It’s easy to stick with a payroll provider simply because switching feels like a lot of work.
But year-end is a good time to ask a different question: Is what we have actually working for us?
Maybe support has gotten slower. Your team is still doing too much manually. You have technology you barely use. Or your business has grown, but your payroll and HR setup hasn’t grown with it.
That doesn’t automatically mean it’s time to switch. But it does mean it’s worth taking a closer look.
Here are eight questions to help you evaluate what you’re getting from your current provider and whether it still fits where your business is headed.
Think about the last time you had a payroll problem. Did you know exactly who to call? Did they know your business? And most importantly, did you get an answer when you needed one?
Good service should not only show up when everything is running smoothly.
Ask yourself: When something goes wrong, do I trust my provider to handle it?
Good technology matters. So do the people behind it.
When you have a question that goes beyond clicking the right button, you should know where to turn. That becomes even more important as your workforce grows, expands into new states or becomes more complex.
Ask yourself: When I need more than software support, who can I call?
Payroll and employment requirements do not exactly sit still, especially in California.
Your provider should be more than a place to process payroll. Look at whether they are keeping you informed with timely updates, educational resources and access to knowledgeable people when changes affect your business.
Ask yourself: Is my provider helping me understand what’s changing and what it means for us?
Check out our blogs and webinars for the kind of timely resources and insights we share with clients every week.
Consider the technology, service, expertise and time your team spends working around limitations. A cheaper provider is not necessarily saving you money if your team is doing more of the work.
Ask yourself: Are we getting enough value for what we spend?
Payroll touches benefits, retirement, time tracking and plenty more.If your team is constantly moving information between systems, your technology may be creating more work instead of reducing it.
Ask yourself: Where are we still connecting the dots manually?
Your employees experience your payroll and HR technology every time they check a pay stub, request time off or update their information.
If those simple tasks regularly end up back with HR, something is not working as smoothly as it could.
Ask yourself: Can employees easily handle the basics on their own?
The provider that worked when you had 25 employees may not be the provider you need at 100. As your business grows, your needs may expand into recruiting, onboarding, time tracking, performance management, HR support and better workforce insights.
Ask yourself: Does our current setup support where we’re going, or just where we’ve been?
Your workforce data can help you understand overtime, labor costs, turnover and where your team may be losing time to manual processes.
If that information exists but you cannot easily use it, there may be more value sitting inside your system than you are getting today.
Ask yourself: Is our provider helping us see the bigger picture?
The goal is to make sure the provider you have is still earning its place in your business.
If the answers above leave you feeling good about your current setup, great. If they uncover a few too many workarounds, service frustrations or gaps, year-end is a good time to see what else is out there. Because sometimes the biggest sign that you’ve outgrown your payroll provider is how much work you’ve gotten used to doing around them.
