2021-05-19 (5)Wednesday afternoon’s workshop “Danger Ahead: Navigating the Perils of Global Employment” put payroll professionals on alert for the highs and lows of global employment.

Led by Catherine Honey, Vice President of Strategic Partner Relations at Safeguard Global, attendees explored the many factors influencing today’s global workforce, one in large part being the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Payroll pros need to be more flexible than ever,” Honey said, opening her presentation. “Our end goal today is to provide you with the knowledge and tools to take advantage of a truly global workforce.”

Attendees learned to assess these areas:

  1. Worker options, including mixtures of expats, local hires, independent contractors, and local employer of record services
  2. Key considerations, including immediacy of need, expected duration, and degree of control required
  3. Flexibility in how to manage

 

“There’s a required flexibility to managing a global workforce that isn’t going away, and work will not go back to the way it was pre-COVID-19,” Honey said. “Applying a thoughtful approach, and perhaps leveraging some of the tools and learning in this session, can help achieve some of the benefits of a truly global workforce.”

Attendees chatted about their own personal experiences on global employment and having to think on their feet, as well as asking their peers for help on current issues in their workplaces.

"Does someone have a playbook on how to set up global payroll as one platform (from start to finish) seeing as we are just starting to do this, I am looking for as much info as possible to help make the process as smooth as possible," said Noreen Tietyen, CPP.

"I used the APA Global Payroll guide in their training class and the vendor playbook (ADP) and they provided each country specific unique requirements," replied Michelle Ganzer, CPP. 

Honey had to put her own teachings into real-time application by adapting her presentation from an in-person workshop to a livestream webinar.

“I tried to encourage engagement by making this session as interactive as possible with plenty of time for dialogue, questions, and discussion in the virtual classroom,” Honey said after the workshop.