Payroll Efficiency Index reveals global struggles

- The Global Payroll Efficiency (PEI) report, the third annual report from CloudPay, shines a light on the Global payroll sector post lockdown.

- Key findings show that ‘The Great Resignation’ has put additional pressures on payroll teams across the Globe

- The report also finds that while First Time Approval (FTA) rates have improved globally (an increase of 0.55 per cent), levels have fallen in both in EMEA (-0.78 per cent) and the Americas (-1.73%)

- FTA rates increased by 5.63 per cent in Asia-Pacific, a cumulative 9.95 per cent increase since 2019

Payroll teams across the Globe are facing additional pressures thanks to The Great Resignation, according to a new report by global pay provider, CloudPay.

Conducted by CloudPay, the report, now in its third edition, benchmarks payroll processing KPIs across 130+ countries. This latest edition shows that the rate of issues per 1000 payslips has stabilised to some degree following a dramatic drop in the 2020 report. While the Americas region reported a slight drop of 0.16, EMEA and APAC have posted minor increases of 0.26 and 0.39 respectively. However, this return to ‘normal’ levels post-COVID may soon be counter-acted by the staff churn caused by the Great Resignation.

First Time Approval (FTA) rates are shown to be improving globally (increasing 0.55 per cent). However, levels in EMEA and the Americas have fallen by 0.78 per cent and 1.73 per cent respectively, indicating that payroll teams in the Western World have become burdened with the additional workload associated with an increase in new hires and resignations in the current economy.

The report also found that the number of payroll issues caused by data input errors dropped 2.1 per cent in the Americas and 2.6 per cent in EMEA. While supplemental impacts have improved, with the number of supplemental runs required dropping over two percentage points, this is indicative of the decline in the number of staff being put on or taken off furlough, as well as a reduction in the number of layoffs post-COVID.

APAC yet to see the full impact of post-COVID job changes

The report does show a divergence in performance between the APAC region and countries in the Western world, with FTA rates increasing by a huge 5.63 per cent in Asia-Pacific, a cumulative 9.95 per cent increase since 2019. This is perhaps explainable as strong COVID restrictions were still largely in place in most Far Eastern countries throughout 2021 - resulting in less appetite to move jobs and delaying the Great Resignation seen in other parts of the world. The region also saw an uptake in the number of data input issues, increasing 2.7 per cent in 2021.

CloudPay CEO, Paul Bartlett, explains: “It’s clear that payroll processes are increasingly being required to flex to adapt to new economies, changing market conditions and the ever-evolving labour market. However, from a payroll perspective, teams are already overburdened and are increasingly becoming under-resourced as the Great Resignation impacts the function itself.

“More flexibility, user-friendliness in onboarding, and autonomy through on-demand pay can help promote better employee loyalty. So, the message of standardising, integrating and automating payroll remains highly relevant to making the process as quick, easy and accurate as possible. Businesses that can improve on these three fronts will naturally see their KPI results improve.”

Download the Global Payroll Efficiency Index (PEI) today

Ends

Notes to Editors

This is the third edition of the Global Payroll Efficiency Index, sampling data from global organizations across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA regions, and more than one million payslips generated between January 1 and December 31, 2021

About CloudPay

CloudPay is the only provider that guides global companies with vision and care toward the comprehensive pay experience their employees deserve. CloudPay connects all employee pay processes – including payroll, payments, and on-demand pay – through a unified solution. CloudPay experts implement best practices, navigate change, optimize operations, and improve employee experiences. CloudPay is with you every step of the way because employee pay is what we do


Press contact:
Sadie McGrath
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