May 2019
28
Digital trends that every employer should know
It’s predicted that by 2020, the global workforce would be dominated by millennials (35%) and generation X (35%). That means by next year, over 70% of the global workforce will be under the age of 40. A younger workforce presents knock-on effects for the entire business. As an employer, you need to adapt to meet the expectations of this new generation of employees; they’re very different from the workforce that preceded them. Having grown up using the internet as second nature, these young employees are true digital natives and have never known a world without it.
Take, for instance, payroll. With payment technologies evolving, millennials have become some of the fastest adopters of mobile and digital payments. Their influence on mobile payroll adoption cannot be ignored. The simple fact is these new generation employees don’t do paper forms. They are increasingly looking for digital options to access payslips and apply for annual leave.
In recent years, employees are using holiday time differently than previous generations, with the average leave duration reduced to just 2.34 days. This alone creates new challenges for payroll and HR managers. Shorter, more frequent bursts of annual leave tend to be requested last minute rather than planned in advance. It is important for employers and HR personnel to be able to quickly review and approve leave requests.
Mobile payroll solutions, such as BrightPay Connect, are an ideal way to improve the efficiency of your business, especially as new generation workers continue to integrate smartphones into every aspect of business operations.
BrightPay Connect benefits include:
- Request annual leave - An employee opens up their phone or tablet, logs in to the employee self-service app and applies for leave online. The HR manager or employer will be alerted of the leave request and can approve the leave instantly, with the leave automatically flowing back to the payroll software. On the self-service portal, both the employee and the employer can view their number of leave days taken and remaining, along with an employee leave calendar displaying all past and future leave.
- View payslips and payroll documents - The employee can login to their self-service account to view and download all current and historic payslips and payroll documents such as P60s. For the payroll processor, there is no more printing or emailing payslips. Payslips are automatically added to the employee’s online portal each pay period eliminating employee requests for copies of past payslips.
- Access everything in one central location - Keep everything in one central place. For employees, there is just one login to view employee documents and a company noticeboard. Employers can upload documents such as employment contracts, staff handbooks, privacy policies, training manuals. The employer can decide whether the employee should have access to view the document or not, using it as a central location for everything to do with each individual employee.
As an employer, adopting these few features favoured by younger workers, along with the additional employer benefits (such as an automatic cloud backup of payroll data and instant access to payroll reports), you are guaranteed to improve the efficiency of your business and payroll processing.
Book a demo today to find out how you can benefit from BrightPay Connect.
Apr 2019
11
Why employees love self-service apps (And you should too!)
As a concept, self-service is nothing new. From paying at the supermarket self-service checkouts to online banking, consumers don’t want to have to wait for something if they know they can get it themselves. It’s no different in the workplace.
An employee self-service is the ultimate tool whereby employees can login from anywhere to view their employment and pay related information. With a self-service system, employees can download payslips, request annual leave, look at policies and HR documents and update personal information - all without once contacting HR personnel.
Benefits for Employees
- Instant Payslips - The employee can login to the employee self-service portal to view and download their most recent payslip, along with all of their historic payslips. Gone are the days of emailing HR chasing lost or past payslips when needed, for example when applying for a mortgage.
- Annual Leave - Employees can submit leave requests instantly through the employee self-service portal. Once the leave is approved, employees will be notified and the approved leave will automatically appear on the employee’s calendar. Employees can also view their leave balance and leave history through their portal.
- HR Documents - Access everything in one central place - a single online login gives the employee instant online access to other employment related documents such as employment contracts or company handbooks and policies.
- Personal Data - With the self-service portal, the employee can view their personal payroll information that the employer has on file. The employee can also amend or update various personal data, including their postal address, contact number, emergency details etc.
- 24/7 Access - Employees can login to the employee self-service through any web browser at any time - meaning they don’t have to be at their desks to use it. They can login from home or anywhere else with an internet connection. Better yet, employees can access their employee self-service directly from their phones using the BrightPay employee app.
Knock-on Effect for Employers
Today’s employees are accustomed to having information readily available. An employee portal can help fulfil that expectation with the added benefit of creating workflow efficiencies. The employee self-service portal eliminates the burden of sending payslips, updating personal information, approving annual leave requests and answering leave balance enquiries for the payroll department.
Managers and HR personnel will save administrative hours and frustration on a daily basis when no longer faced with working through these monotonous and time-consuming tasks.
The former way of managing employee data is fast becoming outdated. What was once considered normal in the past is no longer considered normal anymore. Today, the new normal is to implement an employee self-service system whereby workflows are streamlined, with added benefits for both employees and employers.
Book a demo today to find out how BrightPay Connect can transform your business.
Read more: 10 surprising benefits of an employee self-service system
Mar 2019
28
10 surprising benefits of an employee self-service system
The ability for employees to view and edit their own data is one of the most important advancements of HR in recent years. Providing employees with remote access to view personal information held is also a best practice recommendation of the GDPR. It's obviously true that employees have a lot to gain from a self-service system, such as BrightPay Connect. The option to view and manage their data online provides a source of independence, power and control.
But what about HR personnel, managers and everyone else involved in the payroll and HR process? They benefit too! For administrators, it's a way of delegating the workload that would otherwise be handled solely by them. Implementing an employee self-service system is a way to re-distribute various tasks and bring it to the employee’s level.
The Benefits of an Employee Self-Service
- Printing & emailing payslips - With some employee self-service systems, such as BrightPay Connect, payroll administrators no longer need to manually print or email payslips to employees. Payslips are automatically available to employees through their self-service portal either on, before or after the payday, as selected by the employer.
- Responding to payslip requests - It can be very time consuming and monotonous for payroll administrators to respond to employee requests for past or lost payslips. With an employee self-service, the employee can now access their information directly by logging onto their portal where they can view and download historic payslips.
- Responding to leave balance enquiries - Similar to payslip requests, payroll administrators often get enquiries regarding an employee’s annual leave entitlement remaining. Again, the employee can login to their self-service portal to instantly view their leave balance along with their leave entitlement for the year.
- Managing annual leave requests - Managing annual leave could be considered a full-time job in itself with the amount of paperwork and administration required. An employee self-service portal will enable employees to request annual leave electronically, with an automatic notification sent to the supervisor or manager to approve or decline the leave request. Once approved, leave will be automatically added to the employee and employer calendars, and will also synchronise back to the payroll software on the payroll administrators desktop, streamlining the entire annual leave process.
- Updating employee contact information - No longer does the HR personnel need to collect or change employee details. Instead, the responsibility is fully with the employee to ensure that their personal details are updated and correct at all times.
On the surface, an employee self-service system seems designed simply to relieve a bit of pressure on your HR department. But the benefits to the business go much deeper than that. Some employee self-service systems also have the following benefits:
- Reduce errors - Entry errors and other mistakes may be avoided by allowing employees to enter their own personal information. By eliminating the need for double entry and allowing employees to evaluate their own information, the chances of inaccurate information may be greatly decreased.
- Reduce sick days - Some businesses have noticed a reduction in sick days since implementing employee self-service systems. As sick days are much more visible on screen to both employees and their managers, this likely acts as an incentive to keep sick days to a minimum.
- Cut costs - The administrative cost of processing leave or printing out payslips should not be underestimated.
- Reduce paper - The ability for employees to access payslips and other documents online can be a time and money saver. By replacing paper documents, you are also reducing your impact on the environment.
- Keep staff up-to-date - An employee self-service system can allow you to notify employees of policy changes or company-wide announcements. Employees don’t need to access their email to view changes - they can simply login to their self-service employee app wherever they are to stay abreast of any legislative or company-wide changes that may affect them. The employer can then track which employees have viewed the notice, resource or document.
If your HR and payroll administrators spend a lot of time printing payslips, managing annual leave or responding to employee requests, consider how an employee self-service system could help your business.
When implemented successfully, a company may see immediate increases in productivity and efficiency. Managers and HR personnel will save labour hours and frustration on a daily basis, and instead have more time to concentrate on more important tasks.
Book a demo today to find out how BrightPay Connect can transform your business.
Feb 2019
18
Cloud innovation and the future of payroll services
Payroll servicing is evolving to a move towards automation and cloud flexibility for you, your clients and their employees. The latest technological advancements mean your payroll and HR processes can be more integrated into the cloud and streamlined with your payroll software than ever before.
The process of managing your client’s annual leave requests, recording leave on payroll software, sending payslips and payroll reports, updating contact details and managing employee HR documents can be time-consuming, frustrating and a costly process. More importantly, where is all this information stored? Many bureaus are still managing their clients’ workforces with old fashioned spreadsheets, manual processes and paper forms.
Today, payroll management is all about efficiency and there are several exciting developments that are happening right now in the cloud. It is now feasible for payroll to be profitable for bureaus offering it as a service. These day-to-day administrative payroll tasks can be process-driven and handled by cloud technology. The payroll and HR landscape is fast evolving as savvy bureau businesses move towards new-world online technologies.
Free Webinar for Payroll Bureaus
BrightPay are co-presenting a free webinar with the world’s most highly rated advisor to accountants, Steve Pipe.
- BrightPay: Cloud innovation will be central to the future of payroll services
During the webinar, BrightPay will discuss cloud innovation and how it will be central to the future of payroll services. Be ready to offer a new level of payroll and HR related services by embracing cloud innovation. Find out how to use automation tools to become more efficient, comply with new GDPR legislation and grow your practice. - Steve Pipe: How to use payroll to pay off your mortgage in 5 years
During the webinar, Steve Pipe will show you how to earn enough extra money from payroll to pay off an average size mortgage in 5 years. Steve will discuss a powerful new step-by-step system for using payroll to win really high-quality new clients. Discover how you can make payroll one of your most profitable and strategically important service lines.
View webinar agenda | Register for webinar
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Dec 2018
17
5 Traits of a Successful Payroll Bureau Service
So, you’ve finally done it. You’ve somehow managed, despite all that your aunties said about you, you’ve gone on to set up a company. And not just any company, oh no, you've dived headfirst into the sexy world of payroll. Sure, accounting school was the best; invites to the coolest parties, skipping the queue in all the nightclubs, boys and girls falling at your feet. But now it’s time to buckle up because you’re a boss now, a sexy one, and playtime is over. But how do you succeed in the cutthroat and unforgiving world of payroll? Well I’m here to tell you. Here are 5 life changing* tips on how to grow your payroll business.
*may be a slight exaggeration
1) Software - First of all, this is a no brainer and will form the basis of this article. If you’re still adding up the tuck shop takings on an abacus and chalkboard then it’s pretty obvious that Fabrizio with his swanky laptop and payroll software is going to leave you eating his trail of dust as he travels all the way to the top. Of what? Of life, Margaret! No matter how small your payroll business is or how few employees you have you will always benefit from a payroll software that pays your clients employees accurately while reducing your admin time. And by using a payroll package that's HMRC recognised you don’t need to worry about the dreaded taxman *little children scream in the background*. Now what’s even better?
2) Automation - One of the biggest tasks you will deal with as a payroll bureau is calculating contributions to HMRC. (That, and fending off all of the attractive people who want to be close to you because you own a payroll company). If this is done manually then, let’s face it, there’s going to be mistakes, and I’m not talking about my cousin Ollie kind of mistake. By using payroll software that can automate auto enrolment duties, batch send RTI, perform payrolling of benefits and CIS submissions (amongst other things) you’re working smarter, not harder and hardly working instead of working hard. This will save you an endless amount of time and reduce mistakes dramatically.
3) Cloud Backup - As your payroll business grows, unless you’re the worst boss in the world with bad BO and an attitude, you’ll hopefully have some employees! Then, even better, more employees! They might work in your office, or work from home, or from a local Starbucks along with all the yummy moms and boho artsy types. Basically in this technological era the definition of a workplace is malleable and interchangeable. (Heck, I’m sitting on my bed right now in my underwear eating a Nando’s and watching Geordie Shore while I write this. Step into my office at your own peril!) So to make sure that everyone is on the same page the best thing to do is invest in a HR and payroll cloud self service portal for your bureau business. This has a threefold advantage as you can:
- Have all documents in one safe place for increased efficiency and decreased, er, inefficiency (wow my creative writing classes are really paying off, eh Mom?)
- Eliminate the need to manually send payroll information (payslips & payroll reports) to clients each month.
- Save yourself a ton of time where you can periodically backup the payroll data to the cloud so if you lose any data you can retrieve it easily and hassle free.
4) Look out for hidden fees - Make sure that you are using a payroll software that has no hidden fees. You don’t want to take it out for an innocent drink and then 9 months later have it knock on your door saying that you’re tied into a lifetime subscription. Support and training are imperative in the success of any payroll business. Things can get confusing and you’re at the whim of HMRC and she is a fickle, fickle mistress. Even in the last few years alone we’ve had the introduction of RTI and auto enrolment which completely changed the landscape of payroll. Therefore you want to be secure in the knowledge that no matter what comes your way, you can ask for help and it won’t come with a price tag and make sure there’s no charges for automatic enrolment.
5) Reduce your admin time - I’ve already mentioned this BUT there are more ways to reduce this most evil of all work. As mentioned it can be done by using a bureau and client self service based system where whenever you finalise the payroll, things like payslips and payroll reports are accessible to your clients. You could also use a software that puts the onus on the client to submit their data to you directly through a portal, thus reducing duplication of data and inevitable errors. You can aim for the stars even further by opting for a software that also handles your employee admin via a self-service portal that handles things such as leave requests, HR calendar, employee data and even their payslips that are accessible only to them through a unique password. But I don’t know, maybe I am getting ahead of myself here, I mean surely a payroll software like that that has all those amazing features couldn’t possibly exi…
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, let me introduce to you, BrightPay Connect, a cloud self service add on for BrightPay Payroll. BrightPay is so popular amongst users that they voted it the Payroll Software of the Year at the 2018 Accounting Excellence Awards. The folks at BrightPay really want you to succeed and that’s why they’ve designed this bit of software that takes all the hardest parts out of your hands to free your time up to be the best business you can be. All of the features, every single one, mentioned above are part of BrightPay Connect. Weird, it’s almost like I was writing about it the whole time….
See what all the fuss is about for yourself and join me on the road to success. Book a free demo today at https://www.brightpay.co.uk.
(Bonus tip: Win the lottery and buy up all your competition. Now you are payroll King. Simples)
Nov 2018
28
Viva La Revolution - Client Payroll Entry is here
Eh yo where my payroll bureaus at? This blog is for you, my friends. You and those sexy accountants (yes there is such a thing). So let’s begin by talking about the most annoying thing in the world. No, no, not Becky from HR. I mean timesheets and recording employee hours for the payroll. Ugggggghh. Did you just feel me roll my eyes through the screen? I mean, being an accountant is great and all. An endless stream of attractive bedmates, invites to all the coolest parties. But the one thing that brings all that crashing down is having to deal with clients and their endless payroll data. Even worse are the endless errors and amendments of this payroll data that come back and bite you in the ass.
Payroll entry is a collaboration between accountants and their clients. It’s like an intricate dance, each relying on the other’s poise and grace. The problem is the client only did one ballet lesson back when they were 7, is stepping on your toes and elbowed you in the boob earlier. My point is, the current back and forth system is clumsy and time consuming. Clients keep track of their employees’ hours on timesheets (*shudders*), spreadsheets, word documents or sometimes even a napkin. Then they send it to the payroll bureau who is then required to input the same data manually into their own system and no matter how perfect accountants are, they are mere humans and also make mistakes. So the margin for error is maximised by this manual duplication of data entry.
Not only that, but it takes forever and let’s face it it’s boring. Those ballet classes are starting to look appealing. Hours are spent on this menial task of inputting payroll information into payroll systems. More often than not there’s at LEAST one thing that needs to be redone because Dean forgot to tell you that one of his employees died 3 years ago and that Niamh (who’s 37) should have been paying student contributions all this time but this is of course all your fault because you are the bureau, how could you have let this happen?! How dare you!
The problem is that you are normally drip fed this information and it can get so bad you have to hunt your client down, kick in their door in the middle of the night while pointing a shotgun in their face and screaming “WHAT WAS ABDULLAH’S OFFICIAL START DATE” to get any information around here! Well you can finally put that gun down because I have some good news for you! Brightpay have designed a new bit of kit as part of their BrightPay Connect Bureau Feature and it is a game-changer.
This new feature - called Client Payroll Entry - is precisely what it sounds like; a feature that gives payroll bureau the ability to send payroll requests to their clients. The client, (yes the CLIENT) then enters hours worked, additions, deductions and can even add new starters and all their details into BrightPay Connect through their online employer dashboard. The information entered by the client will then seamlessly flow through the portal and sync with the payroll software on the bureau's end! So this means:
- No more manual data duplication.
- Hours saved of administrative time (which could be spent down the pub or catching up on reruns of Four In A Bed).
- Increased transparency - no more being blamed for errors made by the clients as they now have control over their own data entry.
- No more having to ‘chase’ information and risk being jailed for life in the process.
- Automation will eliminate the email document exchange (woohoo!) and provide a more secure and accurate reading of timesheets.
- Potentially more ballet lessons?
So there you have it. Your payroll entry nightmare is now a seamless collaboration between you and your dance partner who is now as graceful as a gazelle and prancing around the place on their tiptoes while the crowds roar and throw roses at your feet.
Book your free demo today here.
Written by Aoibheann Byrne | BrightPay Payroll Software
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Nov 2018
13
Simplify your annual leave management with BrightPay Connect
Annual leave management is something a lot of payroll and HR staff consider to be an administrative nightmare. Having to manually approve requests, keeping track of employees annual leave remaining and inputting leave into the payroll software can be a frustrating requirement that takes up far too much time.
Nowadays, people prefer an all-in-one, self-service option, so that’s what BrightPay offers. BrightPay Connect is a secure cloud add-on to BrightPay payroll software and simplifies the annual leave process.
Using BrightPay Connect’s intuitive self-service portal, employees can log in at any time, from anywhere. They can instantly request annual leave, view their annual leave remaining and access a personal calendar containing any upcoming booked leave or previous leave taken.
Once an employee has requested leave, the employer will receive a notification allowing them to either approve or deny that request instantly! Employers can also view a complete company-wide leave calendar showing all employees leave dates. Any leave approved by the employer or HR manager automatically flows back to BrightPay payroll software.
The annual leave management facility is only one feature unlocked with BrightPay Connect. To see more powerful features that BrightPay Connect can bring to your business, book an online demo now.
Written by Cailín Reilly | BrightPay Payroll Software
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Aug 2018
20
BrightPay Connect: The GDPR Survival Toolkit
BrightPay Connect is tailored to help you overcome some of the key challenges GDPR presents when processing payroll. The payroll itself is still processed on BrightPay’s desktop application, however the payroll information is stored online on a secure cloud server. As the payroll information is stored online, it has allowed us to bring you even more benefits to help you with GDPR compliance.
Automated Cloud Backup
With the GDPR, it is important to keep a copy of payroll files safe in case of fire, theft, damaged computers or cyber attacks. Essentially BrightPay Connect is an automated cloud backup, keeping employee’s payroll data safe and secure. BrightPay Connect will automatically backup payroll data every 15 minutes when the payroll is open, and again when you close down the employer file. A chronological history of all backups will be maintained which can be downloaded and restored at any time.
Self-Service Remote Access
GDPR includes a recommendation to provide remote access to a secure system, which would provide employees with direct access to their personal data. With BrightPay Connect, employees can be invited to their own password protected self-service portal. Employees can login to the portal 24/7 on any device, including PC’s, Macs, tablets and smartphones (essentially anywhere that they have access to an internet browser) or there is also an employee smartphone app where employees can login and get notifications directly to their device.
Password Protected Payslip Portal
With BrightPay Connect, employees can access a payslip library where they can view and download all historic and current payslips. Employees can also access payroll documents such as P60s and P45s, HR documents (e.g. their contract of employment), personal data held by their employer and past and scheduled leave.
Right to Rectification
The right to rectification of personal data held is an important employee right under the GDPR. With the employee self-service portal, employees can update their basic personal details such as their phone number and postal address.
Accurate Employee Records
Data controllers and data processors must ensure that the personal data held is relevant and up-to-date. As employees can update their basic personal details on BrightPay Connect, this ensures that employers and payroll bureaus have the most accurate and current details on file for employees.
User Limitations and Restrictions
With the GDPR, data controllers must ensure that, by default, only personal data which is necessary for each specific purpose of the processing can be accessed. Therefore, payroll processors should only have access to the personal data that is strictly required for processing the payroll. This is referred to as data minimisation, or privacy by default. With BrightPay Connect, users can be set up so that they only have access to the information needed to complete their specific responsibilities. For example, there may be a HR manager who should not have access to employee’s payroll data, or a payroll processor who should not have access to employee documents or employees marked as confidential.
Central Location for Employee Documents
BrightPay Connect acts as an all in one central location to store all things employee related, including payroll, HR and other employment related documents. Employers have the ability to upload documents that apply to all employees (e.g. company handbook), documents that are unique to individual employees (e.g contract of employment), or even documents that are relevant to a particular department.
Secure Document Exchange
If you are a payroll bureau, you can invite your payroll clients to BrightPay Connect to their own online employer dashboard. This is a secure portal for client communications, eliminating the need to send documents with sensitive personal information by email. Clients can view employee payslips as soon as they have been finalised, they can run their own payroll reports and view amounts due to HMRC. Clients will also be able to upload employee timesheets and payments and approve the payroll through their employer portal (coming soon). This offers an additional layer of GDPR protection for client’s payroll data.
Essentially, by introducing BrightPay Connect in your business, you will be taking steps to be GDPR compliant. Book a demo today to have a look at BrightPay Connect.
Related articles:
- Payroll Data & GDPR: What you need to know
- BrightPay launches employee payroll smartphone app
- How have BrightPay prepared for GDPR?
Jun 2018
25
BrightPay launches employee payroll smartphone app
In today’s fast paced environment employees want their payslips at their fingertips. BrightPay’s cloud add-on BrightPay Connect now offers an employee smartphone and tablet app for employees to access their payroll information on the go. The BrightPay Connect app integrates with the BrightPay payroll software application bringing a new level of efficiency and productivity to managers who manage the payroll, leave requests and HR activities. The employee app is available to download for free on any Android or iOS device.
BrightPay Connect offers an online intuitive app, providing employees with the following benefits:
- Manage and access payroll information on the go
- View and download current and historic payslips
- Update and edit personal contact details
- Submit annual leave and unpaid leave requests
- Access an employee leave calendar with approved leave automatically updated
- View leave taken and leave remaining
- Store and access HR documents (e.g. company newsletters, contracts of employment)
- Access the BrightPay Connect employee smartphone & tablet app
BrightPay developed the employee payroll app to improve the payroll processing for accountants, employers and employees. The BrightPay Connect app increases the level of accessibility that employees have to their payroll data while providing innovative features that reduces the overall administrative HR processing time and general payroll related enquiries.
Benefits for Accountants / Payroll Bureaus
Payroll bureaus can now automate the distribution of payslips and eliminate the need to print or email payslips to employees. Employees no longer need to contact their payroll bureaus when they need 6 months’ worth of past payslips when applying for a mortgage or loan. The leave management tool reduces back and forth correspondence between you and your client. All leave requests can now be managed by your client and will automatically be added to the BrightPay payroll software on the bureaus PC. Under the GDPR, it is recommended that you provide individuals with a remote self-service system. BrightPay Connect offers an additional layer of security while providing a self-service app, helping bureaus work towards GDPR compliance.
Benefits for Employers / Payroll Clients
Employers can offer their employees a self-service app offering full transparency when accessing payslips and other personal information. The annual leave management tool allows employers or HR managers to seamlessly process leave requests with changes flowing through to BrightPay payroll software. The employer portal provides an overview of all employee leave in the company-wide leave calendar, ensuring that employers have adequate cover at peak times. The smartphone and tablet app allow employees to seamlessly connect and interact with employers and HR managers, cutting down on employee queries, making it a valuable time-saving tool.
Benefits for Employees
The employee payroll app provides a better control process, improved efficiency and an online platform for your team to manage their payroll information and personal contact details. Employees have instant access to their payroll information including payslips, an employee calendar and an annual leave request facility. Employees can also view their annual leave balance and HR documents such as their contract of employment. The BrightPay Connect app offers enhanced GDPR security for the employee’s personal payroll data. BrightPay Connect is powered using the latest web technologies and hosted on Microsoft Azure for ultimate performance, reliability and scalability.
Click here for a full list of employee app features.
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- BrightPay - We don't just do payroll
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Apr 2018
9
Employers: Time to adapt to the needs of millennials
Experts predict that by 2020, millennials (now aged between 21 and 35) will make up 35% of the global workforce, with ‘Generation Z’ (aged 20 and younger) making up 24%. In just two years, more than half the entire workforce population will be made up by these younger workers.
A younger workforce presents knock-on effects for the entire business. As an employer, you need to adapt to meet the expectations of this new generation of employees. Millennials are very different from the workforce that preceded them. Having grown up using the internet as second nature, these young employees are true digital natives and have never known a world without it.
Take, for instance, payroll. With payment technologies evolving, millennials have become some of the fastest adopters of mobile and digital payments. Their influence on mobile payroll adoption cannot be ignored. The simple fact is these new generation employees don’t do paper forms. They are increasingly looking for digital options to access payslips and apply for annual leave.
In recent years, employees are using holiday time differently than previous generations, with the average leave duration reduced to just 2.34 days. This alone creates new challenges for payroll and HR managers. Shorter, more frequent bursts of annual leave tend to be requested last minute rather than planned in advance. It is important for employers and HR personnel to be able to quickly review and approve leave requests.
For HR managers, there is also the added strain due to the higher turnover of millennials, with research suggesting that they last just 8 months in a job! Fortunately, we live in a mobile world, whereby online platforms can enable HR staff to manage and approve time off instantly, with more time to focus on attracting and retaining top talent.
Mobile payroll solutions, such as BrightPay Connect, are an ideal way to improve the efficiency of your business, especially as new generation workers continue to integrate smartphones into every aspect of business operations.
BrightPay Connect benefits include:
- Request annual leave - An employee opens up their phone or tablet, logs in and applies for leave online. The HR manager or employer will be alerted of the leave request and can approve the leave instantly, with the leave automatically flowing back to the payroll software. On the self-service portal, both the employee and the employer can view their number of leave days taken and remaining, along with an employee leave calendar displaying all past and future leave.
- View payslips and payroll documents - The employee can log into their self-service account to view and download all current and historic payslips and payroll documents such as P60s. For the payroll processor, there is no more printing or emailing payslips. Payslips are automatically added to the employee’s online portal each pay period eliminating employee requests for copies of past payslips.
- Access everything in one central location - Keep everything in one central place. For employees, there is just one login to view employee documents and a company noticeboard. Employers can upload documents such as employment contracts, staff handbooks, privacy policies, training manuals. The employer can choose whether the employee can view the document or not, using it as a central location for everything to do with each individual employee.
As an employer, adopting these few features favoured by millennials, along with additional employer benefits (such as an automatic cloud backup of payroll data and instant access to payroll reports), you are guaranteed to improve the efficiency of your business and payroll processing.
Book a demo today to find out how you can benefit from BrightPay Connect.
