Payroll 'the foundation on which employee relationships, engagement and productivity are built'
How important is payroll when it comes to employee recruitment and retention?
Very, according to a new survey. Almost all (94 percent) Canadian employees say that they would look for a new job if their pay was regularly delayed, while 91 percent would look for a new job if their pay was regularly inaccurate.
And if consistent and accurate pay for an employee’s work was withdrawn, changed, disrupted, or compromised on a regular basis, 64 percent would trust their employer less, according to a survey released by the National Payroll Institute.
A further 59 percent would caution others about joining the company and 51 percent would have concerns about how much their employer values them, finds the survey of 1,550 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
“It’s clear that payroll is at the core of business operations and is the foundation on which employee relationships, engagement and productivity are built,” says Peter Tzanetakis, president of the National Payroll Institute.
Further still, survey respondents who have experienced payroll mistakes or delays said they:
- felt unease about their ability to manage expenses (38%)
- unappreciated by their employer (38%)
- strain on workplace relationships (29%)
- negative mental health impacts (27%)
- a lack of productivity or disengagement at work (26%).
‘Declaration of Payroll’
The National Payroll Institute has compiled a list of core principles that are required to conduct payroll professionally, which comprise a “Declaration of Payroll”: accuracy, timeliness, transparency, security, equity, compliance, disclosure and professionalism.
A number of Canadian employers have already signed the declaration, including ADP, Avanti, DLGL Technologies, Kaiser & Partners, Nethris, Payworks, Robert Half, Sensei Marketing and Workday.
“In an environment where employers are jumping through incredible hoops to elevate their brand and show candidates they are a great place to work, it’s a missed opportunity to not proudly talk about the effort that goes into an organization’s payroll practices,” said Tzanetakis.
