Johannesburg - Companies need to rethink payroll services and follow the
international trend of investing more in mobile self-service solutions, said
Lavine Haripersad, director at the South African Payroll Association (SAPA).
“It’s time to put payroll in your employees’ pockets or
purses. Mobile devices are having a huge impact on our lives.”
The mobile experience
According to industry experts, mobile penetration in South
Africa is around 37% to 45% of the population. This is due to the introduction
of cheaper Smartphones as well as a growing dependency on mobile communications
for everyday life and business.South Africans use their devices for a myriad of personal
activities.
At work, however, employees often face the frustration of
lengthy processes to complete simple tasks - like leave applications or access
their personnel information.This is in direct contrast to their typical online
experience.
“We need to see workers as consumers and find ways to
provide the experience they’re used to. That means going mobile,” said
Haripersad.
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Many reputable software vendors, such as Accsys, Intuit, Oracle,
Sage and SAP offer employee self-service products for small, medium and large
businesses, although their features vary. Also, managed services companies
providing outsourced payroll services may use a self-service app to make
information accessible and reduce costly interactions.
“While many apps exist,” Haripersad said:” companies are
usually restricted to the one produced by their business system’s developer.”
The following are the most popular features:
View and update
personal information
Payroll staff spends a lot of time reviewing records. It’s more efficient to
allow employees to do it themselves. Their changes can be approved by their
manager before updating the payroll database, depending on the workflow
structured into the system.
View payslips
Notify staff when their payslips are ready through their
mobile device and let them downloads a digital copy. This could save companies
millions annually in printing and distribution costs. These are also fast
becoming acceptable to retailers who require proof of income.
PAYE & IRP5
Allow employee’s access to their tax data to keep track of their tax
obligations, answer tax queries and submit their returns easily with the
information on hand.
Managing leave
Reduce manual processing by letting staff submit leave
requests through the self-service app. They’ll also be able to check their
remaining leave, reducing your payroll administrator’s workload.
Travel & expense
claims
Employees can submit their travel claims together with other expenses. These
can be automatically forwarded to their manager for approval before being
submitted to the payroll administrator.
Time & attendance
Depending on the app, employees could clock in or out with their Smartphones,
enter the time they worked on a task, or even be reminded of when their next
shift will start.
Employee benefits
Staff could, at any time, check their benefits to see their
current status, such as the value of their pension plan or available funds in
their medical aid scheme.
Manager benefits
Using a mobile application for items like leave, payroll
input or training application approvals saves a line manager a lot of time, as
it can be done “on the go”, while being able to be assured that your staff are
at work when they should be is also useful.
Ultimately, using mobile applications which allow employees
to participate in what used to be traditional payroll processing, will allow
payroll staff to spend less time servicing common requests and focus more on
strategic activities. Haripersad encouraged organisations to investigate the
benefits of a mobile self-service app.
undefined“Technology is evolving fast and payroll must keep up if
companies want employees to be happy and productive. This means making
information and services available to them in a way they’ve come to expect.”
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