National Payroll Week - Final Thoughts

I have been in Payroll a long time, as a developer, a supplier of software and a user, and this is only the second (as far as I know) National Payroll Week we have had in South Africa, so there are definitely thoughts arising:

Will holding a National Payroll Week raise awareness?
Should we do it again next year, and how should it be publicised?

The discussions over the past week have shown some main areas of interest:

Formal qualifications
Security of data in payroll departments
Data Analytics / Business Intelligence
Employee Self Service and Mobile

Formal Qualifications

Not everybody I spoke to realised that Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) is available for payroll administrators who have deep experience.

There were also concerns expressed by people who have never studied at a tertiary level whether they would cope with the material. Years of adult training have shown that people undervalue the level of knowledge they have gained in the workplace, and formalising studies in an area of expertise is easier to cope with than expected. It is more the volume of work and the time required that impacts completion.

Data Security

With the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) bill looming, payroll and HR practitioners are very concerned about security in their departments. We have had discussions around what access internal IT experts have to data, as well as archiving risks.

This is a very real issue, and every company should be evaluating the way their critical software is set up, and who has access.

Some administrators expressed that they felt very vulnerable over efts as there were inadequate checks and balances. There were a few who privately shared that they operate the payroll, do the checking and sign off on the transfers, alone.

Data Analytics / Business Intelligence

This is on the increase, and companies are looking to use both in memory and big data to enable them to run their businesses more effectively.

Employee Self Service and Mobile

The time and cost saving of giving employees access to their data and managers the ability to approve leave and manage attendance remotely is seen as a key way forward in payroll departments.

So that was the week, the SAPA led National Payroll Week is nearly over and the question remains, did it make a difference to you, and how should we make it have more impact next year?

Links, References and Notes

Payroll Qualification

Business Connexion:Accsys

South African Payroll Association (SAPA)

Note

Thank you for reading Teryl@Work. Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source

email: tschroenn@accsys.co.za

twitter: @TerylSchroenn

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