As you’re deciding to outsource your payroll to a service provider, it can be tempting to be guided by pricing. Yet, as a mid-sized or large company, it’s wiser to focus on customer service, to avoid unexpected issues later on.

Here are five reasons why customer service is so important when choosing your payroll service provider.

1. Access to experts

Payroll can be complex, particularly when you’re dealing with compliance across multiple territories or paying employees on secondment abroad. You need certified payroll experts to resolve your queries fast. Having an expert on local and global regulations can mean the difference between fines for noncompliance, or not. At ADP, our 1500+ payroll specialists offer in-country expertise, plus a personal commitment to delivering ongoing support for your business.

2. Online knowledge base

Ever searched for a network of other professionals to help you navigate multicountry payroll? An online knowledge base provided by your outsourced payroll partner could help. At ADP, all our Global Payroll clients are invited to join The Bridge Global, where they benefit from sharing expertise and best practices with our internal subject matter experts as well as thousands of HR and payroll professionals. Clients are also invited to monthly webinars on global changes impacting payroll.

3. Excellent customer support

Problems with payroll often don’t happen conveniently during office hours. Whether it’s manual input errors or even a cybersecurity breach, your teams need a payroll service partner with a robust customer service offering available 24/7. Ensure the partner provides offers multichannel customer support: from phone and email to chat or messaging features. Your organisation needs business continuity plans in case the worst happens, plus experts in collaboration to iron out more run-of-the-mill payroll niggles.

4. Easy set-up

Implementing any new system, whether it’s payroll, HR or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) takes time and support to get right. Be wary of payroll service providers who outsource their implementation to third parties. Your organisation needs consistent service from experts who know your business so they can offer informed advice. At ADP we use our in-house implementation specialists to set up all new clients. They collect your data, set up your system and run checks before you go live. They’ll also integrate your HR system with our payroll solution.

5. Seamless integration

Integration of multiple systems is essential to save your business time and money. The right payroll provider will have intuitive integrations that are easy to use. No more duplication and inaccuracies from manual input. What you integrate depends on your needs, but could include workforce management, time tracking, a human resource information system (HRIS) or accounting software.

Think of outsourcing your payroll as a partnership and expect to see your business become more resilient and cost-efficient.

“We didn’t sign up for a service provider. What we signed up for — and what we are in — is a partnership.” 
Volker Schrank, Senior Director of Employee Experience and HR Technology, Mondelez