Global Payroll & HR of the Future: Survey Results

Is your organization set up and prepared for the future of global payroll and HR?

Globalization leads to an acceleration of movement within an organization, including workforce, goods and services. Many businesses incorporate globalization as part of their overarching strategy to reap benefits including expanding customer bases and diversifying employees.

Alongside globalization, employers must consider how their HR and payroll set-up will need to adapt in order to accommodate these changes. With tumultuous economies and sky-rocketing inflation, many businesses choose global expansion as a means to stay ahead and thrive against the competition.

In our study, we’ve determined how business leaders feel about pressing economic changes and any concerns they have regarding GDP growth. We’ve also captured the readiness of organizations looking for international expansion.

What is the survey about?

This survey was carried out in June 2021 to understand what business leader’s thoughts, feelings and plans were for their payroll and HR. Specifically, how they were adapting to this new normal and global economy.

About the respondents

Respondents came from among members of the extensive GPA community. The respondents’ organizations were 44% based in the US and 40% in Europe and the UK. Two-thirds of respondents represented organizations of over 1,000 global employees while 60% worked for organizations in either Services or Technology industries. 53% operate in over 10 international markets.

What were some of the findings?

Impact from COVID-19

GDP figures pre-pandemic were already startling, dropping to 2.9% in 2019 and remaining stuck at 3% over the next two years. Almost a quarter of companies expressed that the COVID-19 pandemic had also significantly stilted their business’s growth, causing concerns amongst their workforces. Only a small percentage of business leaders believed it had no effect on them.

Challenges for global payroll

Of all the challenges expressed by business leaders, almost 80% of businesses felt that local legislation and compliance was a major hurdle to overcome. It’s clear that the complex nature of local and international legislation is something that organizations see as of great importance, but the main obstacle in their way to success.

Onboarding remains a concern for HR professionals

Many HR teams already know that a good onboarding strategy is likely to aid the retention rates of new hires. However, it’s clear that over a third of respondents still felt there was more work to be done in aligning their HR and payroll processes to achieve greatness. What’s more, at least 18% feel there is no connection or alignment between the processes, which could hinder retention rates.

Read the report

Find out more about where and why leaders are planning to expand over the next year and what some of their biggest expansion challenges are.