Top Payroll Challenges In The Retail Industry In Asia

HR administration and payroll should be key areas of focus for all retail industry participants, as there are challenges that can have a significant impact on their business.

Payroll and HR administration can be particularly problematic for retail industry companies in Asia, which is why many of them seek to source a professional services provider that specialises in these areas. However, it's not always easy to find the right partner, or to execute a project where the third-party can integrate their services successfully with your internal HR processes. These challenges resonate across the whole retail sector.

Retail industry HR and payroll - the challenges

The retail industry faces very high levels of staff turnover. This high turnover rate strains the HR team's ability to maintain sufficient recruitment and training programmes, and leaves little time to address underlying issues or progress career development strategies.

A significant percentage of retail staff have flexible working hours and seasonal peaks in demand require temporary staffing. These issues make the collection of accurate attendance data more difficult and puts further pressure on regular employees and training programmes.

Adding to the challenges, staff commission structures are often overly detailed and subject to change. This results in further complexity for payroll data collection and calculation.

Simply managing payroll processes can consume an inordinate amount of HR department time, leaving little left for recruitment, onboarding and staff training. In a growth sector, these issues continue to multiply. Businesses are faced with either hiring and growing a team of HR professionals to cope with the peaks encountered, or seeking an effective and reliable professional services partner.

The pros and cons of a using third party provider

Using a third-party provider for payroll can provide significant support to retail businesses, bringing local expertise, scale and accountability. There are many benefits to be gained from a successful partnership.

Payroll and HR is the provider's core business, so they have the expertise to maintain compliance with local regulations. The provider fully supports the retail business through seasonal peaks, allowing its HR team to maintain focus on employee career development and training to enhance their skills and knowledge. The provider is on the ground locally, thus avoiding the many issues that can arise when payroll is managed...