But according to new research from Strada, many organisations are still struggling to unlock the full value of those investments.
The company’s newly released Workforce Possibility Report 2026 paints a picture of businesses caught between modern systems and old habits, with manual workarounds and legacy processes continuing to dominate day-to-day operations.
The report found that 77% of large employers using major HCM (Human Capital Management) platforms still rely on manual checks, parallel systems or legacy backup processes to keep payroll and workforce operations running smoothly. In other words, despite the technology being in place, many businesses still don’t fully trust it to operate independently.
That lack of confidence is creating what Strada describes as a “value gap” between what these systems are designed to deliver and what organisations are actually experiencing in practice.
The findings suggest many digital transformation programmes are falling short of expectations. Less than a quarter of organisations surveyed reported significant progress in key areas such as reducing manual payroll work or improving compliance confidence.
Just 23% said they had meaningfully cut manual payroll tasks, while only 21% reported major improvements in compliance confidence. For systems often sold on efficiency, automation and risk reduction, those numbers are surprisingly low.
The problem goes beyond payroll administration. According to the research, 81% of organisations now believe workforce complexity is directly affecting their ability to execute wider business strategy.
Instead of streamlined operations, many companies are still juggling fragmented systems, manually reconciling data and maintaining fallback processes long after implementation deadlines have passed. The result is what many in the industry call “shadow operations” hidden layers of manual work that quietly drain time, money and confidence.
Jenni Flaherty, Director of Payroll Product Strategy at Strada, said organisations need to focus not just on implementation, but on continuous optimisation.
She explained that while investment in HR and payroll technology remains strong, many businesses are still in the process of fully integrating and refining those systems. Companies that prioritise ongoing improvement are far more likely to unlock long-term efficiency and value.
The report also highlights another major issue: visibility. Only 39% of organisations surveyed said they have real-time visibility over total global payroll spend, despite payroll being one of the largest operational costs for most businesses.
For many firms, even answering basic workforce questions still involves manually pulling data together from multiple systems, a process that increases the risk of delays, mistakes and poor decision-making.
The research was conducted among 405 senior decision-makers from organisations with more than 1,000 employees across seven global markets, suggesting the challenge is far from isolated.
No comments:
Post a Comment