How do your organization’s payroll processes and performance measure up against other businesses in your country, in your region, or globally? Every year, we help you get answers to those questions through our Global Payroll Efficiency Index (PEI) report.

We’ve just released our 2025 report, based on payroll data collected between January and December 2024. Performance in some key metrics has declined – but with payroll automation and technological advancements having an increased influence around the world, this isn’t the bad news that you might think. So what’s changed from last year to this?

Important changes in metrics and measurements

With more and more organizations worldwide using automated payroll systems – including our own global payroll solutions – we’ve changed the measurement method for two of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) this year. Our new automated measuring system enables real-time reporting and issue tracking at scale, which has allowed us to use automated data capture to measure data input issues (DII) and issues per 1000 payslips (I/1000).

This means that direct comparisons with previous years’ data aren’t possible for these two metrics (at least until we apply the same system again next year). However, it does mean that the results better reflect the changing payroll landscape, where technology, automation and real-time insights are having a greater influence all the time.

Encouraging progress between the lines

If anything, the take-up of automation that led us to adjust those measurements is also one of the main factors influencing this year’s results in general. With more businesses using CloudPay’s innovations, more are able to leverage automation and technology to make process improvements, find efficiencies, and balance innovation with human expertise.

This has also helped us place some of the more surprising results and payroll trends this year into a much more informed context:

First-time approvals (FTA): what percentage of payroll runs are approved without any changes?

The global FTA rate has fallen for the third year in a row, and by a bigger amount than last year: down 1.21 percentage points to 72.61%. This doesn’t mean that payroll performance is getting worse, however. Instead, a combination of skilled payroll staff and automated validation is ensuring that organizations have the flexibility they need amid a turbulent global payroll landscape. This is especially the case in the Americas region (AMER), where the rate has fallen by over three percentage points to 78.97%, and has fallen behind Asia-Pacific (APAC) for the first time.

Data input issues (DII): what is the average number of data issues per payslip?

We’ve noticed a clear correlation between countries where payroll technology adoption has been strong, and those with low levels of DII. This may well explain why Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which has traditionally led the way in tech adoption, continues to perform positively under the new measure. Similarly, it explains why the rate in APAC, where adoption is only now gathering pace, is almost triple EMEA’s figure and nearly four times that in AMER.

Issues per 1000 payslips (I/1000): how many payslips per 1000 are affected by issues?

The ability to use our automated system and detect issues in real-time has added extra detail to these results compared to the old style of measurement. EMEA’s improvements in recent years have continued, now posting the lowest rate of any region (3.63). However, a closer look at the best and worst performances in the country comparison doesn’t suggest any clear regional trend for excellence or difficulties, which means any major issues are likely country-specific rather than regional.

Calendar length (CAL): how long does it take to complete a payroll cycle?

These results have perhaps been the most volatile when compared to last year’s. The global rate has increased from 5.9 days to 6.6, but this is all down to a large increase in APAC (from 4.1 days to 6.2). This has corrected a sudden drop last year, where DII and I1/k also went up, suggesting that payroll timelines had become too compressed and pressured. Longer calendar length means payroll teams have more time to process and validate, which is reflected in APAC’s higher FTA rate this year.

Supplemental impact (SI): what percentage of payroll runs take place outside of the normal cycle?

Supplemental impact continues to rise globally, up another 1.43 percentage points this year to 19.15%. Considered in the context of reducing FTA, it shows that organizations can still adapt to changing needs instead of pushing through approvals rigidly. There are still major variations between the three regions, however. AMER’s rate remains much higher as there are regulations and cultural expectations to correct mistakes immediately; conversely, EMEA’s rate remains low as employees are more prepared to wait for the following cycle for corrections to be made. APAC’s rate has stabilized, which is good news in the context of increased calendar length, where increased validations are helping keep supplemental impact low.

Payments: what percentage of payroll payments are made on time?

A reduction in payment timeliness, from 99.28% to 99.12%, emphasizes the importance of unified automation and integration. With more countries and organizations getting on board with advanced payroll technology, there will naturally be some fluctuation in this rate as the synchronization between payroll and payments calendars becomes embedded.