According to the firm, payroll has increasingly been presented with new challenges. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows a steady increase in payrolled employees – which was reported as up by 1,415,000 workers in August compared to February 2020 – alongside consistently changing weekly earnings.

This, combined with the increased adoption of hybrid and remote working models in recent years, has made payroll considerably more complex, but the integration of new technology is already playing a critical role in adapting to this environment.

The firm’s Payroll Efficiency Index (PEI) report found that emerging technology is having a wholly positive impact on the sector and is contributing to a reduction in error-making, as well as more issues being picked up at validation and checking stages.

John Pearce, Chief Customer Officer at CloudPay, commented on how the future of payroll will be built on a platform of emerging technologies, including AI: “National Payroll Week is the perfect opportunity to reflect on how the industry has evolved, particularly in recent years when the pace of change has really accelerated. Practitioners now have to manage a broader and more complex array of challenges daily, and that’s because of the shifting market and the range of employment models and options available to workers and businesses. This trend will only continue; however, technology is bridging the gap. As our PEI report demonstrates, the greater adoption of emerging tech is helping to reduce errors and quicken processes, which can only benefit the sector as a whole, and the organisations we work with.”

“Not only is technology helping to improve processes, it also frees up expert time for more strategic and potentially valuable tasks. This trend will only grow in the future; we’re already seeing gen AI review complex documentation and check for anomalies and more effective integrations with HCM platforms and other systems will help the sector to evolve further. We’re really excited about the future of the industry and how technology – and humans – can interact and work together to provide the best possible outcomes.”