Best HR and Payroll Software Features for Financial Services

In the world of financial services, time is money, and accuracy is everything. To stay ahead of the competition and meet all regulatory requirements, companies in this industry need to ensure that their HR and payroll processes are managed accurately and efficiently.

This is where a reliable payroll and HR software system comes in. By automating and streamlining these critical processes, financial services companies can save time, reduce errors, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

Yeah, you’ve probably heard it all before. Most likely, you already have some sort of legacy payroll or HR system or maybe even multiple types of software for core HR, payroll, and other processes such as performance management, recognition, or recruitment. If you already have software that does the job, what’s the point in shelling out money and wasting time on the deployment of a new solution? 

Read on to learn more about the key features a cloud-based single HR and payroll solution built on Salesforce can offer the finance sector.

Comprehensive compliance

In the financial services industry, compliance is of utmost importance. Failure to comply with employment laws, tax regulations, and benefits administration can result in hefty fines and legal consequences. This is why having a single HR and payroll solution with advanced compliance features is essential for financial services companies.

For instance, some HR and payroll software solutions offer compliance monitoring and reporting, which can help companies stay on top of regulatory changes and ensure that they are always in compliance. Additionally, some solutions offer automated alerts and notifications to remind companies of important deadlines, such as tax filings or benefits enrollment periods.

Furthermore, a single HR and payroll solution can help financial services companies ensure that all employee records are accurate and up-to-date, which is critical in the event of an audit or investigation. For example, if an employee claims that they were not properly compensated or that their benefits were not administered correctly, a comprehensive HR and payroll solution can provide a clear record of their employment history, compensation, and benefits.

GDPR compliance is also essential for any financial services organisation that handles employee data. With GDPR-compliant payroll and HR software, ensuring that all employee data is aligned with regulations is a breeze, with automated permissions requests and deletion reminders for old data. In fact, XCD even offers a data deletion service in addition to the HR software so your data-rich organisation can feel confident with total compliance. Our powerful payroll and HR software is even HMRC recognised, ensuring that your payroll processing is compliant every time.

Powerful reporting and analytics

For any financial services organisation, HR and payroll software with powerful reporting and analytics capabilities is crucial. Real-time data analytics provide visibility into workforce trends. For example, payroll reports can be used to identify trends and patterns in employee compensation, such as overtime or bonus payments. Time and attendance reports can be used to track employee attendance and identify areas for improvement, such as high levels of absenteeism or tardiness.

In addition to these specific reports, HR and payroll software with analytics capabilities can provide a wealth of data for financial services organisations to draw upon. For instance, data on employee turnover, recruitment, and retention can be used to identify areas for improvement and inform recruitment and retention strategies. Data about compensation and benefits can be used to ensure that the company is offering competitive packages that attract and retain top talent — an important consideration in today’s candidate-driven market.

Moreover, custom reports can be designed for different stakeholders in the organisation to provide the information needed for data-driven decision making. HR professionals can create executive-level dashboards for C-suite leaders, providing a real-time overview of workforce trends at a broader level. Meanwhile, you can also create more granular reports for more specific data sets, ensuring that no important details are passed over.

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Time-saving workflow automation

As we know all too well, time-consuming administrative tasks can often consume the entire working day of HR and payroll teams in financial services. We’ve all spent too many days shackled to our desks, answering back-and-forth emails, and managing repetitive tasks that could easily be completed by employees themselves.

Fortunately, HR and payroll software with workflow automation capabilities can help to streamline these tasks and free up HR staff to focus on more strategic activities.

Let’s take the management of leave requests as an example. High quality HR software can automate the entire leave request process, from the employee’s initial request to its final approval. Employees can submit requests online using their desktop or mobile device, and these are then automatically routed to their line manager for approval. Once approved, the system automatically updates employee records and payroll, ensuring that accurate leave balances are maintained. It’s so much easier than emailing back and forth between employees, managers, and HR for days!

Another area where HR and payroll software can automate workflows is in recruitment. The software can manage the entire recruitment process, from job vacancy posting to candidate screening and selection. Job postings can be automated and posted to multiple integrated job boards simultaneously, saving time and ensuring maximum exposure for job vacancies. Additionally, the software can automatically screen resumes and applications, shortlisting only the most suitable candidates for HR staff to review. This can save hundreds of hours in the recruitment process, speeding up your time-to-hire and ensuring that those vacancies are filled with the right people.

Data security

HR and payroll software built on Salesforce such as XCD’s end-to-end system benefits from the cloud platform’s advanced data security and encryption. With all data held in a secure, encrypted human resources information system, can be confident that their employee data is fully protected at all times.

Moreover, employees can manage their own data with ease using self-service HR software. The self-service portal allows employees to update their personal information, such as contact details, bank account information, and tax details, as well as access their payslips and benefits information. With an intuitive interface that makes the software easy for employees to navigate, employees can manage their own data without needing extensive training or technical support.

High quality payroll and HR software also provides configurable access controls, ensuring that only the right people can access employee data. This added level of privacy protection provides peace of mind for your organisation and staff. 

Performance and talent management

In the dynamic and competitive finance industry, strategic management of employees’ performance and professional development are key for creating the next generation of leaders in your organisation. With feature-rich HR software, human resources professionals can look beyond their day-to-day and strategically focus on performance and talent management.  

With configurable performance review forms that allow discrete contributions from both employees and managers, the process of performance management can be streamlined into a more flexible and informal yet effective process using HR software. Employees can access these performance reviews anytime via self-service, which leads to transparency and accountability, and even encourages continuous development.

Furthermore, HR software can be used for talent management and succession planning. For instance, powerful single solution software that integrates performance management and learning and development tools can enable HR teams to better manage the training and professional development of employees. With such software, HR professionals can track individual performance data and identify areas where additional development or training is required. It can also help HR teams identify and nurture potential leaders in the organization and ensure that they are ready for future opportunities.

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Powerful payroll and HR software for the finance sector

Cloud-based payroll and HR software can streamline compliance management, provide real-time reporting and analytics, ensure GDPR compliance, automate workflows, assist with performance and talent management, and do much, much more. By freeing HR and payroll teams from administrative duties, full-featured software allows them to focus on more strategic tasks, making the organization more agile, future-focused, and dynamic. Adopting cloud-based HR and payroll software is essential in this day and age, and financial services companies that do so will be well-positioned to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.

If you’re looking for a powerful single solution HR and payroll system, look no further than XCD. As Salesforce-native software, our offering provides the top-of-the-range compliance and security features your business requires while also offering massive time and cost savings across the board. To find out more about how you can streamline payroll and HR processes using our intuitive software, book a demo today or get in touch with our expert team.