Ten Often-Overlooked Strategies for Uncovering Payroll Savings

Making improvements to payroll processes that target efficiency increases and cost reductions will help ensure that payroll can both ride out the recession while continuing to make a valuable business contribution to the enterprise. Recent advances in technology, increasing levels of comfort among employees and managers with self-service tools, and maturing relationships with outsourcers represent additional, often-overlooked areas to tap for cost savings.

Handling Employee Payroll Inquiries in a Shared Services Call Center Reduces Cost, Aids Continuous Improvement

At the telecom company discussed in a recent Hackett Payroll Advisory Program roundtable, a shared services-based call center is the single point of contact for employees with questions about payroll. A tiered call option either directs employees to a self-service option for routine questions or routes them to call center agents who are trained to answer or research questions when necessary. For continuous improvement and cost-control purposes, the company tracks data about the reason for every call in order to address root causes that are driving calls to the center in the first place. Because call centers are expensive to run, the company is currently focusing on increasing use of self-service options. It has created a methodology that eventually requires use of the self-service option once it has been rolled out and employees have been trained on the system.

2005 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Finance Organizations

Top-of-mind issues are addressed in this report such as managing costs, minimizing risk, making appropriate business process sourcing decisions and capitalizing on the promise of Web technologies. Its charts represent data selected from hundreds of different performance metrics and best practices in use at client organizations worldwide. The metrics and associated text define the most significant differentiators between specific world-class performers (as identified by our empirically based methodology) and their more typical peers. Areas addressed include Finance function cost, days sales outstanding, risk and compliance costs and cycle times.

2005 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class IT Organizations

The goal of this volume is to share the profound impact that a commitment to using best practices can have, not just on the IT organization, but on the enterprise as a whole. A quick glance through the abstract's pages will show you this volume of the Book of Numbers series addresses top-of-mind issues, such as managing costs, meeting service-delivery expectations, capitalizing on the promise of Web technologies, minimizing risk and making appropriate business process sourcing decisions. It features nearly 70 charts representing data selected from hundreds of different performance metrics and best practices in use at client organizations worldwide. The metrics and associated text define the most significant differentiators between specific world-class performers (as identified by our empirically based methodology) and their more typical peers. With this information, you can build your improvement strategies on a foundation of proven practices.

Data Privacy Concerns Force HR and Payroll Organizations to Re-Examine Operating Methods, Part II

Until recently, data privacy, in general, has been less of an issue in the United States than in other areas of the world, such as the European Union (EU). In the US, it has been largely the domain of public interest groups. However, we are seeing this situation change rapidly. Recent highly publicized cases of security breaches, data and identify theft, such as at Choicepoint and Citicorp, have created significantly more awareness of the issue. Furthermore, the EU's well-defined policies, and its increasing ability to set standards outside of its own domain, make it likely that standards will become an important issue for American legislators as well. Already, California has enacted legislation and many other states are moving in this same direction.

September 2005 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Companies: Executive Insights in Finance, IT, HR, and Procurement

September 2005 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Companies: Executive Insights in Finance, IT, HR, and Procurement

July 2005: Optimizing a Return on Business Complexity: Performance Metrics, Practices and Strategies of World-Class Companies

July 2005: Optimizing a Return on Business Complexity: Performance Metrics, Practices and Strategies of World-Class Companies

April 2005 World-Class Defined: Realized Performance Based on Proven Best Practices

April 2005 World-Class Defined: Realized Performance Based on Proven Best Practices

March 2005: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Procurement Organizations

March 2005: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Procurement Organizations

March 2005: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Information Technology Organizations

March 2005: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Information Technology Organizations

December 2004: Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Human Resources Organizations

December 2004: Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Human Resources Organizations

November 2004: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Finance Organizations

November 2004: 2004 Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Finance Organizations

August 2004: Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Companies: Executive Insights in Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources and Procurement

August 2004: Performance Metrics and Practices of World-Class Companies: Executive Insights in Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources and Procurement

Data Privacy Concerns Force HR and Payroll Organizations to Re-Examine Operating Methods

Until recently, data privacy, in general, has been less of an issue in the United States than in other areas of the world, such as the European Union. In the US, it has been largely the domain of public interest groups. However, we are seeing this situation change rapidly. Recent highly publicized cases of security breaches, data and identify theft, such as at Choicepoint and Citicorp, have created significantly more awareness of the issue. Furthermore, the EU's well-defined policies, and its increasing ability to set standards outside of its own domain, make it likely that standards will become an important issue for American legislators as well. Already, California has enacted legislation and many other states are moving in this same direction. Human resource and payroll data represents a huge potential vulnerability for an organization that does not have adequate safeguards in place. Not only would a hacker be able to get at Social Security numbers, but bank account data and other sensitive personal information as well. Vulnerability exists not only with respect to the potential for unauthorized access of computerized data through electronic means, but also through mere accidents or lapses in judgment where personal information might be made available for seemingly non-invasive purposes.

Local Country Laws and their Impact on Payroll Operations

As globalization becomes the normal state of affairs, companies of all sizes are creating a presence in more and more countries. This presents a significant challenge to payroll managers. Specifically, the multiplicity of country-specific rules to which organizations must adhere as they expand their geographic footprint can appear daunting. Taken at the discrete, rule-by-rule level this can indeed appear to be the case, even in distinct, country-by-country operations. When considerations include the options of shared services and outsourcing, the complexity begins to appear ferocious. Is it possible to bring some order into this thicket of red tape? We believe that there is a way to look at the problem so that the issues stand out from individual details.

Complexities And Inefficiencies In Pennsylvania Local Earned Income Tax System Cause More Than $100 Million In Lost Tax Revenues

In the Pennsylvania state legislature, HB1427 and SB292 are attempting to address efficiencies and administrative issues of the earned income tax collection process. Pennsylvania, its employers and employees have much to gain by reforming its current earned income tax system. Further, large employers in other states have much to gain by learning about Pennsylvania's reform efforts and pushing for reforms in their own localities. Reform creates a better business climate for the state; it increases tax revenue collections at less cost to all parties, and it provides administrative relief to corporate taxpayers.

Six Sigma - A User's Guide for Payroll

Six Sigma has long been recognized as a powerful tool for process improvement. Like many management tools, however, its exact meaning is not well understood. Its application is sometimes unclear, and in consequence, it is often used ineffectively.

Improving the Efficiency of Employee Data

Maintaining employee data for use in payroll processing is a time consuming, costly process, representing 23% of total payroll cost at the median. Because the accuracy of this data is critical, companies are sometimes hesitant to make changes to a system that seems to be working. However, there are a number of recommended best practices in employee data maintenance and this paper explores these practices in more detail.