It’s practically the holidays... for payroll; it is officially National Payroll Week!
Since 1996, the American Payroll Association (APA) has celebrated National Payroll week. National Payroll Week aligns with Labor Day each year to celebrate the achievements and partnerships between employees, payroll professionals, and various government agencies. The theme this year is “America Works Because We’re Working for America.”
This year has been filled with economic uncertainty with inflation still sitting at 8.5%. According to The National Interest, 64% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, this puts stress on both employees and employers to ensure paychecks are accurate and on time. Through all the stress, National Payroll Week is a great opportunity to celebrate those who work hard to make sure workers are paid correctly, and to educate both employers and employees on how to get the most out of their payroll.
1. Raise Awareness
Most Americans are familiar with the holiday Labor Day, but many are not familiar with National Payroll Week. Spread the word around your organization so you can make the most out of the celebratory week. National Payroll Week activities extend outside your organization, in your community there may be volunteers at youth centers, churches, or schools to help educate our future workforce on financial literacy.
2. Educate your Employees on Payroll
Many employees see the deductions on their paychecks and have no idea where they come from. National Payroll Week is a great time for employees to better understand the process of payroll calculations so that when employees are viewing their paychecks, they can understand the deductions and spot any areas for concern. Connect employees with payroll professionals to learn how to make the most out of their payroll.
3. Learn about Benefits and 401k
Go beyond just payroll education. Educating your employees on benefits can help improve employee retainment, 80% of workers would keep a job with benefits rather than take one that offered more pay and no benefits. Unfortunately, employees are often not aware of all the benefits their employers may offer to help relieve financial stress. Some of these benefits include pet insurance, fitness, and wellness programs, educational benefits, child-care services, and more.
4. Appreciate your Payroll Team
In today’s economy, it is crucial for employees to be paid both accurately and on time. Calculating payroll can seem simple when you are looking at your pay stub, however, behind every pay stub are complex calculations done by your payroll administrators. National Payroll Week is a great time to slow down and thank your payroll administrators for their hard work to ensure your paychecks accurately reflect the hard work done by employees. Some fun ideas to celebrate your payroll staff include:
- Celebrate with food - Who doesn’t love food? A nice breakfast to celebrate your payroll administrators or a catered lunch can be a great way to bring your organization together. If employees are working remotely this can be a remote event done through a webcam.
- Send appreciation - As a team or individually you can send handwritten thank you notes or emails to your payroll team to thank them for their hard work.
- Meet your payroll team - Get to know the faces behind the paychecks. This event can be virtual or in person, allowing the payroll team to introduce themselves and interact with the organization in a fun manner through games or fun icebreakers.
The National Payroll Week website has more ideas for celebrating with your team and official artwork you can use for decoration.
5. Evaluate Payroll Providers
Evaluating new payroll providers can be a headache, but if you are currently doing payroll manually or your current payroll provider is not up to par it may be time to start your evaluation. Payroll software should automate your complex payroll calculations and show you real-time insights into your payroll. Your software should be built to automatically adhere to the complexity of payroll taxes and to various rules and regulations based on jurisdiction.
Greenshades Software can be a great option for a payroll provider. Our cloud-based, intuitive, modern real-time solutions give visibility and control over payroll and HR processes. The Greenshades solution was built with a “compliance-first” mentality, ensuring your business stays compliant from employee hire to retirement.
Conclusion
Your employees work hard to earn their paychecks, and your payroll staff works hard to make sure employees are compensated accurately. Nation Payroll Week can be a great time for both your employees and payroll staff to slow down and take time together for education and celebration.
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