Businesses today are increasingly looking for ways to optimize and streamline processes across the globe, making them more efficient and manageable. To this end, we see more and more companies who are looking to setup Centers of Excellence for their HR, Payroll and Finance functions. Such streamlining can help achieve consistency between different jurisdictions, as well as cost savings, but adequate measures must also be taken to ensure a business does not suffer due to the loss of valuable local expertise. This is especially relevant in the European market, where local legislation requires country-specific processes that ensure compliance.
One of the issues that an expanding operation is likely to face has to do with continuity. “If an organization is reliant on one individual, or a small number, in a certain jurisdiction, there is the risk of continuity issues in the event of the departure of key staff,” states Tineke van der Kwaak, Manager HR and Payroll services for the EMEA region. “We have dealt with cases where such problems can lead to regulatory issues, or the issuance of penalties or fines.”
In addition, local expertise increases awareness in the event of changes to local legislation that might impact company policies and processing requirements.
The trick is to have an efficient central operation, combined with local expertise to manage these aspects in a manner that ensures continuity. It is possible to achieve this without the headache of having many different local teams or service providers, all requiring different input from the central team to process the payroll.
TMF’s HR and Payroll professionals specialize in the provision of services that ensure full regulatory compliance across a range of different jurisdictions through a single point of contact. TMF staff have the necessary local knowledge and language skills to act as a link between the Center of Excellence and the authorities in each country, allowing the company’s employees to concentrate on core business activities.
“We often see that our clients are looking for ways to have a single Service Level Agreement, which can ensure cost transparency. We can take care of billing, invoicing and reporting, and this provides the essential transparency that the business needs,” adds Tineke.
A typical Center of Excellence might cover between 15 and 25 countries, with any number of staff between one and 1,500 per country. Global organizations often have one center for each continent to alleviate potential issues caused by time-zone differences. With more than 100 offices in over 75 jurisdictions, TMF has the necessary global reach to make it an ideal partner for businesses looking to globalize.
For further information about how TMF Group can help you with HR & Payroll, please contact Tineke van der Kwaak.