What does the future of Payroll look like?

In recent years, specialist organisations operating within the Payroll space have been investing significant amounts into the research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies – making it clear that this is where the evolution of Payroll systems is headed.

With the relatively recent adoption of AI technologies such as Chatbots, which are used to manage simple reoccurring Payroll requests, the future may be closer than you think.

The focus is now on how AI can be further developed to build up the knowledge and intelligence necessary to deal with more complex Payroll tasks.

Here are three areas where AI will benefit Payroll in the future:

Machine Learning

As mentioned above, AI technology is currently being used by organisations to manage simple Payroll tasks. Employees can readily access timesheets, book annual leave, and make expense claims by utilising Chatbot technology which all helps to save time in processing requests and dealing with queries.

Currently, Chatbots pass complex requests to human administrators, but eventually, these Chatbots will learn from the correct resolutions of these queries so that they can deal with such queries themselves.

Continuous Compliance

As you know, it’s challenging to keep up with the changing legislative landscape for Payroll. The stress associated with ensuring your organisation remains fully compliant is likely to be exacerbated by the multitude of future legislative changes that are probable with Brexit.

A lot of this stress could be alleviated through the evolution of AI.  The ability to monitor system activity and highlight any potential compliance risks or security breaches could soon be realised.  

So, instead of having to be reactive to compliance issues once they’ve occurred, you will be able to be proactive in your approach and nip any potential issues in the bud thanks to AI assistance.

Automation

Automation already plays a significant part in Payroll processing, but it could do more. For example, if a new employee profile is missing detail then alerts could be automatically triggered to the hiring manager for action rather than a Payroll professional having to chase this down manually.

In summary, advancements in AI and automation will not only help you in your day to day role but will also prove a valuable part in developing your organisation’s competitive advantage with increased technology-driven efficiencies. Now more than ever, you should be reviewing your Payroll system to ascertain whether it’s capable of evolving with the innovations in Payroll technology.