Businesses wishing to retain staff during the ‘September Surge’ in job applications must celebrate the role of their payroll department and make them the champions of their workforce, Sage UK advises.

Failure to pay employees correctly and on time is one of the biggest factors affecting job satisfaction. Research conducted by Sage UK found that a third of workers would look for a new job if their employer paid them incorrectly just once, while almost one in four (22%) employees reported that they have been paid late in the last 12 months. As September bringsa surge in job applications, Sage UK is urging businesses to champion the work of their payroll departments as a key method of increasing staff retention.

An effective and efficient payroll department is one of the most powerful weapons for enhancing staff morale and bolstering businesses’ reputations among new recruits and existing employees, yet too often the work of payroll goes uncredited and unrecognised within businesses. By celebrating their work, businesses can ensure more effective payroll practices while also strengthening the relationship between the payroll department and employees.

“Traditionally, employees tend to notice the payroll department when there are problems with their pay,” said Jonathan Dowden, Payroll Expert at Sage UK. “Yet payday needs to be right, every time. Many employees underestimate the work that goes into ensuring everyone is paid correctly and on-time, and have little idea of the pressures and difficulties that payroll has to work with. But with payroll proving to be a lynchpin for talent management and staff retention, businesses need to promote payroll as the champions of the workforce. September represents a prime window for people job hunting after the summer hiatus so now is a better time than ever to bring payroll out from the shadows and to the forefront of business,” continued Dowden. Payroll is a demanding and time-consuming task, with businesses spending an average of 8.5 staff hours a month making payments. Businesses should be empowered with the right people and technology to make paying people simple. These include automised payslip calculation and printing, customisable reports, integrated compliance functions, and direct links to HMRC.