Organization, Skillsets Key to Payroll Transformations

Payroll transformations require diligence and structure throughout the process in order to be successful, a consultant said July 10.

The process starts with discovery according to Lara Smart, founder of the LSC Group. “We have to understand what we’ve got so that we know where we’re going,” she said, adding that it is “incredibly important in any transformation journey.”

A lack of discovery is one of Smart’s 10 “lessons learned” about the transformation process, citing projects in which businesses believe they understand what they need, sign vendors, and end up overspending or failing during implementation.

A business’s other change projects and the lessons learned from them should also contribute to discovery, Smart said.

At the top of Smart’s list of 10 lessons was creating accountability for leadership and defining roles and responsibilities. “Who is responsible? Who is accountable? Who are you consulting? Who are you informing?” she asked, adding that “it’s extremely important that you don’t just have a flat hierarchy.”

Overloading the business’s resources with projects or having too many projects going on at once can “go downhill quite quickly,” Smart said.

Smart spoke at PayrollOrg’s 2024 Virtual Congress.

Change management is also “something that is still neglected today,” Smart said, stressing its importance not only to other employees but also the payroll department. “If your payroll teams are going through change, they also need support,” she said.

“We are expected to deal with change in all areas of our lives, and work is no different,” Smart said.

Strategy , Planning, Implementation

Smart contrasted strategy and planning. “Strategy is our direction, planning is our control. Do not confuse the two of them,” she said. “Strategy needs to be made up of where you want to go” and encompasses opportunities, issues, priorities, and connection to business values, she said.

“Make sure that your strategy leads to decisions on the big opportunities and issues,” Smart said, adding that is more likely to lead to buy-in from others.

On the other hand, planning takes into account available resources and constraints, timetables, metrics, and other stakeholders, including executives, Smart said.

“You’re going to get to know your stakeholders if you don’t know them already,” Smart said. She advised making sure that “you’re aware of whose those key stakeholders are, what they need from you, and what you need from them.”

Business cases for a project should include executive summaries and specifically call out “problem areas,” include “key data, key facts, key information,” and provide several options with risks, benefits, costs, and timeframes for each with a “defined” recommendation, Smart said.

“What you don’t want to do” is to have to go back to a vendor involved in the project after the business case is submitted, Smart said.

Smart emphasized that a “blended skillset” is needed for implementation. “Who has the knowledge within the business to be able to support this implementation?” she asked. “Who has the project skillset or the technical skillset?”

She also mentioned change managers, solutions architects, and business analysts as other roles included in implementation.

“Remember that when you’re going through implementation, it is not smooth sailing,” Smart said.