CHROs have the difficult job of defining and executing internal policies
Compliance may be the least sexy word in the workplace handbook but it has grown in importance as the volume and scale of business activities have increased. Australia is one of the most highly regulated and complex industrial environments in the world and with flexible or hybrid working rapidly becoming the norm, risk management and compliance are one of the main challenges facing the HR profession.
With CHROs and HRDs largely responsible for managing compliance issues, professionals in these senior roles have the job of defining and executing HR policies.
Compliance requires really good systems of record for managing time, attendance, allocating the right people to the right role, monitoring contracted hours against overtime, salary and visa requirements. Not only do these systems keep the company within the law, they have the potential to save the business money.
Access Group data estimates that around 1-2% cost is saved from proactive and compliant rosters, employee scheduling, and accurate time and attendance practices. Roy Mellon, Access Definitiv Director at Access Group, gives an example of the kind of efficiencies that result from joined-up compliance systems.
“If I'm an electrician, my role will require me to have an electrical license, but if you send me to a particular mine plant, I might need a high voltage license to gain access. To prevent employees from being turned away at the gate, a workforce management system should link licensing to rostering. It should notify employers when licenses need to be renewed or employees are not qualified to do the job,” says Mellon.
On the other hand, compliance breaches can lead to financial penalties and be enormously damaging to a company’s reputation. Mistakes in payroll are not simply mistakes, they’re deemed as wage theft.
It’s up to HR to be proactive about having systems in place to know if the business is compliant and, just as importantly, to be able to demonstrate compliance.
HR needs to ask: Is there a culture of compliance among staff and contractors? Compliance can be seen as a policing function within an organisation, complex to navigate and demanding of time. Successful adoption of compliance behaviour depends on bringing people along with you. Involving them in the reasons for compliance, explaining and understanding the systems and getting feedback.
“It's about introducing proactive measures - there's no point identifying excessive hours when they have already been worked and subsequently exposing the directors and officers in the organisation to compliance breaches,” says Mellon. A fatigue-management solution can be a huge benefit because it ensures more traceable compliance in terms of working hours and saving on labour costs.
Outsourcing payroll is an option that helps business growth, says Mellon. Managing payroll in-house can be time-consuming and expensive; outsourcing makes processing more affordable. In addition, the slightest payroll error can damage your company's reputation and get you in trouble with the law. For this reason, some businesses choose to outsource payroll processing so that HR can focus on other aspects of the business that are more people focussed.
The new world of hybrid/flexible working – be it location or the number of hours worked and when - is making compliance issues even more complex. Most companies have accepted that to attract and retain employees, they need to offer flexibility. But flexibility comes with new compliance challenges about when and where and how long people are working.
Online and real-time systems are key to successfully managing these new ways of working. Digital software solutions can help streamline these systems and processes, enabling us to optimise the workforce and bring out the best of your business, says Mellon.
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