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September 2023

Employee engagement starts with payroll
  • Scott Read
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Why employee engagement starts with the payroll team

Why employee engagement starts with the payroll team 1280 720 Scott Read

National Payroll Week falls 4th – 8th September this year and it’s an occasion designed to mark the hard work payroll professionals do to keep Britain paid. And they really do.

In a year that started with CPIH inflation rates of 26.7% caused by housing fuel costs, payroll is becoming the most important department in every business and the payroll team is potentially carrying the weight of success on its shoulders.

35% of UK employees would find another job if they were paid incorrectly even once and 51% would lose trust in their employer and resent them. Based on this, you could be seeing more than a third of your staff walking out the door if the payroll department mess up just once – this is huge. Overlooking payroll processors as a business-critical role opens companies up to risks that aren’t just limited to financial in nature.

The first risk to consider is morale.

If an employee is paid incorrectly, they lose trust and confidence in the management and they might be vocal about it too. You can imagine it “we’re not priority” “we’re an afterthought” “I bet the boss still got paid”.  Of course, the thoughts will depend on how big an error is, how frequent errors are and who is on the receiving end, but they can quickly create a culture where people question the management’s integrity – if they don’t care enough to get my pay right, they certainly don’t care about what’s going on at home. Low morale can lead to a reputational issue internally but with the growth of review sites such as Glassdoor, internal reputational issues can quickly become external issues not only impacting retention but talent acquisition too.

Do it once you might be ok, do it more than once you’re in trouble.

At this point any change (good or bad) can raise suspicion. If you pay people a day early but don’t communicate why, they’ll think you don’t know what you’re doing. Pay people a day late, they’ll think there’s a cashflow issue. A lack of trust here will make employees question their faith in the leadership team to make decisions in other areas of the business and ultimately their confidence in the business and its products or services. And no matter what the cause is, people won’t 100% believe your reasons.

I believe people leave jobs for more money.

Yes, more and more people are considering culture and employee benefits over salary but ultimately in a time where less and less people have savings for a rainy day because it’s been raining for two years, pay matters and is usually the deciding factor. So, a reputation for paying people late or incorrectly isn’t a look you need to be going for.

Employee benefits are not contractual in nature and can be removed from an employee’s contract without consultation. Being paid correctly on a certain date is. In essence, if you mess up payroll, you mess with people’s contracts of employment. Employee benefits don’t mean anything if you have a bad culture anyway. So, for those companies that attract people based on a great rate of pay if you don’t deliver it on-time and correctly – you better have an out of this world company culture to make them stay. Of course, chances are you won’t if you have payroll issues.

Payroll is complicated.

The importance of paying people correctly isn’t new – but when you consider that a third of UK workers are now living payday to payday the potential impact of payroll errors and mistakes has higher stakes.  But payroll is complicated. You only have to look back to last year when bosses of high street giant Next apologised to staff for underpaying some of them by up to £200 a month due to a payroll error and just a few months ago WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos were among a list of companies facing financial penalties for payroll breaches.  If the big boys can make mistakes, it’s a stark reminder to check in with your payroll team or provider to assess the potential risk to your business. If new legislation is announced, how is it handled? Do they have the reliable updated software to comply automatically with significant changes?

Ultimately if you want an engaged workforce, check in with your payroll team or provider first. If you want to invest in employee benefits to improve company culture, check in with your payroll team or provider beforehand. If you genuinely care about your employees and believe they are the key to business success, you guessed it check in with your payroll team or provider.

Happy national payroll week!

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Scott Read, CEO of Employee Services at Growth Partners

Scott Read Growth Partners discusses the link between employee engagement and retention

Scott Read is a results-driven business leader with a proven track record in helping employers strategise key business growth through employee engagement. To find out more about the link between pay, pensions and employee benefits chat to us or book a demo with one of our experts.

Financial wellbeing support
  • Growth Partners
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How to support your employees’ financial wellbeing [Free downloadable guides]

How to support your employees’ financial wellbeing [Free downloadable guides] 1920 1280 Growth Partners

61% of UK adults currently saying they’re concerned about paying general household bills, and more than a third feeling anxious about their financial situation, it’s the perfect time to check on your employees’ financial wellbeing.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems in the UK – the Mental Health Foundation reports a quarter of adults have felt so anxious it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time. In April, demand for our Employee Assistance Programme increased by 400% on the month previous, with our clients’ employees using the confidential counselling services for personal (72%) and work-related (28%) support.

It’s clear, as employers we must help increase awareness and understanding of these concerns and inform ourselves on how and why we can help support employees’ financial wellbeing and in turn their emotional wellbeing.

Financial wellbeing in the workplace 

There is a clear link between financial wellbeing (or financial wellness as its sometimes referred to) and emotional wellbeing and a very clear link to the impact they can have on productivity in the workplace.

In the year to March 2023, the price of food and drink rose at its fastest rate in over 45 years and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose by 26.1% (Money Statistics). All of which impact your employees’ take-home pay and ultimately their wellbeing – how happy and healthy they feel.

Looking out for your employees’ financial wellbeing is incredibly important, and the benefits for them and you, are more tangible than you may think. Financial worries negatively impact employee productivity and absence rates, causing the ‘presenteeism’ effect. If you haven’t already, seek support to enhance your financial wellbeing services and get advice from experts.

Ensuring the financial wellbeing of employees is an important aspect of creating a positive and productive work environment. Here are some things to consider…

4 things to consider when it comes to financial wellbeing:

  1. Open communication:

    Encouraging open communication about financial issues can help employees feel more comfortable discussing their financial concerns and seeking support when needed. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can provide confidential support and counselling for a variety of issues, including financial stress. Do you have the systems in place to minimise absence days and ensure workers aren’t worrying about their finances while at work?

  2. Flexible working arrangements

    Offering flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid working, flexible hours, and job sharing, can help employees save on transportation and childcare costs and help reduce the pressure they may be under from increasing costs.

  3. Fair and competitive compensation

    Employees need to be paid fairly and competitively for their work. This includes not just their base salary, but also any benefits such as healthcare, retirement plans, bonuses, and other ‘perks’ Do you have an employee discounts schemein place to help your employees’ wages go a bit further? Discount schemes can provide financial support by increasing your employees’ disposable income. Can you do anything to bring salary reviews forward to help people that little bit more, sooner? Have you reached out to local businesses your employees use to see how you can support each other e.g., negotiate reduced parking fees with a local car park or a discount at a local food outlet – can you reciprocate?

  4. Financial education and resources

    Providing financial education and guidance in the workplace can help employees understand personal finance, budgeting, investing, retirement planning and other important financial topics. This can include workshops, seminars, and online resources. Where do your employees go for financial guidance?  You can also signpost them to reputable sources such as Money Helper’s budget planner

Useful resources to support your employees’ financial wellbeing

  1. Discuss Budget Builders with your employees

    This one is provided by The Money Charity and it’s free and easy-to-use. It can be used to create an initial budget and keep track of day-to-day spending.  It does all the calculations for you and it can be used as a way of organising money across different bank accounts.

  2. Download our free New Ways of Saving Guide to share with your staff.

    Our savings guide gives you a simple guide to share with your employees – link to it from your internal communication systems, print some copies for the break room or ask line managers to share it with their team. However you use it, it’s full of ideas and tips designed to help your employees save money.

  3. Read: How to Support your employees to navigate through the cost-of-living crisis

    Recent research from Speakers’ Corner suggests business leaders are misinformed about the causes of stress among their employees, believing they directly align with their own. Heavy workload is the number one pressure for business leaders, whereas managing financially throughout the cost-of-living crisis came out top among employees. Knowledge is power and keeping abreast of ways to support your employees to navigate these uncertain times will help inform your financial wellbeing strategy.

  4. Help employees secure their future, with our free Employees FAQ Guide to Pension

    When it comes to financial wellbeing, information is key. By providing your employees with reliable, helpful information you’re empowering them to make informed decisions to benefit their future. This free guide answers some of the most commonly asked pension questions such as What makes pensions more rewarding than other kinds of savings? Would I benefit from combining my pensions into one? What are my options for taking my money?

  5. Download your free guide to creating a wellbeing and engagement strategy to attract and retain staff

    If keeping great staff is on your radar, our retention strategy guide will help. The guide focuses on how you can add a range of employee benefits and wellbeing services in a cost-effective way, without necessarily adding additional costs to your business.

What next?

If you’re concerned about your employees’ financial wellbeing and the impact on your business growth, chat with our experts for advice. We know the combination of reduced costs, unburdening your management team, and prioritising the happiness and health of your employees is the key to business growth. And we can provide an all-in-one solution to help.

 

Book a free demo of our all-in-one solution for payroll, pension and employee engagement services or contact us

Understanding pensions
  • Amrik Birdi
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Help your employees understand pensions better [Your Free FAQ Guide]

Help your employees understand pensions better [Your Free FAQ Guide] 1920 1280 Amrik Birdi

Pensions Awareness Week officially takes place 11 September – 15 September 2023 and it’s the perfect time to stop and think, how much do your employees know (or care) about their pension?

It’s been ten years since the introduction of automatic enrolment which was intended to help people make provisions for their retirement. Since the rollout of auto-enrolment, the participation rate has reached 88% according to the figures from Department for Work and Pensions, with economic pressures from the pandemic having very little impact on the pension opt-out rates.

As the UK now faces a cost-of-living crisis and the possibility of an economic recession, employee financial wellbeing becomes an even more important topic of conversation. Employees will be keen to know how to make their money stretch further, not just under the current economic climate, but also in the long run to fulfil their future objectives, for example, retirement plans.

When it comes to financial wellbeing, information is key. By providing your employees with reliable, helpful information you’re empowering them to make informed decisions to benefit their future.

Download your free Employee FAQ Guide to Pensions

As part of Pensions Awareness Week, we’ve put together a guide which helps answer some of the most commonly asked pension questions such as What makes pensions more rewarding than other kinds of savings? Would I benefit from combining my pensions into one? What are my options for taking my money?

Download the Employee’s FAQ Guide to Pensions here

Do you need help with your pension engagement from pension specialists?

To find out more about how the team of pension specialists at Growth Partners can help you with your pension member engagement, please get in touch with us today or read more on our pension services page.

National Payroll Week
  • Growth Partners
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National Payroll Week – 3 things business owners should do

National Payroll Week – 3 things business owners should do 1200 628 Growth Partners

National Payroll Week takes place 4 – 8 September this year. It’s a time when payroll professionals are celebrated and we talk about the importance of payroll – processing payroll, managing payroll and understanding payroll, and everything that’s involved in keeping the UK paid.

Whether you process payroll in-house or outsource to a payroll provider, there’s never a better time to do these three key things.

1. Double-check your payslips are sent securely

Around 60% of organisations now provide payslips via an online self-service facility compared to just 12% back in 2008. However you deliver payslips to your employees, it is essential to ensure they’re secure. This means, if you’re still emailing payslips to your employees, it may be a good time to look at your options.

Although according to GDPR emailing documents to employees is not banned, as an employer you do have a responsibility to minimise the opportunities for personal data to be seen by the wrong people. Email was never meant to be secure and if your company emails are subject to a data breach you will be held responsible. Similarly, if the email is intercepted you cannot guarantee confidentiality which is against GDPR guidelines. Of course, email can be encrypted, and password protected but it is worth considering how user-friendly this is, whether employees have access to their emails on personal devices when they may need their pay documents and how this fits with your image and values as a company. Read more about digital payslips on the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals website.

 

2. Encourage your employees to check their payslips

Do your employees understand their payslips and know who to contact if they have a question? In a recent survey, only 62% of people admitted to understanding everything on their payslip. It is a legal requirement to provide all employees with a payslip, and it must contain at least these five things:

  1. Gross pay
  2. Net pay
  3. Any variable deductions
  4. Any fixed deductions
  5. A breakdown of how wages will be paid if more than one method is used

Ask your employees to grab a coffee and check their payslip. Let them know who they can contact in payroll for a chat about their payslip and anything they don’t understand. If your payroll provider doesn’t offer this service you can use the Understanding Your Payslip resources from The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.

 

3. Do some calculations – check your contract with your current payroll provider, or the costs of processing payroll in-house

Processing payroll is a legal requirement but is also an administrative burden, which is probably why 61% of businesses in the UK choose to outsource their payroll. Outsourcing your payroll can be a sensible decision but it shouldn’t cost the earth. Use this week to take time to shop around or at least renegotiate to check you’re getting the best deal. Consider what other services you could get from your payroll provider. Imagine the benefits of paying one fee for multiple services as opposed to juggling multiple suppliers and invoices.

The responsibility associated with payroll processing makes it a sound business decision to hand it over to an expert but as a business owner you should be very careful who you hand it to.  Here are 6 things to consider when researching outsourced payroll providers

Take the time during National Payroll Week to step back and look at your payroll within your organisation to make sure you’re providing the best service for your employees and getting the best deal from your payroll provider.

 

Payroll business solutions

Payroll compliance can be a burden when you’re trying to grow a business. By using payroll specialists to process your payroll and also take on the HMRC and Pensions Regulator compliance, you have more time to focus on business growth.

You can read more about our payroll services here. And if you’re interested in outsourcing your payroll to experts with electronic payslips, you can use our payroll cost-saving calculator to see how much you can save, or even earn by outsourcing your payroll to Growth Partners or book a demo here.

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