The untapped potential of advanced technology

There’s a significant gap between perception and reality when it comes to payroll’s role.

Workday´s SAGP revealed that while 92% of respondents believe payroll plays a strategic role in their organisation, 89% also think their current payroll solution isn’t fully uncovering the insights needed for meaningful decision-making.

This gap underscores a major issue – what’s believed to be happening vs. what’s actually being delivered. As a result, companies may fail to recognise and address key challenges, or miss out on the benefits offered by leading-edge technology.

A mistrust of workforce data also adds complications. In CPCR, 13% of payroll professionals and key payroll stakeholders cited inconsistent data quality as one of their major pain points.

I am not confident that our workforce costs and metrics are always accurate.

52%

^Source:^{Workday’s Strategic Ascent of Global Payroll (SAGP)}

^{Showing a combination of respondents that ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Somewhat agree’ with the above statement [1300]}

It’s little surprise that 52% of Workday’s SAGP respondents lacked confidence in their own data. And with 88% also seeking greater transparency, poor data quality is a big barrier to embracing the strategic potential payroll can afford.

Payroll’s inherent value lies in its ability to provide data-driven insights for workforce planning (37%), pay equity (36%), and operational efficiency (36%). But exploiting this potential requires seamless integration across HR, Finance, and operations – something many companies are still finding difficult to execute.

Additionally, while payroll practitioners appreciate payroll’s wider business potential, there’s often a communication disconnect with senior leadership, limiting its impact as a critical driver for the business.

To fully realise the possibilities, companies need to plug the gap between perception and reality. This involves a comprehensive assessment of current payroll systems to identify where they fall short and how to improve them.

What do you consider as the most strategic use of payroll data (besides from paying employees)?

^Source:^{Workday’s Strategic Ascent of Global Payroll (SAGP)}