Why cloud-based payroll protects your business resilience

Business preparedness, emergency and continuity are all subjects that most business owners have discussed during their annual strategy days. Fortunately, most have never had to implement these plans – until March 2020.

We all know that COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world of work forever. Homeworking, changes to contracts, government benefits and employee furloughs have all had to be considered and managed.

Perhaps understandably, limitations to our existing HR and payroll have been revealed.  Many organisations had to review how they manage their payroll, for the well-being of their teams and their businesses.

Payroll has been tested like never before 

Old, complicated, IT systems and ineffective, manual processes have been unable to cope with the ‘new normal’. Inaccurate data and a lack of analytics and visibility have hampered businesses’ ability to make fast decisions at the most critical time.

With often whole workforces  based at home, companies have had to urgently manage both the logistical and emotional challenges of keeping teams operational and happy. These issues don’t even take into consideration the potential of higher levels of sickness, leaving many businesses’ shorthanded, at the same time as possibly being over-staffed – it’s often one or the other, but rarely both.

Through all of this, people have still needed to be paid. Often with new, different terms than before as organisations rapidly restructured to  maintain resilience.

Payroll management needs to be cloud-based  

It has become apparent, very quickly, that the organisations who were able to adapt best to these new challenges were those who had embraced cloud-based working. Their teams were able to work from home more efficiently, and the administrative functions of their business, such as HR and payroll, were able to continue seamlessly.

Businesses that had traditional, in-house infrastructure, hosting internally, have struggled, at a time when certainty of income is all important. Having on-premise systems, tied to physical infrastructure and fixed locations, can create security, scalability and in the event of a pandemic even possibly health risks.

Payroll must change forever – like everything else  

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced rapid change to the way we work, collaborate and manage our teams. It has also quickly proven that people can work well from home. Even when the health crisis ends, home working won’t, which means that innovations to our HR policies and processes, including payroll will continue to be a worthwhile and valuable investment.

If you would like to discuss how Offshore Payroll could help your business, please email info@offshorepayroll.com to arrange a chat.

September 18, 2024

Related articles

Meet our Team – Ross Huelin

With over two decades of experience in the IT industry, Ross has built a reputation for excellence. His career is marked by a consistent ability to architect, develop, and manage intricate systems across a diverse array of technologies and platforms. His approach is underpinned by a strong scientific and mathematical foundation, having earned a master’s degree in physics with a specialisation in computational modeling.

In an era where security is paramount, Ross excels in securing complex cloud environments—particularly within AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. He ensures that the solutions he delivers are not only robust but also adhere to the highest standards of security, continuity, and recovery, giving our clients confidence that their critical data and operations are safeguarded against evolving threats.

Read more

Guernsey and Alderney secondary pension scheme delayed

The introduction of a government-approved secondary pension scheme for Guernsey and Alderney has been delayed.

The scheme was due to be established in 2022 after being approved by deputies, but Brexit and Covid-19 have caused a delay.

No alternative start date has yet been proposed. A delay was not unexpected given the challenges of the past year, and that it could help businesses already hit by the pandemic prepare for the scheme’s implementation.

Local employers will be obliged to offer a pension scheme for staff if they do not do so already, and to make contributions of up to 3.5% of salary.

The default scheme is to be administered by a UK auto-enrolment pension provider specialist, but many businesses are setting up new schemes with local providers.

Details of the delay are set out in Employment & Social Security’s Social Security Contributory Fund Accounts 2020, due to be discussed by the States on 16 June.

Read more

Meet our Team – Julie Heaven

Julie brings a wealth of financial expertise and over two decades of experience to our team. Qualifying as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) in 2000, she has held several senior financial management roles throughout her career, including her most recent position as Director of Purpose. In this role, she provides strategic financial guidance to owner-managed companies, helping them navigate complex financial landscapes and achieve sustainable growth.

Read more
“a modern and progressive payroll package”

Submitting the CER at the click of the button is brilliant!!! My manager could not believe it, no more manual calculations.

Running Jersey payroll is now faster, it generates various payroll reports that we find helpful. I would happily recommend.

Mumba Chomba – Management Accountant