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60+ Payroll Statistics and Trends for 2024

For those looking to stay compliant, retain talent, and improve their payroll processes.

Anh Nguyen
No ads, just real software reviews. An independent writer and a bad BUT wholeheartedly enthusiastic dancer
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From attracting and retaining talent to complying with ever-changing employment laws, payroll plays a vital part in businesses of any size, industry, or geography. Choosing the best payroll software for your needs is the first step. The second is making sure your payroll processes prioritize employee experience, are in line with regulations, and are built for long-term efficiency. Keeping up with the latest payroll statistics, developments, and trends is needed for HR and payroll leaders to achieve that goal.

Key Payroll Statistics

  • More than 9 in 10 business leaders worldwide (94%) agree that they would like to see their payroll software integrated across all their HR systems.
  • Friday is the most common payday, followed by Thursday.
  • 95.15% of Americans are paid through direct deposit.
  • Many organizations (51%) still use spreadsheets and manual processes (19%) to process payroll.
  • Only half of organizations said they use cloud-based technology to process payroll, and 85% said they have problems with their payroll technologies.
  • 58% of employers don’t use any tools to help employees understand their payslip. Instead, these businesses opt to handle individual queries as they arise.
  • Only half of companies are measuring their payroll performance.
  • Just 4% of employers are using AI to automate repetitive payroll processing activities, and less than 10% plan to do so.
  • 73% of workers who are concerned about their financial situation would be drawn to an employer who prioritizes their financial wellness.
  • 55% of workers today value pay as what they value most in a job. 49.14% of employees would find it very difficult if their pay was delayed by one week.

Payroll Industry Statistics

Biweekly is the most common payroll frequency in the U.S.

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in February 2023, 43.0% of U.S. private establishments paid their employees biweekly, making it the most common pay period. Weekly pay followed at 27.0%. Semimonthly payments were made by 19.8% of establishments, and monthly payments by 10.3%.

Biweekly pay periods tend to be more common in larger establishments.

From the above cited BLS data, smaller establishments (1-9 employees) are more likely to use biweekly pay periods (39%), while larger establishments (1,000+ employees) are less likely to do so (66.6%). In contrast, weekly pay periods are most common in establishments with 10-19 employees (34%) and least common in establishments with 1-9 employees.

65.4% of construction establishments use weekly pay periods.

The construction industry has the highest uniformity in pay periods, with 65.4% of businesses using a weekly pay period, BLS reported. In private education and health services, 63.6% of establishments use a biweekly pay period. The Information industry primarily uses a semimonthly basis (37.5%), while Financial services mainly pay workers monthly.

Latest payroll frequency stats

U.S. average hourly earnings were $11.15 in May 2024.

In June 2024, real average hourly earnings for all employees experienced a 0.4% increase from May's figures, seasonally adjusted, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

41% of employers report unfilled positions in the last six months due to higher salary demands from candidates.

A recent annual survey by ZipRecruiter indicated that employers are experiencing pressure from candidates to increase salaries, with 41% stating that positions have remained unfilled in the past six months due to candidates demanding higher compensation than the company is willing to provide.

Despite the pressure, 48% of employers have implemented downward pay adjustments for specific roles in the past year, aiming to modify employee wage expectations following a period of rapid nominal wage growth over the last two years.

More U.S. jurisdictions and states are considering or have enacted pay transparency laws.

As of this writing, states with salary history bans for private employers include Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Transparency laws have also been released in Maryland, Connecticut, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington, California, Colorado, Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois (effective Jan. 1, 2025), New York, and Washington.

States with enacted pay transparency laws
States with enacted pay transparency laws

Job postings with disclosed pay have more than doubled since 2020.

From February 2020 to February 2023, the number of job postings in the U.S. that included salary information from the employer more than doubled. It went from 18.4% to 43.7%, according to Indeed.

Pay transparency has risen significantly in recent years

Data from the ZipRecruiter report cited earlier echoes this trend, stating the share of job postings with salary information increased from approximately 20-30% before the implementation of pay transparency laws to around 50-60% afterward. Additionally, more than 7 in 10 (72%) employers surveyed stated that they include salary information in all job postings, while only 10% indicated they do not. However, roughly 18% of employers disclosed pay only in states where legally mandated to do so.

The southern U.S. has the lowest pay transparency.

In the West, where regulations are more prevalent, salary transparency in job postings tends to be higher, reported Indeed. Conversely, the South, which has the lowest salary visibility, accounted for 18 of the 20 metro areas with the least transparency.

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) more likely to disclose salary details than large enterprises.

Per ZipRecruiter, SMBs were more likely than major enterprises to say that they post pay (74% versus 64%).

Pay transparency is good for recruitment.

In the cited ZipRecruiter’s survey, 75% of respondents expressed their belief that pay transparency plays a vital role in attracting top-tier candidates during the recruitment process. Furthermore, 61% of the participants acknowledged that transparent salary information significantly enhances the efficiency of the hiring process. Data support these beliefs, as job postings that include salary information receive an average of 50% more applications and are three times more likely to attract qualified candidates.

Need help choosing payroll software? Tell us more about your needs and an HR Software Advisor will help you find the right vendor.

44% of employers fear publishing base pay rates may deter top talent from applying if competitors offer higher salaries.

Additionally, there is a fear that candidates who see the base pay rates published might not fully appreciate the total compensation, which includes benefits and perks beyond the base pay rates. This is particularly prevalent among companies that do not disclose pay upfront, with 71% of them only doing so during interviews when they can provide more context.

64% of employers report candidates often negotiate pay.

However, 44% of employers are concerned that publicly posting pay rates could limit their flexibility in salary discussions with individual candidates, which can potentially slow down the recruitment process. The same percentage believes that pay transparency can cause internal conflict among existing employees.

4 in 10 employers left positions unfilled in the last 6 months due to high salary requests from candidates.

This experience was consistently observed across major enterprises (44%) and smaller or medium-sized businesses (40%).

In 2023, 48% of companies cut pay to control expenses.

This has significantly impacted small and medium-sized businesses, with 50% reducing pay compared to 38% of large enterprises. Despite these pay cuts, many companies are also expanding their benefits and perks to attract and retain employees. In 2023, 39% added health insurance benefits, 28% added retirement benefits, and 26% added life insurance benefits.

Pay transparency adoption and impact

U.S. overall median pay raise fell in 2024 yet is expected to rise by 3.9% in 2025.

A July 2024 report by WTW reveals significant changes in U.S. organizations' salary budgets for the 2024 fiscal cycle. Nearly half (47%) of these organizations face reduced salary budgets compared to the previous year. This shift corresponds with a decrease in the median pay raise for 2024, dropping from 4.5% in 2023 to 4.1%.

Despite the reduced salary budgets, total annual payroll expenses, including salaries, bonuses, variable pay, and benefit costs, continue to rise substantially. Around 73% of companies report higher total payroll expenses than last year.

Understanding inflation's role in shaping salary budgets, companies are reviewing their compensation programs. Approximately half (49%) are hiring people at higher salaries, and 45% have undertaken compensation reviews for all employees.

Looking ahead, overall salary budget increases are projected to rise gradually by 3.9% in 2025, which signals a return to higher pay raises as economic conditions evolve.

60% of respondents report a cyber breach affecting payroll in the last 24 months.

Also according to ADP, a quarter (25%) reveal that they have had three or more. At a global level, data security was named as the top area for improvement for payroll over the next two to three years (38%).

Data security is a major concern and one of the primary factors influencing a payroll implementation decision. More than two-fifths (41%) of respondents name data security concerns as a barrier to implementing global payroll, which is unsurprising as, in most cases, more systems mean more complex security.

Over half of businesses are now putting the right foundations in place to mitigate payroll data breach impacts.

More than half of businesses (52%) now have a detailed plan in place to protect their payroll operations worldwide, up from 46% last year. Businesses are also paying more attention to data security in their payroll strategies. Almost all businesses (99%) now recognize the importance of data security. Of these businesses, 46% say that data security is now a critical priority, up from 43% the year before.

Payroll teams are growing, with eight out of 10 companies saying that they’re expanding their team across their business.

And 73% said their team is growing in one or two countries – both up on last year. But equally, 62% report that they’re reviewing how they do payroll with fewer people – up five percentage points on last year.

48% of companies experience payroll skills shortages.

There has been no letup in finding new talent since last year. Nearly half (48%) of respondents report having difficulty finding payroll skills from outside the business, while even more (57%) admit that their payroll service is or has been affected by a shortage of payroll employees, up from last year (53%). This is leading two-thirds (67%) of employers to train existing, non-payroll employees to work in payroll (up from 64%).

Payroll skills shortages are worsening

Payroll teams' composition is shifting to boost technical, analytical, and strategic skills

For some, this has meant upskilling existing employees and changing how they work (79%), while for others it has sparked the hiring of specialist expertise, outside of the traditional payroll competencies.

Across the board, specialist skills are on the rise in payroll organizations, with around two-thirds now having dedicated IT resources/skills (67%), data security resources (64%), and analytical/reporting skills (61%). Around half (55%) now have compliance experts on the team, and most of the remainder would like to have these types of expertise.

Small Business Payroll Statistics

The U.S. economy relies heavily on small businesses.

Comprising 99.7% of firms with paid employees, these businesses pay 39.4% of the total private sector payroll, which amounts to $2.9 trillion annually.

Bookkeeping, payroll processing, and time tracking are the top 3 tasks SMBs want to delegate.

Many small business owners are increasingly looking for professional help with their financial and administrative tasks. A recent survey by OnPay found that 36% of respondents want to avoid bookkeeping, and 31% want to delegate payroll to a third party.

Small businesses tend to have both full-time and hourly employees on their payroll.

According to the same OnPay data, 53% of surveyed companies hire W-2 workers, while 48% engage talent for short-term projects. That said, a sizable 41% of employers are comfortable with engaging 1099 contractors when the need arises.

Most small businesses lack workers’ compensation coverage.

To be precise, 45% of small companies OnPay surveyed shared that they don’t carry workers’ compensation coverage. 28% of those said they have plans to put a workers’ compensation policy in place.

Employee Payroll Statistics

Wage growth slowed for job-stayers in June 2024.

According to ADP, $58,600 is Median Annual Pay For Job Stayers in June 2024 — a 4.9% gain, the slowest pace of growth since August 2021. Pay gains for job changers also slowed to 7.7%.

Median year-over-year change in annual pay

Nearly 9 in 10 employees said their employers offer a self-service portal.

As Payroll.org reported in its 2023 "Getting Paid In America" survey, 87.31% of Americans say their employers provide them with a self-service portal for their payroll and benefits info access.

Almost three-fourths of employees think about finances at work, and over half have to borrow money for expenses.

Per Onbe’s 2024 Same Day Pay survey, a significant majority of employees, at 74%, reported being preoccupied with their financial situation during work hours. Furthermore, over half of the respondents disclosed that they had to resort to borrowing money to cover unexpected expenses or bills that couldn't wait until their payday.

3-in-5 Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. More have a family member or close friend in this situation.

Based on the Paycheck Impact Study by Morning Consult, most Americans (61%) live paycheck to paycheck. But an even higher percentage (75%) know someone close who does. Furthermore, 82% reveal that they would struggle to pay their bills if they were to lose more than $500 from their paycheck.

Per PwC, 57% of workers are stressed about their finances, and 86% of Genz workers are stressed about their finances.

Over 80% of Americans would struggle to pay bills if $500 were missing from their paycheck, and over half would struggle if $100 was missing.

If one paycheck was missing, 40% would experience at least two high-impact results, such as an inability to pay for groceries, missing bills/rent, or overdrawing accounts. 60% would experience at least one such major impact. And 86% would experience at least some negative impact, such as needing to spend more on credit cards, borrowing money, or drawing down on savings/investments, Morning Consult reported.

7 in 10 U.S. hourly workers would use same-day payment if offered.

Many hourly workers prefer to receive their pay on the same day they work. According to the cited Onbe survey, 70% of employees would opt for this option if their employer offered it. Employers are also keen on assisting their employees with this preference. As the data suggests, almost 9 in 10 (87%) acknowledge that their employees would value not having to wait for their regular weekly or biweekly payday, and a notable 73% say they actually plan to adopt this pay option anytime soon.

1 in 5 U.S. adults experienced a major financial impact due to a paycheck error in the past year.

80% of those who experienced a payroll issue in the past year had to take corrective action, including more than 20% who had to cut back on necessities, overdraw accounts, or miss bill payments, the Paycheck Impact Study indicates.

Among the poverty-vulnerable population, almost three-quarters (73%) would miss or be late paying their bills and utilities, 62% would be unable to purchase groceries, and half (51%) would miss or be late making a rent or mortgage payment.

7 in 10 employees who experience payroll mistakes feel less satisfied with their job.

34% of employees find missing a paycheck very impactful on their job satisfaction, and 36% find it somewhat impactful.

The impact of checking/fixing pay before payday

Payroll Outsourcing Statistics

The more countries an employer operates in, the more likely they are to outsource payroll

According to Alight’s 2024 Global Payroll Complexity Report, while over half of companies (55%) operating in one country keep their payroll in-house, companies tend to outsource their payroll as they expand their operations to other countries. The percentage of in-house payroll is down to 31% for companies with 2-5 operations and 19% for those with 6-10.

Payroll outsourcing statistics

7 in 10 companies worldwide consider payroll outsourcing to solve talent challenges.

Many payroll leaders are considering outsourcing some or all of their payroll processes to free up their teams to focus on more strategic areas and invest in their career development. According to the cited ADP report, 70% of payroll leaders are considering outsourcing some of their payroll processes to support teams across all locations, while 69% are considering outsourcing all or most of their payroll processes worldwide.

Two-thirds of companies are reluctant to outsource payroll because they're pretty pleased with their current situation.

Of those who haven’t outsourced their payroll, 2 in 3 said they were happy with existing solutions, 12% said it would be too much work, and 1 in 10 said they couldn’t build a business case.

Global Payroll Statistics

Unlike the U.S., monthly pay is the most common pay run in the U.K.

Even though the result is 2.39% lower than last year, monthly is still by far the preferred pay frequency in the U.K. Per The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), 97% monthly pay remains the most common pay frequency with 96.60% operating a monthly payroll.

UK payroll frequency stats

Cost efficiencies, digitalization, and improved employee experience are employers’ top drivers for payroll transformation.

Data from ADP's 2024 Global Payroll Report shows that finding cost efficiencies and digitalization are the top drivers for payroll transformation in the next two to three years, with 33% of companies focusing on each area. Improving operational or productivity efficiencies is also a priority for 30% of organizations.

Improved employee experience is a top priority for payroll leaders, with 30% citing it as a primary motivator for payroll transformation. Other key drivers include integrating payroll data with other business and HR systems (26%), implementing more reliable technology (26%), and adopting more dependable cloud-based technology (26%).

Almost 4 in every 10 leaders seek to improve their payroll data security.

When asked what aspects they plan to improve upon over the next 2-3 years, over one-third (38%) of respondents chose enhancing data security. This is followed by increasing system integration, as well as improving data quality and integrity, both chosen by 35% of the participants.

There is a growing emphasis on employee-centric initiatives within worldwide payroll operations.

As ADP reports, 31% of companies expressed a desire to introduce innovative methods of paying employees globally, and about the same portion wanted to promote pay transparency (31%) and ensure pay equality (30%).

While payroll accuracy has improved since the pandemic, a worrying number of errors are still happening.

At a global level, the overall mean accuracy of payroll processes is just 78%, up only slightly from 75% last year. With a third (32%) saying it takes two or more pay cycles to rectify mistakes, organizations need to address these issues or risk serious impacts on the overall experience of employees, their financial well-being, and, ultimately, talent retention.

Despite this progress, there are many areas to work on. One is the worrying amount of time it takes to correct payroll issues. Nearly one-third (32%) of organizations need at least two pay cycles to resolve underpayments, while 22% encounter mid-cycle issues that require supplementary runs and tax recalculation. While organizations aim to enhance employee pay accuracy in the future, the number planning to do so (28%) has declined compared to the previous year (35%).

Adding to this concern…

Many organizations lack a structured and technological framework for integrated reporting and analytics in payroll processes.

Less than half (44%) have complete visibility across all payrolls in different locations, while most lack essential capabilities like global insights dashboards (35%), advanced HR benchmarking, forecasting, and reporting (22%). A concerning 31% can only access limited, non-standardized data. Even more alarmingly, approximately one in ten (12%) are completely shut out from accessing any data for global reporting, effectively operating in the dark.

Over one-third (38%) of payroll leaders globally prioritize data security for improvement in the coming years.

This is followed by data quality (35%) and integration with critical business systems (35%). Yet these same issues are also holding back innovation, with data security concerns (41%) and complexities with integrating with existing HR software (41%) named as the top two barriers to implementing global payroll.

8 in 10 employers are expanding their payroll team across the business

However, nearly two-thirds (62%) of employers are examining strategies for operating with less personnel. Skills shortages have further complicated matters, as more than half (57%) of organizations have experienced disruptions in their payroll services due to a lack of qualified payroll professionals.

79% of employers worldwide are looking to upskill existing payroll staff

Employers are also facing a shifting skillset within the payroll team, with many now adding IT, security, analytics, and compliance experts to their payroll departments. According to ADP, 79% want to train existing payroll staff and change how they work. To enhance their teams across locations, 69% of employers consider outsourcing most of their payroll processes.

Financial wellness to be prioritized by 90% of companies in 2024

A tough economic environment means employee wages and timely access to earnings have become crucial factors in overall financial well-being. Recognizing this, 31% (up from 20% in 2022) plan to introduce new payment methods. These include incorporating mobile wallets and pre-payment cards (46%), enabling faster or earned wage access (40%), offering flexible options and empowering employees to select their preferred pay date (38%), implementing more frequent pay cycles (weekly or semi-monthly) (36%), and exploring cryptocurrency as a viable payment option (26%).

Data from Alight supports ADP’s findings above. Nine in 10 employers it surveyed say they plan to address employee financial well-being in 2024. 39% of employers say addressing broad financial well-being is the most important employee behavior. One-quarter of the respondents cite recognizing retirement readiness as the most important.

Global organizations do want to improve and innovate how and when employees access their pay

Queries related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are on the rise.

DEI policies seem front of mind for management, with almost half of companies experiencing increased questions regarding equal pay and pay transparency compared to last year (46% and 44%, respectively), reported ADP. Regrettably, only a quarter (27%) consider these a top business driver for transforming their payroll organization in the upcoming two to three years.

Compliance remains the biggest global payroll challenge.

According to the 2024 “Getting the World Paid” survey conducted by PayrollOrg (PAYO), when asked, “What are your biggest global payroll challenges?” 63% of respondents stated compliance is their biggest challenge. The second biggest challenge was managing multiple vendors, with 30% of respondents identifying it as one of their top three challenges. Third was designing the best operating model, at 27%.

Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. are the most challenging countries for employee compensation.

In the same PAYO survey, when asked which countries payroll professionals found the most challenging to pay employees in. The top three countries mentioned were the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Nearly 40% of European employees are unhappy with their salaries.

A study from CultureAmp found that many workers are considering quitting their jobs because of low pay. Almost 4 in every 10 European employees (38.3%) said that salary was the most important reason for them to leave. Another survey by Robert Half Canada found that 39% of job seekers are frustrated because companies aren't offering them compensation in line with their expectations. Even hiring managers (35%) have noticed that more job seekers are trying to negotiate their pay package. In fact, 35% of workers said they would look for a new job if they didn't get a raise.

Hybrid inhouse/outsourced is the dominant global payroll model

Flexibility in payroll systems is crucial in an ever-changing business landscape, where nearly 38% of organizations adopt a hybrid approach. At 24%, the second most popular global payroll service delivery model was outsourcing to an in-country provider. At 15%, the third most popular global payroll service delivery model was outsourcing globally to one vendor.

More employers are using one unified global payroll system

57% say their organizations use just one system for processing payroll, up from 44% in 2023. This aligns with the increasing trend of using a single software provider to manage data integrity.

Payroll Challenges Statistics

85% of organizations have problems with their payroll technologies

Dayforce reports this in its Future of Payroll Survey. The most common issue cited by 39% of the respondents was the lack of necessary payroll features in their software. Additionally, 37% of the respondents admitted to not fully utilizing their software's capabilities, while 34% expressed frustration with the excessive manual work required in their payroll processes.

85% of organizations have problems with their payroll technologies

Over two-thirds of organizations have issues with their payroll data.

Many companies struggle with payroll data issues, with 69% of respondents reporting at least one problem. One major challenge, affecting one-quarter of those surveyed, is the lack of adequate tools for data analysis. This is particularly problematic as extracting valuable insights from data, such as overall labor costs and absenteeism patterns, is crucial for a more strategic payroll function.

More than 4 in 10 companies don’t track global payroll performance.

Standardizing payroll and maintaining performance remain ongoing challenges for many organizations handling international HR and payrolls. In response to “How do you track your global payroll performance against objectives?” in the above-cited PAYO survey, 41% stated that they aren’t tracking global payroll performance.

Employers' attention to fair-pay initiatives is lacking.

Among those Dayforce surveyed, 61% of respondents indicated that comprehending and addressing pay equity issues is a priority, while only slightly more than half (56%) currently utilize pay benchmarking practices.

A mismatch between what employees want and what employers are planning to provide.

Nearly 4 in 10 (36%) of Dayforce respondents don't intend to support pay transparency initiatives, and 30% don't plan to use pay benchmarking. Furthermore, 71% indicated that their organizations have no intention of implementing on-demand pay. And yet, a separate survey reveals that on-demand pay is highly valued by employees, with 83% ranking it as important as retirement plans (401(k)) and 79% valuing it as much as life insurance.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) netted over $68 billion due to employers’ failure to pay.

In the 2023 Fiscal Year, the IRS collected over $104.1 billion from unpaid assessments associated with tax returns with additional tax liabilities. After considering credit transfers, the net amount collected was approximately $68.3 billion.

1 in 2 companies have been penalized for non-compliant payroll.

This is based on the findings of the 2024 Alight Company Payroll Complexity Report, which was cited. In addition to penalties, the report found that a significant portion of payroll departments still rely on outdated methods. According to the report, 51% still use spreadsheets, while nearly 1 in every 5 (19%) still employ manual or paper processes within their payroll departments.

The risk of payroll fines is highest for companies operating in multiple countries.

The Alight report shows that the more countries a company operates in, the more likely it is to face fines. Companies that operate in only one country have a 24% chance of being fined. However, when companies expand to include two to five countries, the risk of fines increases to 67%.

Payroll Automation Statistics

More payroll automation is in place.

According to ADP, in 2023, over one in five (22%) payroll teams reported spending more than 30 hours weekly reconciling payroll and HR data. However, there are indications that the situation is improving this year as many organizations have implemented automation to streamline manual payroll processes. However, a considerable number are still working towards achieving this goal.

Specifically, nearly two-thirds (60%) have automated data collection, while 36% aspire to do so. Additionally, 54% have automated reconciliations between payroll and other business systems, with 41% aiming to implement this feature. Furthermore, 59% have automated data entry, while 37% desire to do so. Regarding reporting, 52% have automated reporting in the payroll process, while 41% would like to incorporate this automation.

Another report from Eightfold shares a similar finding. According to the data, over three-quarters (77%) are using AI in their payroll processing and benefits administration.

Payroll automation statistics

Lack of payroll integration puts pressure on IT.

Despite the importance of automation, systems integration remains a significant challenge, with over half of the surveyed organizations lacking it. At a global level, integration with finance and accounting systems is most common, followed by benefits and HR systems of record, time and attendance, leave and absence, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with integration rates of 41%, 39%, 38%, 37%, and 35%, respectively. Notably, a significant majority of respondents (94%) express a desire for comprehensive integration across all these systems, either globally or in specific countries.

Some global payroll providers offer third-party integration. However, IT departments frequently need to set up their own integrations in many cases. On average, respondents estimate that this amounts to approximately 22 hours per week per country. Based on these figures, it is understandable why integration complexities were identified as one of the most significant obstacles to implementing a global payroll model (41% compared to last year’s 35%).

Payroll Trends and Takeaways

When Alight asked participating payroll professionals, “Are you planning to make any changes/investments in payroll in the next 12 months?” Only 1 in 3 said yes. Despite the challenges of repetitive tasks in payroll processing, AI's incorporation into this field remains limited. A mere 4% of companies have integrated AI into their payroll processes, and fewer than 10% are considering its implementation, the study reported.

The cautions towards AI adoption are not without reason, as AI can, for example, misinterpret employee identification or inadequately update legal changes for certain employees. Nevertheless, it's important to recognize the mechanisms that can remedy these concerns. As PayrollOrg noted, actively verifying the results generated by AI can mitigate potential issues, thus ensuring more reliable and efficient payroll processing.

Another trend observed is the shift toward holistic, integrated payroll systems, with 35% of leaders planning to enhance their payroll integrations in the next few years. The rationale behind this shift is strongly backed by data, with a total return on investment (ROI) of 131% for companies making the switch, ADP reported.

Should you look for a (new) payroll tool? The answer should be made after considering the input from all stakeholders: your payroll department, the board members, and your employees. If a change is in order, a trusted source can provide the support you need to make strategic decisions that will boost efficiency in the long run and make for a great investment.

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Anh Nguyen
No ads, just real software reviews. An independent writer and a bad BUT wholeheartedly enthusiastic dancer
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Anh is a full-time content creator and HR software reviewer known around the (virtual) SSR office for her even-handed, evidence-based mindset, who can often be found getting beyond the mere bottom of the story.

With a Business degree in one hand and a lifelong passion for writing in the other, Anh has dedicated the past five years to carving her path in tech writing. Her background in recruitment positions her as the go-to companion for your HR software quest.

Anh joined SelectSoftware Reviews in 2022 to continue sharing her insights on everyday HR and recruitment Tech with her favorite audience—fellow HR professionals.

‍Featured in: ERE Media, e27, theHRDirector (HRD), HR HelpBoard, Hubstaff, Lever, Recruiting Daily, Smart Recruiters, Willo, and WorkTango.

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