Payroll Service Providers Red and Green Flags: A Valentines Blog

Finding the right payroll services provider has a lot of parallels with dating. There are many traps you can fall into, but there are also some great rewards if you find ‘The One’.

The right outsourced payroll provider means spending less time dealing with administrative or payroll mistakes. You experience a smooth process that gives you clear data to make decisions as your company grows and visibility about changing payroll and HR legislation.

So, let’s explore some ways to help you find the right payroll provider for your team.

Find a payroll provider that…

1. Responds to you 

Want to know a secret when it comes to choosing the right payroll provider? It’s not just about their knowledge and accuracy; it’s also about how responsive they’ll be when you have a query.

In payroll, resolving queries quickly is vital for your peace of mind, staying compliant, and keeping things running smoothly. Getting to know the team and understanding who your main point of contact will be is a great place to start.

We’ve all been there waiting for a text and not hearing back—that sinking feeling when you know you could be waiting days or even weeks before you get an answer. Don’t let that be you.

With Talk Staff, we introduce you to your main payroll contact and have a phone line you can call whenever you have queries or want to talk through something.

Looking to switch to a more reliable outsourced payroll provider? Explore our Payroll Switch Guarantee

3 of the Talk Staff Team

2. Keeps you updated 

Getting regular updates about important legislative changes is key when you’re running a business. And you won’t always have time to attend payroll webinars and read the full 70-page spring and autumn budgets.

So, how do you stay up to date with everything from National Minimum Wage 2024 changes to Statutory Paternity Pay and Irregular Hours Holiday updates?

There’s a lot going on in the world of payroll, and that’s why we send regular updates to our customers as part of our unique people-focused payroll service.

You should never be kept in the dark and left second-guessing about looming changes.

Read more about some of the key payroll and HR changes in the UK here:

Payroll Legislation and HR Changes in 2024 and beyond

3. Grows with you

You need a payroll provider who can scale with your business and who understands that hiring great people, paying them correctly every time, and using payroll data to make decisions can help your business succeed. When payroll providers have the right sector experience for companies similar to yours, it can make all the difference.

As a people consultancy, outsourced payroll is one of the key services we offer for growing businesses, and we often start with companies early on in their journey, helping people from the very beginning of start-ups with payroll for small businesses, including setting up auto-enrolment workplace pensions.

We improve payroll data, create an efficient payroll process, and make sure you have people you can reach easily to discuss queries or explore opportunities.

Contact us for a quote and a chat if you’re exploring your payroll options in 2024 and beyond.

Just starting out? Explore our Payroll for small businesses

4. Has Hidden Talents

If you’ve ever been on a date where you have nothing in common, then you’ll know what a waste of time it can be. With the right payroll provider, you’ll find hidden depths in their knowledge that are clear from the off. We’ve spoken with many payroll professionals over the years, and we know that what people ‘think’ they do—just scratches the surface of the work they do on a monthly basis.

From gender pay gap reports to tackling P11D,. Here’s a look at our payroll iceberg, celebrating the hard work of payroll teams everywhere.

Explore more about the P11D deadline here

Red Flags in existing Payroll Providers

Next, we’ll explore some red flags and green flags in existing payroll providers.

Find a payroll provider who:

A. Doesn’t change after a few months together

You meet the perfect payroll provider; they’re responsive; they seem to know their stuff; and you’re all ready to take the plunge. But then you sign the contract, and things start to go wrong. You stop being able to reach them, you spot regular errors, and your team is asking you why you picked them in the first place.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons many people will stay with an inadequate provider to avoid ‘Switch Pain.’

Unfortunately, it’s hard to judge who is using a love-bombing technique on you and who is displaying their authentic selves. Here are some ways to avoid this:

• Read case studies – Explore websites and ask for real, up-to-date testimonials when you’re exploring providers
• Learn key people by name – Find out if you’ll have named contacts and, crucially, if these will change once you sign on the dotted line. For example, the salesperson might be very attentive during the sales process, but if you must go through a call centre to reach someone, then you may be waiting on the phone for a while!
• Ask for reassurances in writing – If a date told you they’d booked you a holiday, you’d want proof before booking time off work. In the same way, if your payroll provider promises you the world, make sure their terms and conditions match up.

B. Has potential for the long run

The great thing about a long-term relationship with the right payroll provider is that they’ll know your company inside and out.

And with Talk Staff, we also offer more. As a people consultancy, we offer a unique people-focused payroll through a high-quality team that truly cares about the effect mistakes have on your people.

What’s more, we’re helping companies through our outsourced HR too, keeping things together for our clients who use us for both payroll and HR.

And that’s before we even mention the ways we can help you develop your teams and leaders and hire great people too.

So, while dates are one-to-one, we have ways to develop everyone in your business. You can explore more about our full range of services here, or drop us a call to chat.

C. You’d introduce your friends to

When you meet the right payroll provider, you want to show them off. You’re proud of the relationship you’ve built with them. Of course, when you introduce someone new to your friends, the last thing you want them to do is embarrass you. That’s why we do two things when you introduce us to your contacts:

Reward you and them. Meeting someone’s partner for the first time is scary for everyone. Our referral scheme reward means £50 Amazon vouchers are available when you refer a company to us. Just remember not to try this tactic on an actual date!

Payroll Switch Guarantee: It may take a while for your contacts to warm up to someone new, or they’re worried about the rebound effect. Perhaps they’ve been hurt before by a payroll provider who made those starting months painful. That’s why we have a switch guarantee, so you know what to expect from the start.

💙 Roses are Red, Violets are Blue – We Care about Payroll Just as Much as you do! 💙

Take the switch – Grab a first ‘date’ with Talk Staff today!

We’d love to spend our first meeting getting to know each other and exploring your hopes and dreams for payroll.

We’ll share how we can make you feel secure, important and ‘seen.’

Experience people-focused payroll from our friendly responsive team.

Grab your payroll ‘date’ with Talk Staff today