Yes, we know - the payroll market offers so many options that it can be overwhelming to choose the solution that best fits your business needs. Should you hire local providers for each country you operate in, or one that can cover them all? If you opt for the latter, will you still have the same level of oversight? The risks of not choosing the right payroll provider are too many and too high for the company and even for you!

When outsourcing payroll, we recommend you first make a list of the 'musts' and the 'nice to haves'. In other words, a set of criteria that will guide you when assessing providers, so you don't get distracted from what really matters to you.
 
As we've been in the payroll outsourcing world for quite some time, we've pulled together a list of the top six criteria that should be 'musts' in your checklist.
 
1. LOCAL COMPLIANCE
 
To understand the local legislative environment and get a feel of where it is going, it is essential to work with local professionals, as opposed to regional centres. You'll need access to them when required, so you can learn about the latest regulatory changes happening in-country. With a regional centre, you don't have that 'on the ground', real-time understanding of how things are changing, which risks exposing your business to penalties for non-compliance.
 
2. PROCESS CONTROL  AND VISIBILITY
 
Every payroll director, especially at multinationals, needs to monitor payroll, plan their day effectively, and streamline processes and payslip delivery – managing these through one global, online tool is an ideal solution.
 
3. MEANINGFUL REPORTS AND DASHBOARD ANALYTICS
 
Sounds fancy, right? It is actually quite straightforward, but not all payroll suppliers provide this. Take it from us, you'll need to provide your stakeholders with reports with actionable insights to help them make smarter decisions and carry out practical assessments of performance and costs.
 
4. INFORMATION SECURITY STANDARDS AND DATA PROTECTION
 
Certifications such as ISO 27001 and ISAE fundamentally unify the core requirements of how services need to be delivered, providing global clients with consistency, quality assurance, and common standards applicable across the globe.
It is worth checking providers' credentials to ensure they are certified, reliable and able to protect employee data.
 
5. STANDARD SCOPE AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
 
Your payroll provider should be an extension of your payroll team, forming a strong, flexible partnership that evolves as your business does, with a feeling of being one team.
It is a combination of understanding the client's needs and approaching the relationship as a partnership: with healthy and fluent communication, proper SLAs in place (and compliance with them) and, of course, providing the local knowledge mentioned above.
 
6. EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
 
The accurate and timely delivery of payroll underpins employee experience. It is vital for maintaining morale, productivity and trust. Eliminating payroll delays and mistakes should be one of the basics for any business seeking to improve the experience and satisfaction of its workforce.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.