Author: Pilvi Tontti, Project Manager, Silta Oy
In many organizations, the payroll process runs exactly as it always has. Not because it’s optimal—but because no one has stopped to look at it from the outside.
Herein lies one of the most common and costly pitfalls: routines that waste time, increase the risk of errors, and keep the organization stuck in old ways—but because “that’s just how it’s always been,” people don’t see them as areas for improvement.
If four people handle payroll at a company with 100 employees, it’s worth investigating why. Or if a single key employee is solely responsible for the entire process and is nearing retirement age, a risk already exists. It just may not be apparent yet.
A review is a comprehensive assessment of how your compensation process actually works—from the beginning to the end of an employment relationship. It is not an audit or an evaluation, but rather a structured interview and analysis that results in a concrete picture of the current state of affairs and prioritized recommendations for improvement.
The assessment covers, among other things:
What systems you use—and how they communicate with each other (or do not communicate)
How information flows: from supervisors to payroll and on to accounting
What is done manually, even though it could be automated
What data is stored and where
Where do GDPR-related risks lurk—sometimes literally on an open desk
Interviews typically last about three days, depending on the size of the organization, after which a report is prepared detailing the findings and recommendations for improvement. The assessment is conducted by an expert who is familiar with the systems and practices in the field—and can explain what you could achieve with the tools you currently use.
Surprisingly often, an assessment reveals issues that staff have already suspected—but haven’t had the time or resources to address. Typical findings include:
Manual work that could be automated. Bonuses are entered manually four times a year, even though it could be done with the click of two buttons. There is no integration between systems, so the same data is stored in two places.
Disruptions in the flow of information. Managers send questions directly to the payroll clerk throughout the day—repeatedly interrupting their work. Guidelines exist but are either hidden or outdated.
Vulnerabilities that have not been identified as risks. The entire process relies on a single person’s expertise. Personal data stored on paper in inappropriate locations. Systems that have long since outlived their usefulness.
An assessment isn’t a sales pitch where a solution is forced down your throat. It’s an unbiased analysis in which findings are prioritized: critical issues first, fine-tuning later. If the assessment reveals areas where we can help, we’ll tell you directly—but that’s neither a requirement nor an assumption.
For many organizations, the assessment report alone is valuable: for the first time, there is a written, structured overview of how the compensation process works and the direction in which it should move.
“Aha!” moments about their own practices often occur as early as the interview stage. People realize: “Wait a minute, why are we doing this this way?” And sometimes, while reviewing the report, the client mentions that they’ve already changed something—because it seemed obvious as soon as it was said out loud.
Here are a few signs that the time is right:
The process relies heavily on specific individuals, or key personnel are about to retire
Salaries have to be adjusted repeatedly after the fact
The systems are outdated or do not “communicate” with each other
The time spent on payroll seems excessive relative to the number of employees
You’re considering outsourcing, but you don’t know where to start
----
Want to learn more about payroll process assessments? Contact us!