Inventive Strategies to Accelerate Payroll Process

Problem

The regular payroll process in CATAPA, before my involvement, closely followed benchmarks set by other HRIS previously used by CATAPA's main customers to facilitate familiarity. Thus, initially setting aside ease of use and efficiency.

Following the same HRIS model, regular payroll calculations (payroll, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, BPJS Kesehatan, and PPh 21) are processed separately on each modules before the payment process. Additionally, if there are additional processes such as THR/Bonus, retroactive salary adjustments, loans, or salary transitions, each of these must be processed and paid separately (each additional process adds two steps).

For example, in a period some employees get regular payroll, THR, and loan disbursement. The overall workflow by payroll HR as follows:

1. Access the Payroll module → Navigate to the Regular Salary Process menu → Click on Process.

2. Access the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan module → Navigate to the BPJS Ketenagakerjaan Process menu → Click on Process.

3. Access the BPJS Kesehatan module → Navigate to the BPJS Kesehatan Process menu → Click on Process.

4. Access the PPh 21 module → Navigate to the PPh 21 Process menu → Click on Process.

5. Return to Payroll module → Navigate to the Salary Payment menu → Click on Process.

6. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Process menu → Click on Process.

7. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Payment menu → Click on Process.

8. Access the Loan Management module → Navigate to the Disbursement Process menu → Click on Process.

9. Still within the Loan Management module, access the Disbursement Payment menu → Click on Process.

In conclusion, during that payroll period, users were required to perform 24 steps (or 14 steps without the additional processes), which proved to be excessively cumbersome and intimidating for CATAPA new target users as it is expanding the market.

Solution

One-Click-Payroll

In alignment with technical feasibility, as a product designer, I collaborated with the Payroll module's product managers to determine the most efficient way to do regular payroll. We discovered that payroll, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, BPJS Kesehatan, and PPh 21 could be at once processed from the user's perspective, with data dependencies handled behind the scenes within the system.

The One-Click-Payroll initiative, consolidating the payroll, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, BPJS Kesehatan, and PPh 21 calculations, combined those separate modules into Payroll module. The revised steps of previous use case are as follows:

1. Access the Payroll module → Navigate to the Regular Salary Process menu → Click on Process.

2. Still within the Payroll module, access the Salary Payment menu → Click on Process.

3. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Process menu → Click on Process.

4. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Payment menu → Click on Process.

5. Access the Loan Management module → Navigate to the Disbursement Process menu → Click on Process.

6. Still within the Loan Management module, access the Disbursement Payment menu → Click on Process.

As post-payroll process users need to review detailed calculation results, we have retained separate calculations results for payroll, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, BPJS Kesehatan, and PPh 21 in one menu; in addition to the detailed final salary amounts for each employee.

Centralized Payment

Regarding additional processes still processed and paid separately, we based our approach on the user behavior that typically involving simultaneous payment with regular payroll. Hence, the Centralized Payment initiative allows users to process these payments collectively, detecting whether the specified payment date during processing aligns with the regular payroll date.

The revised steps for previous use case after Centralized Payment and One-Click-Payroll are as follows:

1. Access the Payroll module → Navigate to the Regular Salary Process menu → Click on Process.

2. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Process menu → Specify the payment date and click on Process.

3. Access the Loan Management module → Navigate to the Disbursement Process menu → Specify the payment date and click on Process.

4. Return to the Payroll module → Navigate to the Salary Payment menu → Click on Process.

Centralized Payment not only streamlines the simultaneous processing of regular and non-regular payments, but also consolidates the total details received by each employee into a single accessible pay slip.

Payroll Dashboard

The Payroll Dashboard is my initiative designed for HR professionals seeking ease in monitoring payroll progress at a glance, eliminating the need to delve into extensive payroll and each employee details. This enhancement idea primarily targets our new persona who prioritizes simplicity, has limited experience in taxation, and trusts their companies' payroll calculations entirely handled through CATAPA.

With the Payroll Dashboard, users can:

1. Directly access a page to quickly process payroll and process centralized payment simultaneously. Since it is positioned as the default landing page upon accessing the Payroll module, the dashboard serves as the main page, reducing the steps required to locate where HR can process payroll and payment.

2. Quickly assess whether a month's salary has been processed and paid, seamlessly navigate and scan between months without opening a month selection dropdown.

3. Effortlessly navigate through additional processes by simply clicking on the provided links, eliminating the need to memorize each process and locations.

The revised steps for previous use case after Centralized Payment, One-Click-Payroll, and Payroll Dashboard are as follows:

1. Access the Payroll module, Payroll Dashboard → Click on Process.

2. Still within the Payroll module, access the Additional Income Process menu → Specify the payment date and click on Process.

3. Access the Loan Management module → Navigate to the Disbursement Process menu → Specify the payment date and click on Process.

4. Return to the Payroll module, Payroll Dashboard → Click on Process.

Outcome

Following the implementation of One-Click-Payroll, Centralized Payment, and the Payroll Dashboard, the payroll process at CATAPA has undergone a transformative shift. Users now experience a drastic reduction in steps, improved accessibility, and enhanced efficiency.

Monthly payroll processes, which in previous use case required 24 steps, reduced to 9 steps (or 14 to 4 steps without additional processes). It have been streamlined to a user-friendly process, making it more navigable and less intimidating, especially for new users. The initiatives have successfully addressed the identified inefficiencies, providing a more seamless and integrated payroll management system at CATAPA.

CATAPA is arguably one of the first (if not the first) HRIS in Indonesia that implements One-Click-Payroll and Centralized Payment. The Payroll Dashboard itself as my design initiatives has been proven successful, being utilized for >25% of the overall payroll processes done within CATAPA.

(The ongoing effort to simplify the payroll process in CATAPA continues, with additional breakthrough ideas from my role as a product designer currently in the backlog.)