Cost concerns underpin most moves to HR and Payroll shared services – but as David Longworth points out, you need more than a spreadsheet to convince business managers to back your project

Payroll is under growing pressure to do more for less – but do you have the information you need to measure how well you’re operating? Webster Buchanan's Payroll Performance Scorecard is a new set of tools designed to help HR, payroll, finance and other senior executives measure payroll efficiency and effectiveness, taking account of all the factors that impact performance.

Royal Bank of Scotland argues that the most efficient building is the one you don’t have to build - which is why it's one of a growing number of organisations moving to desk sharing and flexible working

You might not expect to find it leading the way in new technology adoption, but payroll could make good use of social networking, blogs and the other paraphernalia of the ‘Web 2.0’ world. In an article originally written for the Institute of Payroll Professionals, Keith Rodgers explains how

Have you ever thought that in five years’ time all your employees might be replaced by contractors? Is loyalty a thing of the past? And how do you adjust your career structures to reflect employees’ changing priorities? Hear the views of a panel of experts reflecting on ‘The Future World of Work’

Advances in mobile technology make it much easier for companies to connect with remote employees, whether they’re field engineers on the road or part-timers working from home. The people management issues, however, haven’t got any easier

There’s no shortage of theories about leadership – but how do managers draw from the best? The Institute of Leadership & Management has set out to pull the different models together

Are you looking to buy in talent for a specific project – or even hire out your own employees when you can’t find enough work for them? Flexible sourcing, a skills-based form of outsourcing, may be the answer

From social networks to specialist blogs, there’s a growing number of ways to track down prospective recruits in their favourite online haunts. It’s all about targeted, relationship-based recruitment

As the economy tightens, organisations are getting more pragmatic about the way they purchase people management software. That’s why the philosophy of ‘Good Enough’, which emerged after the dot com collapse seven years ago, is likely to gain ground

Payroll is a business critical function that relies on a solid combination of systems, processes and people. But is your organisation paying enough attention to the people factor?

Amid all the hype about how blogs, wikis, social networking and other ‘Web 2.0’ technologies can be used within businesses, there are some big challenges, as Harvard Business School professor Andrew McAfee explains

Timeliness and accuracy are key metrics for payroll – but they’re not the only ones. In an article originally researched for the Institute of Payroll Professionals, Keith Rodgers argues that performance should be measured on a broad range of operational and strategic factors

Striking an HR outsourcing agreement is stressful enough without protracted negotiations over service level agreements. One industry body has now set out to establish common metrics and best practices – but how closely can you actually define notions of quality?

Corporate compliance concerns are putting mounting pressure on organisations to improve visibility and accountability in their HR and payroll functions. But are your IT systems up to the test?

Building formal systems to manage skills and competencies has always been challenging – in fact, many organisations struggle to agree basic definitions. But it’s central to a wide range of people management activities, from performance management to workforce planning. So how can you get it right?

The HR function has long come under pressure to ‘get strategic’ – but what about Payroll? In an article first researched for the Institute of Payroll Professionals, we ask whether Payroll has a role to play as a strategic information provider

Most organisations think securing confidential data is an IT issue – but there’s a good chance it’s the people in your own IT department who are sneaking a look at their colleagues’ salaries and other sensitive data. How can you protect your employees – and yourself?

Shared services centres can help organisations reduce their HR and payroll costs – but they’re not always easy to get off the ground. One UK county council has seen both the challenges and the potential benefits

How closely do you control the money you spend on contractors? Do you know who the highest performers are – and which ones you should never hire again? And are you exposed to legal risks? Contractor management is big business, but it’s one of the most overlooked parts of the people management equation

After years of talk about home-working and hot-desking, the cost of office space and demand for more flexible employment practices is forcing organisations to rethink the way they work. It’s a huge change management challenge – but one you can't avoid

You’ve made a job offer, your preferred candidate’s accepted – and now the problems start. Bringing new hires up to speed can be an administrative nightmare, involving everyone from the IT department to HR and finance, and it often impacts productivity. So is automation a solution?

Everyone knows sickness absence is bad for an organisation's health – but few analyse the true business impact. Measuring how and where it hits their company hardest can help senior managers target resources where they're most needed

Employers are starting to add a new weapon to their e-recruitment armoury - podcasts, or MP3 downloads. But are they just a marketing gimmick, or can they help internet-savvy organisations connect with young recruits?

The balance of power in the job market long ago started shifting to the employee, forcing organisations to rethink the way they recruit. That’s why the philosophy of Candidate Relationship Management – a discipline that borrows from the sales and marketing arena – is gaining traction

HBOS Insurance and Investment is looking to hire people for vacancies that don’t exist yet. That’s probably not as crazy as it sounds – it’s all part of an extensive succession planning programme to make sure critical roles are always filled