If your company is expanding globally, you likely know first-hand the challenges that rapid expansion can bring to your HR and payroll operations. Done right, outsourcing payroll operations can be a huge boon. However, even large companies are not immune to the internal expertise and capacity constraints associated with bringing on a third-party global payroll solution. In this blog, we’ll walk you through some unexpected challenges companies face as they seek to consolidate and streamline their payroll operations with a single provider.
A third-party global payroll solution is not enough.
Last year, a US-based company with a huge global footprint was in the midst of implementing a third-party global payroll solution. Unfortunately, this global payroll solution was rapidly going off track with the vendor. The reason? Despite its size, the company lacked the internal HR and Payroll expertise and capacity to understand how to efficiently implement the global payroll solution. In short, they didn’t know what they didn’t know.
When it comes to global payroll implementation, we see this situation endlessly repeating itself. Because every country has different laws and regulations, the work of project managing a global payroll vendor is daunting and difficult to get right. The expertise and capacity required to proactively plan for and respond to the myriad demands of payroll implementation is difficult without deep knowledge that cuts across several disciplines.
For example, a global government and commercial services company with several offices in Central America needed to rapidly onboard 35 employees in one month. They quickly learned that simply implementing a global payroll solution wasn’t enough. They also needed accounting expertise, tax and entity management support, and even legal representation—essentially full back-office support.
Implementing payroll will take longer than you think.
If you have employees in other countries, you likely already know how complex the process of setting up payroll can be. Many of our clients, however, are surprised at how long it can take, depending on the country in which the employee resides.
In fact, one recent client was shocked to learn that they were facing 1 to 2 years to set up payroll for employees in Japan and China. Fortunately, a trusted global expansion expert can quickly side-step those global payroll implementation challenges and deploy quick interim solutions, from Employer of Record (EoR) to entity setup and payroll support. This particular client engaged HSP Group as their interim payroll provider. The result? They were up and running in only two weeks.
The key to your third-party payroll solution? Flawless implementation.
Purchasing a global payroll solution is not even half the battle. The devil, as they say, is in the details—implementation. In other words, have a solid project plan for implementing your global payroll solution.
Understanding the complexities of the global landscape is critical to proactively protecting yourself against these challenges. A key part of that understanding is finding a trusted expert who knows what you don’t know—the complexities of global expansion. As you review global payroll solutions, consider having an expert at your side who can help you evaluate options and ask (and plan for) the right questions so that you’re not caught flat-footed when it’s time for the implementation phase.
Embarking on a Global Payroll Implementation journey?
Our comprehensive Global Payroll Project Consulting solution ensures a smooth outsourcing transition, no matter the stage of your payroll transition program.
HSP Group simplifies global payroll implementation complexities with an expert team of multilingual professionals experienced in working with the world’s leading Global Payroll vendors. Catering to businesses of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, HSP offers customized project management and consulting services, ensuring hands-on, seamless implementation and operation of international payroll projects.
Acting as an extension of your internal team, HSP guarantees a successful start with your global payroll vendor, providing comprehensive support and expertise at every phase to relieve internal pressures.
If you’d like to learn more about real-world solutions for HR global expansion strategies, please read our latest case study on how a leading global technology and service supplier successfully navigated their own global payroll challenges.
