The implementation of a global payroll solution is not an experiment, rather a concise program which will ensure all stakeholders are aware of key deliverables on the path to a successfully executed project.
A project of this importance, magnitude, and complexity can, at first, seem daunting. But, with the right partner, implementing a new payroll solution can be a seamless process. Knowing what to expect during the process can alleviate fear of the unknown. This week, we breakdown key milestones of a global payroll implementation.
The Project Charter
This is a program document that covers the beginning of the implementation all the way through the final go-live.
Your solutions partner should provide you with this step-by-step guide of how the implementation will be completed, time estimates, deadlines, and what will be required from your team to reach each of the milestones.
The Project Team
In addition to an implementation team, it’s important to have the involvement of a project management team who provides the documentation and support you need to complete the implementation. A project manager should be responsible for providing a detailed, country-by-country project plan as well as its risk register and status updates. This person should be involved from beginning to end to provide consistency as you move from one phase to the next.
Your partner should provide a dedicated implementation consultant to be your day-to-day contact and your expert.
Your partner will require an in-house payroll specialist who can dedicate their time to complete templates, be on weekly status calls, and to sign off on key milestones. As a best practice, you want gain internal sign-off on key milestones before moving to new project phases. This ensures that your solutions partner is meeting deliverables the entire way through the program.
Methodology
Many vendors will try to shortcut this process, but a best practice is to make sure that, as part of the standard implementation, you receive two parallel payrolls. The new provider should reconcile your incumbent’s results against their own results – person by person and element by element – to ensure every figure that has been run through that payroll is running under the same methodology.
Milestones
You should expect to be asked to thoroughly review the project plan and agree to each individual milestone.
As a best practice, you should be provided with a summary of any differences discovered upon completion of each parallel, followed by a formal review meeting to enable each sign-off of the parallel. The summary should include your incumbent’s gross to net, the new vendor’s gross to net, a summary of differences and a detailed view of why these differences took place so that you will have one document to review and sign off. This is an important differentiator to look for in a new solutions provider: one that can and will provide that reconciliation for you.
You should expect weekly calls, providing an issue or risk management document, allowing you to see anything that might hinder moving forward on the project. This should be documented in a manner that provides you direct access.
In addition to the items mentioned above, the most important factors to look for to ensure a successful implementation process are:
- A strong partnership approach based on openness, clear communication, mutual respect, and support
- Defined and agreed Scope of Work
- Training component
- Clear and mutually agreed project plan for each individual country
- Agreed roll-out program
- Good risk management and mitigation planning
- Appropriate resource allocation and focus from both parties
If you are looking for a new solutions partner for your global payroll, check out iiPay and you will find a provider who doesn’t just replicate practices and processes, but strives for best practices with each client. Taking all the above factors into account and collaborating with our clients ensures an innovative and complete approach to implementation.