Multi-country payroll continues to change and adapt in response to an evolving world. Practices and technologies effective a decade ago are being replaced by methods that manage payroll more efficiently and accurately.
While the future is impossible to predict perfectly, we can make an educated guess about what it will bring. In 2025, some of the most important global payroll trends will include:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- Cybersecurity
- Self-service Payroll
- Enhanced Regulatory Compliance
AI: Individual tools
If 2023 was the year that AI went mainstream, 2024 is the year that the hype is yielding to concrete, practical use cases.
While artificial general intelligence does not yet exist, AI excels at performing hundreds of specific tasks.
When it comes to payroll, AI can help with many data-intensive tasks, including:
- Data entry
- Data validation
- Time and attendance tracking
- Tax compliance
- Fraud detection
- Employee self-service
Many AI programs feature advanced predictive analytics capabilities. These help organizations identify trends, spot errors, and make forecasts. For example, an analytics program might discover that some workers are more likely to quit when their salary is below a certain threshold, or that there are systematic errors leading to compliance violations in one country.
No AI tool alone can replace a payroll professional, but it can streamline processes for payroll managers to do their jobs efficiently and accurately, freeing up time for them to focus on strategic decision-making instead.
Robotic Process Automation: Handling tedious tasks
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is sometimes confused with AI. While there is occasional overlap, such as when an AI program creates an automation based on user data, RPA is fundamentally a different technology.
RPA carries out simple tasks that humans do. For example, you might have to perform a tedious spreadsheet task that involves clicking through hundreds of cells and changing them in a predictable way. If the task is straightforward enough to explain, you can program an RPA to handle it.
In payroll, RPA can streamline tasks like updating employee records or calculating wages. For instance, if a payroll administrator needs to update hundreds of records due to new tax regulations, an RPA bot can be programmed to make these updates automatically, ensuring accuracy and saving time. This allows payroll staff to focus on more strategic activities, enhancing overall efficiency and accuracy in payroll processing.
Many RPA applications feature user-friendly, no-code frameworks, enabling creation without programming expertise.. They often work on the basis of visual drag-and-drop style formats.
Cybersecurity: Improving compliance technology and training
Phishing emails have become incredibly sophisticated over the past few years. Once riddled with errors and poor design, phishing emails now closely mimic official communications from banks or employers.
Payroll is a frequent target for cyber attackers since the department handles so much sensitive information. A successful attack could lead to bank details and personal information for countless employees landing in the wrong hands.
Expect to see a greater emphasis on cybersecurity in 2025. This will include a move toward proven technologies and protocols, such as two-factor authentication, and a greater emphasis on training employees to spot and avoid potential attacks.
Employee experience: Self-service and mobile options
For millennials and younger employees, self-service has been a standard part of their experiences. They often prefer completing tasks online, such as signing up for social media or ordering a ride. It's no surprise that they should expect the same for payroll.
At the same time, the era of remote work and affordable travel has resulted in employees updating their information more frequently. Some people go through several different addresses and phone numbers over the course of just a few years.
Self-service portals make it easy for employees to adjust their information themselves. Instead of going through the slow bureaucratic process of notifying the right person and waiting, employees can simply log into a self-service platform and change their information themselves. They can also use these platforms to view pay slips and other important information. Providing mobile access to these features on smartphones provides an additional layer of convenience.
Enhanced compliance for remote work: Security and reporting
Remote work has been ubiquitous for several years now. Five years ago, businesses might not have understood the significant tax and legal implications of remote work, and governments may not have had adequate programs for enforcing their own rules. This has changed significantly. In 2024, global businesses are being held to a high degree of responsibility for making sure that payroll for their remote workers complies with local legal frameworks.
Keeping on top of tax and wage laws for dozens of countries is no easy task and companies may face reporting requirements that are best left to local experts. Legislation frequently changes, which means that strategies that were effective last year may no longer be applicable this year. There are also security laws in many countries that require payroll providers to operate with a high level of encryption.
Failure to comply with regulations can lead to steep fines or even the loss of the right to do business. That's why it is important for global businesses to rely on the latest technology and expert advice to ensure that they are compliant. Modern payroll tools, such as UKG One View, provide real-time compliance reporting alongside robust data security.
Looking ahead to 2025
The future is notoriously hard to predict. It is hard to say exactly what will happen, or how fast it will happen. In 2019, commentators observed the rise of remote work but could not have foreseen the events of the following year that rapidly led to it going mainstream.
Digital tools like AI and RPA are important to watch since they can be applied to so many different tasks. Within the context of payroll itself, AI mostly concerns data-intensive tasks. It also affects the world of cybersecurity, so crucial for payroll, on the side of both positive and malicious actors.
Cybersecurity is important both for its own sake and for the sake of regulatory compliance. As stated, AI is playing an increasingly important role here. Attackers are using AI to craft phishing attempts, while cybersecurity professionals are using AI to help spot them.
The ultimate cause behind these trends is the perpetually increasing interconnectivity of the world. The fact that anyone, anywhere can tap the information they want means it is easier to access new technologies, perform cyberattacks, enforce tax laws, and even update your address. Digital tools like AI and RPA make it easier to carry out tasks quickly, whether it's correcting data, identifying trends, or creating fake emails. Organizations that succeed during this time will be those who can turn accelerating interconnectivity to their advantage, without getting blindsided by hype or fraud.
UKG One View empowers payroll teams to address evolving payroll trends effectively. With its AI-driven analytics, the platform enhances data validation and fraud detection, ensuring accuracy and compliance. RPA capabilities streamline repetitive tasks, such as updating employee records and calculating wages, allowing payroll professionals to focus on strategic initiatives. The self-service features empower employees to manage their information easily, while robust cybersecurity measures protect sensitive data. By integrating these functionalities, UKG One View not only simplifies multi-country payroll management but also provides real-time insights, making it an essential tool for organizations aiming to thrive in the dynamic payroll landscape of 2025.
