New Research Reveals Visibility and Transparency Lacking in Payroll, Minimizing Its Business Impact

The research drew insights from a survey involving over 100 senior leaders in payroll, finance, and HR to understand the complexities of global payroll operations and highlight the significance of unified pay solutions in today’s dynamic work environment.

Payroll teams are lacking in visibility and transparency, leaving them unable to deliver accurate and timely payroll and contribute strategically to the organization, according to a new report by Everest Group and supported by global payroll provider CloudPay. The consequences of this payroll blind spot extend well beyond operations. Without an optimized payroll solution, organizations are losing out on strategic insights that have the potential to significantly impact their growth and productivity.

The findings from a new research report Reaping the Benefits of Unified Pay Solutions, revealed that 80% of those surveyed are unable to use payroll reporting for informed decision-making. Further, 45% lack visibility into their payroll operations, suggesting that many payroll teams will be unable to deliver on their top objective for 2024: accurate and timely pay processing.

The research drew insights from a survey involving over 100 senior leaders in payroll, finance, and HR to understand the complexities of global payroll operations and highlight the significance of unified pay solutions in today’s dynamic work environment.

The report also shows significant geographical differences between approaches to payroll. The globalized nature of business demands a payroll solution that crosses geographical boundaries, yet only 33% of survey respondents have a unified system. When looking closer at global regions, on average, just 6% of businesses within APAC and 27% in EMEA currently opt for a global payroll solution, instead of utilizing local and regional approaches, compared to 47% in North America. According to Everest Group, a joined-up global approach that allows for full visibility is critical in a modern world of work where consistency of experience across borders is key.

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Matt Hillier, EVP Product at CloudPay, explains why a unified pay solution can address the issues that payroll teams are facing:

“The data from this research reveals some concerning results, namely that the majority of payroll teams will be unable to meet their key objective for this year due to a lack of visibility and the inability to use payroll reporting for informed decision-making. This absence of robust reporting capabilities not only hinders operational and strategic visibility but also limits an organization’s ability to spot trends, patterns, and anomalies within payroll data.

“As payroll leaders listed the delivery of accurate and timely pay processing as their top objective for 2024, this lack of visibility will prevent already overstretched teams from fulfilling their goals. As global pay processes become increasingly complex and more widely used, having the ability to adhere to regional nuances while also delivering a consistent experience across borders is going to be a critical component for organizations. Those who are unable to adapt will not only feel the impact in terms of efficiency of operations, but also in boosting their brand’s competitive standing. By consolidating global payroll and payments under a single, unified pay solution that brings together multi-country payroll requirements seamlessly without the administrative burden on teams or errors that could impact employee pay packets, businesses will be able to gain greater insights and support the development of more effective, strategic decision-making.”

Samarth Kapur, Practice Director at Everest Group commented: “While our research shows that adoption of unified pay solutions is still at an early stage with only 33% of respondents adopting it, these early adopters are already experiencing positive outcomes. In many cases, the actual benefits realized have even exceeded initial expectations, suggesting the potential for these solutions to significantly impact the way organizations manage payroll.”

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