Struggling To Keep Control Over Your Payroll Vendors? You're Not Alone

Vendor management is an issue that is soaring up the payroll agenda. It's now the second-most pressing challenge for payroll professionals worldwide.

More than a third of those interviewed in our latest research with the Global Payroll Association (GPA) believe that vendor management is one of the most significant challenges they face – and it appears to be becoming more of a challenge for organisations as they continue international expansion.

"One of the key benefits that companies expect their vendors to provide is local knowledge and local language," says TMF Group HR and Payroll Portfolio Director Darren Beal. "But all too often, their external HR and payroll supplier operates out of a global service centre. Yes, they might offer one contact person as an account manager, but that person doesn't necessarily have on-the-ground local payroll expertise and local language ability in all countries. These people regularly interact with third party suppliers to answer queries, but if the message changes through misunderstanding, the true answer is often misunderstood, causing frustration for the customer.

"There is only a small sector of companies that offer direct local expertise, one of those being ourselves."

Inaccessible contacts

One of the most common problems identified was account managers not being as accessible as they should be. It can be time-consuming trying to get hold of the right person to answer a query or resolve an issue and having to repeatedly phone or face unanswered emails.

Sometimes, there are many layers of personnel or administration to navigate before a satisfactory response to a payroll query is achieved.

Another pain point is the difficulty faced when a client identifies a problem. Escalation procedures in the vendor company can be slow and inefficient, and the issue may become a crisis before help can be engaged. "This is where direct access to the country Subject Matter Experts and Management is a massive bonus," adds Darren.

Coordination issues

For clients operating in multiple countries, the challenges of vendor management can be risky and arduous. Sourcing a local vendor for each country makes sharing knowledge and coordinating tasks across geographies complex and time-consuming. Different suppliers will deliver different levels of service and output, with no common key performance indicators. This causes problems from a central reporting perspective, and means there is no single view of global payroll...

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