Advances in automation and artificial intelligence have positively impacted the world of payroll services. Automation can often provide robust services, save time and energy, and allow you to deploy your limited human talent toward more productive areas.
However, improvements in automated services do not mean that your business can afford to lose the human touch. Your payroll services business can only meet its needs by balancing real people with automation.
Let’s examine how automation and human knowledge can positively impact your business.
Automated Workflows
Automated workflows are one of the longest-standing areas in payroll services. When used properly, these systems can help you calculate taxes, manage vacation days, ensure that employees appropriately track their benefits and more.
AI is now advancing significantly. You may be able to enhance these automated workflows by using additional analytics. This data can sometimes help you identify cost management techniques and fraud. The right types of systems can make other important profit-enhancing recommendations.
However, AI isn’t perfect. AI and automation can help you find the necessary data. However, they still require human analytics and review to ensure you get the most out of the recommendations.
Personalized Communication
There is no question that AI can now generate text and content based on a few prompts. As the advances of programs like ChatGPT have shown, content generation is the new frontier of AI and automation.
Unfortunately, this content is rarely exactly what you need. Yes, a payroll service may use automation to communicate vital information to employees. You likely aren’t comfortable with that communication sounding robotic or stilted. As such, you’re going to have real challenges when it comes to AI-based communication.
By having a human review of any communication, you can ensure that your emails to staff or employees sound authentic. This is still necessary since most employees are uncomfortable speaking only to a computer program. As such, real people are still necessary to talk to your employees.
Employee Feedback Mechanisms
Any good payroll service platform can allow employees to provide feedback, communicate issues, or adjust their take-home pay (such as by adjusting their tax withholdings). In many cases, you can automate these systems.
The problem is when users need to make adjustments that require additional oversight or analysis. For example, employees may want to reduce the amount they put in their 401k, a function typically managed via payroll services. However, this may indicate a broader financial issue: Why does the employee want to adjust their take-home pay in this manner? Is the employee having financial issues? Can the company somehow assist with those issues or provide financial counseling?
This is where the human touch is key. If an employee is experiencing financial hardship, automated responses may not work. A real person may want to connect with the employee and offer invaluable assistance.
Training & Support
You can automate many payroll services to help staff understand how to use certain functions. In most cases, employees will not need to spend extensive amounts of time managing these systems. When the need arises, automated training or support can help.
However, we’ve all experienced the nightmare of needing a question answered, only to get lost in a doom loop through an automated system. Chatbots and automated phone systems can provide assistance, but they can’t answer every question. Your payroll service function must provide employees with easy access to live humans. Trained staff must be able to quickly and efficiently answer questions.
Cultural Sensitivity
More non-English speakers and immigrants are entering the workforce than ever. This means that you will require payroll services that excel in cultural sensitivity. Again, automated service can be a blessing. They can often provide translation services or help employees send money to out-of-country families.
However, these services aren’t enough. For example, sending wires out of the United States may be expensive. It may be worth seeking the guidance of an experienced worker who can help an employee navigate this pathway or determine when they are wasting money on fees. Furthermore, appropriately trained or experienced staff may be able to understand specific cultural nuances. Armed with this knowledge, staff can give employees the best answers possible.
What You Need To Know
In any line of work, human capital management and automation do not need to work opposite of each other. Human intelligence can enhance the already existing benefits of automation to create richer, more effective payroll services.
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