New payroll tech transforms human errors in payroll practice
This article was created in partnership with Rippling.
In today’s fast-evolving HR sector, the link between payroll systems and benefits administration is becoming a crucial driver of employee satisfaction. Speaking to HRD, Alex Goncalves, Managing Director at Rippling Canada, said that an integrated approach that streamlines operations can actually be used to build lasting trust with employees - something that can’t go amiss in the current tight talent market.
“When payroll tools are linked to benefits and like the overall HR ecosystem within a business, you give employees that single point of truth, right, the single place to manage everything related to payroll,” Goncalves explained. “Integrating payroll and benefits reduces a lot of confusion and complexity and frustration for employees.”
What’s more, Goncalves points out that benefits complexity often leads to dissatisfaction, especially when employees struggle to understand their options.
Fewer human errors, fewer handoffs
“If you make that really easy for them and have the co-pay, if there is one, directly deducted from their pay that really helps,” he told HRD. “If an employee can see how their benefits choices affect their pay, how much is being deducted for health insurance or RSP contributions, it builds a lot of trust in the payroll process, and by virtue of that, in the company itself.”
And, beyond clarity and simplicity, integration significantly reduces human error.
“Fewer manual handoffs between departments, fewer errors in deductions, benefits eligibility, payments, which can otherwise be a major source of dissatisfaction for a lot of employees,” Goncalves said. “Many integrated platforms offer employee financial wellness tools like RSP matching calculators or benefits cost estimators or payroll-based savings programs. That shows that the employer really cares holistically about the well-being of their workforce.”
Rippling invests heavily in seamless digital experiences, with Goncalves outlining four major ways technology transforms benefits enrolment and payroll management. Firstly, digital platforms and self-service portals have eliminated much of the paperwork and inefficiency that historically plagued HR processes.
“Employee self-service portals typically allow employees to enrol in benefits online, view their options, compare plans, make selections without all the manual paperwork of the past, which is really great,” he told HRD.
Second, tight integration between systems automatically manages deductions based on employee choices. “They usually automatically calculate payroll deductions based on the employee-selected benefits - whether it’s health insurance, dental, or RSP contributions. This ensures real-time updates when employees are making changes.”
Third, Goncalves stresses the compliance advantages. “Canadian employers must adhere to CRA rules, as much as they want to or not want to. Automated systems help ensure benefits and deductions that are taxed properly and T4 slips reflect accurate benefit information, which is really, really important.”
Save time, money and effort
Finally, mobile access is a game-changer for today’s hybrid and remote workforces. “There’s a lot of platforms out there, Rippling included, that are mobile friendly, allowing employees to manage benefits, view payroll details kind of on the go. I very rarely log in on a desktop.”
Because, at the end of the day, integrated HR systems not only simplify employee experiences, they also drive significant cost savings for employers.
“Consolidating systems saves both time and money across the org, instead of managing multiple tools and sign-ins and contracts,” Goncalves noted. “The real cost, or total cost of ownership, of disparate systems is around the maintenance and the ongoing charges - and a lot of times, professional services are required to make changes in multiple systems, and that can get quite costly.”
With Rippling, however, customers typically save a remarkable amount of time, money and stress. Investing in the right payroll tech for you isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ for employees, it’s fast becoming an absolute necessity.
“We see upwards of 30 hours per week of manual admin work saved in these areas. So much so that a recent Forrester study found that employers using Rippling specifically see 137% ROI and roughly $431,000 in cost savings through consolidation of HR, payroll, and expense management systems for employees.”
It’s a win win - save money, time and stress by implementing an integrated payroll platform like Rippling today.
