How Payroll Is Changing During the Pandemic

AdminAssist
AdminAssist July 13, 2020
7-minute read

Nearly every element of the workplace is being impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, one particular area that is being drastically changed is the back-office operations of staffing and recruiting companies. Specifically, the payroll needs of every business are being actively altered as this pandemic continues to throw business owners for a loop.

That’s why we’re here to take a look at exactly how the coronavirus is changing the payroll needs of your company and what you can do to help yourself better adapt to this situation.

Change In Employee Positions

One of the biggest hurdles that you are having to overcome is the changing classification of many employees. For example, a lot of people who used to work full-time are now being reduced to part-time hours because of the reduction in the amount of work that is available. It is estimated that the number of workers who are now working part-time positions even though they are interested in full-time work is nearly 11 million in the U.S.

Having to reclassify employees from a full-time position to a part-time position is something that can be a bit of a hassle even when just doing it for one or two employees. However, when you’re suddenly faced with the challenge of reclassifying dozens of employees, it can be quite challenging on your payroll system.

This will especially be true if this change took place in the middle of a pay period. If you are one of the 5.4 percent of companies who have a monthly pay period, then there is a very good chance that you might have had to reclassify several employees due to reduced hours occurring right in the middle of a pay period. This creates a situation where you need to do some more complicated calculations to make sure that the employee is paid exactly what they are owed.

More Layoffs Requiring Updated Payroll Database

Even worse than employees experiencing reduced hours is the number of employees being let go altogether. Although the number of layoffs is significantly slowing down, there has still been nearly 21 million employees who have become unemployed during this pandemic.

So if your company has had to layoff employees, then you need to go through the whole process of updating the payroll system and doing the other necessary steps when this happens while simultaneously managing the other elements of running your business.

Accounting for New Payroll Legislation

In order to help the substantial amount of companies that have been severely impacted by the pandemic, the U.S. government has released several forms of new legislation that are meant to help them with their financial troubles. But even though this legislation is definitely a good thing for your business, it can be a little hard to navigate.

This is especially true when your business employs people from multiple countries since this will mean that you have to abide by all of the various payroll legislation that has been passed in the countries during this pandemic. If not done properly, it can mean your staffing and recruiting business will be in much worse shape by the time this pandemic comes to an end.

That is why you need to make sure that you are keeping your payroll and other back-office functions in-line with all of the various local, state, and federal legislation that has been passed within the last few months.

Challenge of Doing Payroll Remotely

Under normal conditions, a lot of companies will have in-house individuals who are able to access whatever physical or digital files that they need in order to do their job because it will all be right there in their office.

However, this luxury isn’t available to most employees nowadays since the vast majority of people are still working from home. In fact, nearly a quarter of the employed U.S. population is currently working remotely, which often includes the individuals who are tasked with handling the payroll needs for the company.

When you are suddenly shifted from your in-house position to one done completely remotely, it can be quite challenging to navigate. This is because doing certain things like signing documents, filling out forms, and authorizing bank checks are all things that can be much more difficult to manage when forced to do it remotely.

Some companies are attempting to get around this by simply relying on temporary payrolls that use the figures used in the previous month. But in many cases, this is either not going to be much easier or might be impossible due to accuracy issues. Therefore, you need to quickly figure out what can be done in order to keep your payroll operations running smoothly even while having to handle it remotely.

Find Solace In Outsourcing Payroll Tasks

Don’t worry, this isn’t just a list of problems. We’re actually here to offer you solutions as well. In fact, we have the answer to all of your payroll problems, which is to switch over to an outsourced payroll service.

A lot of the problems that have been covered revolve around the fact that your in-house staff is not going to be familiar with the complexities of trying to handle payroll remotely or keeping up with the rapidly changing work landscape that this pandemic has caused. But there are professionals out there who are much more skilled at doing these things.

The experts who offer outsourced payroll services are well-versed in handling every element of payroll operations completely remotely and make a point of staying up to date with all of the latest financial legislation changes made within the country.

Plus, you may discover benefits that you never even expected by using these outsourced professional services such as a reduction in overhead costs and an increase in payroll efficiency. So don’t hesitate to turn towards these experts when you need help keeping up with the complexities of payroll operations during the pandemic.

If you ever need more information about outsourced payroll services or any other back-office operations, then make sure to contact us at Admin Assist today.