You only need to open your news app or read a paper to see that we’re all living in very turbulent economic times. The combination of trade wars, frequently changing tariffs and geopolitical conflicts are all making the practicalities of doing global business challenging for everyone.

This has substantial knock-on effects for payroll, and more and more organizations are finding it difficult to maintain reliable global payroll operations with so many external variables. In this blog, we’ll explore what’s going on, how global factors affect individual employees, and how to build solid, resilient payroll processes that can weather any storm.

What are the biggest factors at play?

Obviously, the range of international trade tariffs introduced by the current United States administration, and the pace at which they are subject to change, are having a major influence. At the time of writing, the trade situation between the United States and China is a particular pain point, as the size of these two economies means any trade war will have enormous effects on businesses all over the world.

But worldwide economics aren’t the only issue affecting global payroll management, which has been brought under the spotlight by a potential case of corporate espionage. An individual who worked at Rippling, a HR software company, has admitted spying on behalf of rival firm Deel, collecting and passing on confidential information about Rippling in exchange for cash payments.

Both of these highly public factors are contributing to a climate of uncertainty in payroll, where some employees are wondering whether payroll can be trusted to deliver accurate, timely payments in the months and years ahead.

The trust and reliability challenge in global payroll

The expectations for reliable payroll performance, irrespective of any external influences, are very high. In their most recent poll on payroll accuracy expectations, the UK’s Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals found that 29% of respondents expected 100% accuracy.

Given that as many as 90% of businesses make at least some payroll errors, it underlines that there is little room for error. Payroll teams that can’t meet employee expectations risk:

• Trust erosion: where employees lose confidence in payroll teams to meet their contractual obligations for timely, accurate payments
• Lower productivity: when payroll issues affect and disrupt employees’ personal finances, they feel less motivated to put maximum effort and energy into their work, and/or are preoccupied by their financial worries
• Reputational damage: when word gets around that a company is having payroll difficulty, this may deter talented candidates for applying for jobs there, and hurt an organization’s standing as an attractive place to work

All this has led to many organizations to review their payroll vendor selection, so that they have the right technology, skills and expertise in place to avoid these issues. This is in parallel to an increased focus on security protocols and ethical business practices, where companies want to work with payroll partners that can demonstrate a commitment to protecting sensitive data. 

Building compliance resilience in uncertain times

The key to maintaining reliable payroll in these circumstances is to have agile, responsive compliance frameworks in place. These won’t guarantee you can overcome global tariffs and geopolitical issues overnight, but they will help relieve the pressure on global payroll departments that may already be feeling stretched.

Establishing these can be a complicated and expensive exercise, which is where the expertise of a global payroll partner can be so invaluable. A good partner will be able to help you navigate complicated compliance issues like international regulations and help you to maintain compliance with local tax and payroll legislation, even when things change at short notice.

When exploring prospective partners that can help, there are some important standards, assurances and best practices that you should look for, including:

• Business assurance: commitments to risk management, business continuity, internal audits and prevention of financial crime (including Anti-Money Laundering measures)
• ISO standards: adherence to ISO 27001 for Information Security Management, ISO 27017 for Cloud Services Security, and ISO 27018 for Personally Identifiable Information in Public Clouds
• Security and data privacy: strong policy on data privacy and protection, including adherence to GDPR; protection for international data transfers; and adherence to SOC1 Type II for customer financial reporting internal controls
• Network architecture: good-quality network infrastructure, including information security and disaster recovery
  
  
  

What to look for in a global payroll partner who will deliver when it matters most

When evaluating global payroll solutions, several distinguishing factors separate industry leaders from the rest. Organizations should prioritize partners that offer:

• Dedicated payroll expertise: Providers exclusively focused on payroll develop deeper specialized knowledge and purpose-built solutions, rather than delivering multiple services with divided attention. This specialization ensures access to high-performance payroll people committed to excellence.
• Proven longevity: Established providers with years of industry experience bring invaluable insights and thoroughly vetted systems that have evolved through countless regulatory changes and economic cycles.
• Financial stability: Since payroll accuracy and timeliness are non-negotiable, partner with providers whose solid financial foundation and secure backing ensure consistent, uninterrupted service delivery even during market fluctuations when less established providers might struggle.
• Unified technology infrastructure: Organizations that have grown organically typically offer integrated, cohesive payroll systems, unlike those cobbled together through acquisitions that often struggle with fragmented systems and duplicated processes.
• Compliance sophistication: Beyond basic requirements, look for providers offering agile compliance frameworks that can swiftly adapt to geopolitical shifts in different countries while maintaining international coverage that supports your global expansion plans.

CloudPay’s approach encompasses all these critical qualities, ensuring our clients receive unmatched service resilience regardless of external pressures.

In summary: creating an unshakeable foundation for global payroll

It’s clear that every business needs resilient payroll processes and partnerships, strong enough to withstand any geopolitical shifts, so that employee compensation can continue accurately and uninterrupted. 

When payroll teams – and organizations as a whole – don’t have confidence that they can rise to that challenge in-house, then working with a reliable, expert payroll services partner can not only be empowering but also reassuring. Working with a well-established solution and approach, built on rock-solid foundations, can help ensure the highest standards of compliance and accuracy with a mix of global expertise and local knowledge.

At CloudPay, our in-house expertise coupled with our collaboration with experienced global payroll providers means we can provide all the know-how and infrastructure needed to manage compliance and operational challenges. Our robust technology and advanced integrations with HCM systems means we can provide consistent and accurate payroll processing, whatever the future may hold.