The workforce is changing at a rapid clip, and forecasts indicate this evolution will only continue. Consider these key stats:
- Within the next decade, more than 70% of departments will have remote workers.1
- Younger managers (defined as those in the millennial and gen z age demographic) are twice as likely to leverage members of the gig economy to help their organization get the job done.1
- Today, millennials make up the largest portion of the workforce,2 and employers have had to modify their payroll practices to better accommodate this generation of workers.
These trends translate to more demands on payroll teams – from ensuring that checks consistently arrive on time at a variety of remote locations, to paying more workers and accommodating more requests for faster payment options beyond traditional checks and direct deposit.
As a payroll practitioner, you are probably already feeling the impact of these trends on your day-to-day workload. You also know legacy payroll systems are not designed to fulfill the demands of this complicated workforce, and chances are, you’re being asked to try to fill the gap and feeling pressure from employees as well as your boss.
So, what can you do to help make it easier to make payroll and add value to your bottom line? Start by minimizing checks and making paperless pay available to as many people as possible. Here are four key points that can help you convince your boss that it’s time to add new options to your company’s payroll process.
- More payroll options can help retain employees in a tight labor market. Today’s labor market is tighter than ever,3 and recruiting and training new employees is expensive.4 Giving employees the option to select how and when they are paid via electronic payroll can help.5 Paycards are a great paperless pay option that offer budgeting tools, which can help to increase employee satisfaction.6
- Paperless pay means you can pay contract workers more quickly. There are 75 million workers in the gig economy7 and that number is expected to grow. Paperless pay solutions like Paycards eliminate the delays of paper checks and streamline the process of issuing more payments. Pay employees on time, where ever they may be, and your payroll program will grow with your company’s needs.
- Paperless pay saves money. Paycards help companies minimize the need for paper checks. Between postage savings and reducing lost checks, reduced costs can add up — with the potential to save between $2.87 and $3.15 per paper check.8
- Improve compliance and reduce errors. Payroll card programs must comply with state and federal wage laws, ensuring companies meet their regulatory obligations. Further, by increasing automation, you can reduce errors and simplify audits, create personalized reports and monitor account use.
Paycards can integrate into your existing payroll system, and work side-by-side with other paperless pay options like direct deposit. They can help to ease the burden on you and your team, and provide your workforce with another appealing option for receiving their pay. If you’re a payroll practitioner, you’re the best person to make the case for better payroll processing in your organization. So schedule a meeting, buy your boss a cup of coffee and get ready to make your job better! Need more info? We’re here to help.
1. Upwork, 2019, Future Workforce Report
2. PEW Research Center, April 2018, Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force
3. Reuters, May 2018, US job openings hit record high, more workers quitting
4. Inc.com, February 2014, Try Fixing the Problem Before Replacing It
5. BusinessWire, March 2018, Report of Gig Economy Workers Finds Payment Satisfaction Problematic for Global Marketplaces
6. Financial Finesse, 2016, ROI Special Report
7. Market Watch, January 2019, The government has no idea how many gig workers there are, and that’s a problem
8. NACHA, Direct Deposit for Businesses
