Achieving business continuity and success in a changing world of work

The goals and objectives of business have largely remained the same throughout the pandemic; what has changed completely is the way business is being conducted, said Peter Hadley, President, Asia Pacific, ADP, an exclusive platinum event partner of HRM Asia.

Speaking during an episode of HRM TV, he explained, “If we think about the lockdowns and restrictions, remote and hybrid working environments, supply chain challenges and staffing shortfalls, and workers’ desire for different work-life balance, these are issues largely unthought of and untested only two years ago.”

Due to these developments, business leaders are increasingly being asked to think on their feet as old playbooks have gone out of the window, and the ability to adapt to fluid and changing situations become much more critical, Hadley added.

Great leaders today must possess qualities such as empathy, trust, confidence in self and confidence in team that solutions will be found. “Leaders who are able to build purpose-driven and productive workforces in a flexible, adaptable, and inclusive work environment will be the most successful,” he suggested.

Payroll challenges in 2022

With workforces becoming more hybrid and global, organisations will have several payroll challenges to face in 2022.

The first, Hadley identified, is to adopt modern technologies because pay must now be transferred electronically. “Employees need remote, easy access to their pay details, leave, time sheets, and healthcare benefit details. Folks can’t just walk down the corridor anymore to the payroll department for help.”

The next challenge, according to Hadley, is the complexity of regulations and compliance of payroll. “With respect to regulation and compliance, we’ve seen huge volumes of change in this area,” he highlighted. “Governments have introduced many measures to support employers, maintain employment levels through the pandemic, and payroll has been the mechanism for the deployment of these.”

“Payroll also uses a lot of sensitive personal data, and more and more data privacy regulations continue to pop up in countries around the world. Maintaining up-to-date compliant and secure payroll systems continue to be a challenge for many employers.”

Lastly, the emergence of global workforces means both employers and employees must content with more tax jurisdictions. This commonly results in many hidden that often hit the back pocket of the employee, as well as the P&L statement of the employer. This is an extremely complex area, and it pays to seek expert help,” Hadley said.

Achieving business continuity and success in 2022 and beyond

With the pandemic having physically distanced companies from their employees and customers, organisations who have continued to invest in technology are likely to those who will achieve success, Hadley suggested.

“Digitalisation, access to real-time accurate data, information security systems, and data privacy need to be best- in-class,” he elaborated. “Contingency planning for business-critical functions or partnering with experts who can provide this is critical for continuing to business in today’s environment.”

As HR’s importance continues to shift from the back office to the forefront of business strategy, Hadley also advised HR leaders to leverage technology and data to make business-critical decisions.

“For example, by using data, we know that more than 50% of companies with DEI analytics took action and realised positive impact in their business,” he concluded.

Click here to view the full video.