10 tips for leveraging Payworks’ solutions while navigating the impact of COVID-19 on your business

As each day goes by in this new era of COVID-19, Canadian businesses are adapting their practices to reflect the realities of physical distancing, the overlapping spheres of work and home and the unique challenges (and opportunities!) offered by remote work.

It can be particularly difficult for payroll and HR professionals to respond nimbly without the right tools in place. Fortunately, Payworks’ cloud-based solutions were developed with a mobile workforce in mind.

Here are 10 tips on how to best leverage our platform during these uncertain times in order to continue serving your business and employees most efficiently:

1. Try notifications and tools to streamline payroll processing

Using notifications and customizing the “Your Day” tile on the home screen can help keep you informed about your important payroll and HR tasks and timelines.

For clarity on how COVID-19 is impacting your payroll, you can track specific earnings and accruals in their own silos. Use “Create an Earning” to establish a new category. For organizations that want to provide employees with a COVID-19-specific balance, create an accrual and preload a balance.

2. Calculate CRA’s 10% Wage Subsidy with ease

Utilize our Temporary Wage Subsidy Calculator, which calculates the subsidy applicable on your next payroll run and will reduce the income tax remittance value by that amount.

The calculator also allows for manual override to take advantage of any remittance reductions that you qualify for retroactively. Clients can log into their Payworks account to access a helpful video tutorial and step-by-step instructions on how to use the calculator tool.

Updated July 28, 2020: While the Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy for Employers subsidy period is now over, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules allow reductions to future payroll remittances if an employer has not claimed the full amount. Please see the CRA's FAQs, Payworks’ COVID-19 Related Government Relief and Legislation Guide for Canadian Business or Payworks’ Legislation FAQs (accessible via the home screen) for more information, or contact your Client Service Representative.

3. Turn data into informed decisions in uncertain times

To understand where you’ve been in order to help predict where you’re headed, use Workforce Analytics to look at metrics like payroll costs, turnover, and timesheet and absence information and potential discrepancies.

4. Access the Help Centre and home screen for ROE support and legislative updates

We’re also staying on top of both federal and regional legislation, and keeping you informed via the home screen – make sure to check back frequently for guidance on how the latest developments apply to your business.

Our client Help Centre also serves as a wealth of information. It includes a library of COVID-19 related articles, tips for payroll professionals and ROE-specific videos.

5. Go paperless to ensure employees receive their statements and payments on time

As employees continue to work remotely and delivery services may be impacted by COVID-19, we encourage all businesses to consider switching to direct deposit wherever possible and forego printed cheques. And with Payworks’ mobile Employee Self Service (ESS), employees can even access their pay stubs or tax forms from home.

6. Keep track of company assets and make sure you know how to reach your team

Whether it’s a shipment of brand-new tech to improve home office capabilities or a pick-me-up delivery of cookies from your local bakery, you need to know how to contact your employees while they’re working remotely – that means basic details like addresses, phone numbers, emergency contacts and more need to be up to date (and you might be surprised at how out of date they can be).

With ESS, employees can manage this information themselves. A quick email to your team requesting that they log in and update or confirm their profiles can save you some headaches down the road.

You can also access the Company Property screen in Payworks Human Resources to keep track of disbursement of computers, cell phones and other company-owned assets that are sent offsite to support your remote workforce.

7. Communicate up-to-the-minute company news quickly and effectively

As your business’ own updates and procedures continue to evolve, use Bulletins and Company Documents within ESS to communicate them quickly to your employees.

8. Use Time Management to improve transparency

Let’s face it: effective communication is a lot more challenging when we can no longer pop our heads over the cubicle wall! You’ll need better visibility into when your employees are working and when they’re taking a well-deserved break to attend to life outside the (virtual) office.

Payworks Time Management allows you to manage who’s working when and makes it clear to employees what your team looks like on any particular day if you turn on Shared Calendar in ESS, where employees will be able to see each other’s scheduled shifts.

9. Take time tracking online

You can also use ESS to switch from using time punch clocks to online timesheets or Web Time with Locations through ESS, the latter of which allows employees to punch in and out from any web-enabled device at any time and includes GPS verification.

If your team is still onsite and you’d like to keep using time clocks, we recommend continuing to disinfect touch clocks per health authority recommendations – or better yet, switching to the UFace 800 facial recognition clock to minimize contact.

10. Use Absence Management to make time for time off

Our Absence Management solution allows employees to submit time-off requests – and allows you to approve them – from home with the click of a button. Enabling the Shared Calendar in ESS can show your whole team who’s away for the day (even if all that means these days is that they’re in a different room of the house).

Standing behind all of Payworks’ solutions is a nationwide team almost 350 strong that’s here to serve you and (as always) includes your dedicated, CPA-trained Client Service Representative who knows you and your unique business needs.

If you have ROE-specific questions, our dedicated ROE email inbox is a convenient option for service support.

There are many things to consider as the Canadian business landscape continues to evolve, but the foundation of your payroll and HR processes shouldn’t be among them. We’re here to help.