Get strategic for your clients by turning their data into true business intelligence
Accountants and bookkeepers, we know you’ve heard the buzz: 2023 is all about levelling up. Your clients are grateful to leave their day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities in your capable hands… and now that you’ve earned their trust, you can bring even more value to their business (and, by extension, your own!) by providing more strategic guidance.
Sounds good, but unsure of where to start? For clients using Payworks’ suite of workforce management solutions (such as Payroll, Absence Management, and HR) , Workforce Analytics can help you help them by making it easy to spot trends in payroll costs, cash flow, headcount, seasonality, turnover, pattern absences and more.
Here are three ways Analytics can help you deepen your relationship with your clients by becoming their go-to for uncovering the workforce stories that would otherwise be hidden in plain sight:
1. Saving on staffing
You’re already in the nitty-gritty of your clients’ payroll data… but with Analytics, you can zero in on the less run-of-the-mill situations that can have a big impact on their bottom line.
Just one example: you can use Analytics to quickly and easily compare overtime hours between pay periods, or even year-over-year. If there’s a particular time of year where your client’s business sees an uptick in overtime hours (and therefore, overtime expenses), you may be able to provide them with some comparative options between paying out overtime versus hiring temporary staff.
Either way, you’re empowering them to make the most informed decision for their business, which they’re sure to appreciate!
2. Spotting sick time and turnover trends
Is your client constantly scrambling to manage shift coverage? They may not even be aware of what’s sparking the issue, because they’re too busy putting out the fire. If your client has paired Payworks Payroll with Absence Management or Human Resources, you can do a deep dive on their behalf into sick time trends - frequency, timing, and/or turnover trends by department, occupations and demographic data.
If you notice a pattern, make sure to speak up! Providing your client with the facts puts them back in the driver’s seat and sets them up to ask their own team leaders the right questions so that they can work to reverse any worrisome trends together.
3. Staying competitive as an employer
Has your client mentioned how tough it can be to retain talented staff? While there may be market factors at play beyond their control, it can’t hurt to take a closer look at the employee compensation details visible within their payroll data.
When Analytics is paired with Payroll, you can provide a clear overview of your client’s total earnings components, including the value of benefits, the cost of vacations, expenses, allowances and more… all of which they can compare to their own industry benchmarks. HR Analytics provides insights on their workforce culture by providing cross sections of age, gender diversity, length of service by occupation, department and more. When your clients see the big picture, they may be surprised at how they stack up (whether good or bad!), but will be glad to have all the facts either way.
To learn more about how Payworks’ whole suite of solutions has got you (and your clients!) covered, please visit: payworks.ca/solutions/partnerships/accountants or payworks.ca/solutions/partnerships/bookkeepers.