right resource, the right communication, and you have the right leadership in place to drive all of that, it can be a very successful project,” she said.
This free on-demand webinar will be available until 31 August 2024.