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Sustainable global payroll process optimization

Successful optimization exercise reduces costs, maintains compliance and offers tremendous ease.

At a glance

Client details

International SOS is a health and security services firm. Headquartered in Singapore and London, it operates worldwide via 81 offices and 26 assistance centres serving over 1,000 locations in 90 countries.

Countries/Region supported by Mercans

Global

HRMS

SuccessFactors

Previous payroll provider

Ramco systems

Mercans’ services

Managed payroll solution

Background

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, International SOS Pte Ltd is a health and security services firm that takes around 4 million assistance calls every year. The company helps organizations and their people to reduce exposure to, and mitigate, health, wellbeing and security risks.

International SOS approached Mercans because they realised that there was significant cost and resource savings to be had if they used a single global payroll provider instead of the legacy providers implemented across the organization.

Assistance calls every year

Locations

Client's challenges & objectives

Challenges

Their solution providers could not guarantee data quality nor increase the level of automation in payroll processing.

One of the biggest challenges was processing payroll across multiple locations and currencies

There were third party tools to use and there were at least four distinct pay groups to manage which created an administrative headache

All of the payroll processing was manually done which was often delayed due to error or redundancies

Payroll was not integrated with their financial management system which increased processing time

There were numerous employee IDs to manage

Their solution providers could not guarantee data quality nor increase the level of automation in payroll processing.

One of the biggest challenges was processing payroll across multiple locations and currencies

There were third party tools to use and there were at least four distinct pay groups to manage which created an administrative headache

All of the payroll processing was manually done which was often delayed due to error or redundancies

Payroll was not integrated with their financial management system which increased processing time

There were numerous employee IDs to manage

Objectives

Consistent payroll data input capture across the organization globally and improved data quality

Reduced payroll processing times, payroll complexity and general administration

Increased automation to reduce manual load, errors and redundancies

Enable payroll to be processed in multiple currencies

Better organizational visibility into their global payroll data to aid quicker decision making

Having payroll integrated with their financial management system

A better way to manage multiple employee IDs

Consistent payroll data input capture across the organization globally and improved data quality

Reduced payroll processing times, payroll complexity and general administration

Increased automation to reduce manual load, errors and redundancies

Enable payroll to be processed in multiple currencies

Better organizational visibility into their global payroll data to aid quicker decision making

Having payroll integrated with their financial management system

A better way to manage multiple employee IDs

Consistent payroll data input capture across the organization globally and improved data quality

Reduced payroll processing times, payroll complexity and general administration

Increased automation to reduce manual load, errors and redundancies

Enable payroll to be processed in multiple currencies

Better organizational visibility into their global payroll data to aid quicker decision making

Having payroll integrated with their financial management system

A better way to manage multiple employee IDs

Pre-Mercans

Post-Mercans

Real impact

Mercans payroll solution has delivered tangible results to International SOS

Task	Before	After
Data exchange	Manual	API
Employee self service	No	Yes
Real-time reporting	No	Yes
Automated payroll	No	Yes
SOC & GDPR Compliance	No	Yes
User access	Manual Credentials	SSO
Multi-currency support	No	Yes
Internal payroll resources	40+	<20

View detailed business benefits

Payroll vendor and system
International SOS was able to successfully transition away from a legacy provider down to a single global payroll platform. In addition to offering compliance guarantees, Mercans guaranteed zero subcontractors and a personalised service.

Data exchange
On review, Mercans discovered significant tax errors and data duplication. API (application programming interface) was introduced to enable real-time client access to their data across all of their modules. This removed manual data exchanges which led to a dramatic reduction in errors and processing time.

Employee self service
Previously not offered, employees could now access their data, update records and track the status of their applications easily, offering convenience and reducing administrative burden.

Real-time reporting
With multiple providers, reporting was a mix of manual and automated formats with no alignment between different providers on how data was to be presented. This changed with the move to HR Blizz™ where real-time and customised reporting were made available.

SOC & GDPR compliance
With multiple providers, there was a lack of consistency on what compliance protection was offered which also shifted based on location. With the switch to HR Blizz™, International SOS was assured that regulatory compliance was guaranteed across all entities and locations.

User access
In the previous arrangement, users had multiple manual credentials. Mercans’ solution offered a SSO (single sign on). This solution would reduce the number of attack surfaces as users would log in once daily and use only one set of credentials. This would also improve enterprise security.

Multi-currency support and integration with finance
Not all providers can offer multi-currency support. We introduced 103 currencies which offered significant ease and convenience to users wherever they were located. Plus, payroll was integrated with finance.

Internal payroll resources
International SOS was able to optimize its payroll and HR resources leading to significant cost savings and increased staff motivation.

Cost optimisation
Process automation and staff optimization has enabled International SOS to achieve remarkable reduction in its total cost of ownership related payroll processes.

Internal payroll resources
International SOS was able to optimize its payroll and HR resources leading to significant cost savings and increased staff motivation.

Cost optimisation
Process automation and staff optimization has enabled International SOS to achieve remarkable reduction in its total cost of ownership related payroll processes.

Explore fully managed payroll for your convenience and ease

Are you lacking the time and resources to manage your payroll? Do you need a customized solution that helps you scale up or down as your business shifts? Find out how Mercans can augment your operations through our front-office and back-office outsourcing services. Let us fully manage your payroll today.

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