Global Payroll in 2025: Emerging Trends and Future Perspectives for Payroll Professionals

The global payroll industry is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by advancements in technology, shifting workforce dynamics, and the growing complexity of cross-border compliance. But what does the future hold for payroll professionals as we step into 2025?

“2025 isn’t just a year of challenges; it’s a year of opportunities for payroll leaders to elevate their function’s impact,” Ian Giles says, a global payroll strategist and advisor, who leverages over 25 years of experience in the payroll, payments, and people space, someone who’s worked in multiple roles in Time 100, FTSE 250, and Fortune 500 companies.

In this feature article, Ian shares insights into key trends and developments, the evolution of the profession, and the skills payroll professionals will needto thrive in 2025 and beyond.

In 2025, global payroll remains a highly dynamic field that presents both challenges and opportunities for payroll professionals. “I don't think that the payroll industry has ever been more dynamic than it is right now,” Ian says. But what is the current state of the industry in 2025?

The Ongoing Evolution of the Payroll Industry

“Over the past few years, we've witnessed a seismic shift in how organizations manage and perceive payroll. It's no longer seen as the transactional department that sits in the background in a very dark and dingy office; it's starting to be recognized as a strategic asset."

Like many other payroll professionals, Ian advocates for getting payroll a seat at the table as a business function in its own right. With the imminent rise of the Chief Payroll Officer, payroll seems closer than ever to getting the recognition it deserves. “Payroll normally sits under a CHRO or CFO—and they don’t always get payroll. So it's up to the payroll manager to be the most knowledgeable person, but not necessarily in a position to really lead it,” Ian notes.

“What we're seeing now is a journey from siloed, region-specific payroll systems to unified global platforms. Technology, particularly cloud-based solutions, has brought unseen connectivity, enabling real-time data, seamless compliance, and centralized oversight.”

“We now have near and in some instances real-time information and seamless integration which is allowing payroll to be the strategic asset to inform business decisions.”

"Over the past few years, we've witnessed a seismic shift in how organizations manage and perceive payroll. It's starting to be recognized as a strategic asset."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

The Global Payroll Landscape in 2025

The market for global payroll solutions is equally dynamic, with new players entering the market that challenge the offering of existing solution providers. “It is a great space to be at this moment in time. If you look at the right matrices, there are the regular players in the top right-hand corner as leaders, but there are new providers joining the market all the time,” Ian states.

For businesses, the diversification of the market has two major advantages. On the one hand, having more players means more competitive pricing. On the other hand, there seems to be a change in the vendor-client relationship.

“There is this new competitive angle that we haven’t seen before, and it also means that there is a fundamental change. In my opinion, nobody should be working with a supplier or a vendor for payroll; they should be working with a partner-someone who’s in it with them.”

Trust and reliability are two fundamental aspects in the relationship between business and partner. “If you are a new or small business, you especially need to choose wisely. If you're about to put first boots on the ground in a brand new country, you need to work with people that have local knowledge. That's absolutely imperative.”

Technological innovations, such as Artificial Intelligence, are creating new opportunities for payroll. At the same time, we’re seeing a fundamental shift in the way organizations manage their workforce, with an increasing focus on enhancing the employee experience and catering to individual employee needs.

Ian identifies three pivotal trends that are defining the future of payroll:

• Responsible AI integration,

• Hyper-personalization, and

• Global payroll compliance pressure.

Responsible AI Integration

AI is changing global payroll and HR management, not just by automating manual payroll processes and tasks, but by informing business decisions with predictive analytics. “I see AI helping payroll teams (and businesses) forecast labour costs, ensure compliance, and enhance the employee experience,” Ian says.

For the experienced global payroll professional, payroll automation is an essential ingredient for making payroll more strategic in the long term. “With the right kind of RPA, AI, and other technologies, we're taking away the mundane, repetitive tasks that payrollers have historically done. We then get to the value-adding activities we can never do because we're too busy doing other things.”

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Hyper-Personalization

Employees increasingly expect personalized pay structures, compensation packages, and benefits. With the current multigenerational composition of the workforce, organizations have no choice but to aim for a hyper-personalized approach to pay and benefits.

“For the first time in modern history, there are five generations in the workplace. Those generations all want something different. Employee expectations are driving payroll innovations like flexible pay schedules, Earned Wage Access, and tailored benefits that cater to diverse workforces,” Ian explains.

“For instance, I might want my benefits to be centered around pension and end of employment, whereas others might want gym memberships, pet insurance, and all kinds of other things. If you want to retain employees for as long as possible, you've got to start thinking outside the box, you have to make them ‘sticky’.”

"Employee expectations are driving payroll innovations like flexible pay schedules, Earned Wage Access, and tailored benefits that cater to diverse workforces."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

Global Compliance Pressure

As shown by Dayforce’s latest “Payroll Complexity Survey”, compliance challenges remain one of today's top payroll pain points experienced by organizations, with 70% of respondents stating that payroll compliance has become more complex over the past two years.

“Compliance is at the forefront and should really be something that we're thinking about all the time. With regulatory landscapes tightening across regions, ensuring compliance isn’t optional - it’s a top priority. From ESG reporting to data privacy mandates, payroll professionals are now critical compliance guardians.”

With more and more countries actively tackling gender pay gaps, the compliance pressure is mounting even more. “Looking at the EU Pay Transparency Directive, lots of changes are going to take place over the next couple of years. Further down the line, we might even see an APAC Transparency Act or a Latin America Transparency Act,” Ian remarks.

"With regulatory landscapes tightening across regions, ensuring compliance isn’t optional - it’s a top priority."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

While the regulatory pressure on organizations increases, there are additional developments that render global compliance management more complicated than it used to be. One of these developments is the rise of remote and hybrid work.

“There are still many businesses that haven’t implemented return-to-office mandates, and won’t. I think what we're going to see is governments clamping down on tax and social security, and it's a scary thought—particularly from a business point of view.”

Remote work can quickly turn into a legal pitfall for businesses that fail to keep track of their employees’ actual working location. If employees go on unauthorized long-term workations abroad, this can trigger severe compliance risks, such as permanent establishment and associated tax and social security contribution debts.

“In some cases, governments aren’t getting the revenue from tax and social security from businesses they should be, and some are getting more than they should. And when employees are found to have spent several months in a country where they are not registered, this can potentially lead to business closure because not every business can afford the fines and the implications that will come with it.”

The new realities of remote work might ultimately require businesses to introduce changes to existing reporting, monitoring, and compliance mechanisms. “Nobody wants to have the Big Brother scenario where we're tracked through our laptop’s IP address. But things have got to change. People have got to pay money to the countries where they're actually working,” Ian states.

Growing Pressure on Global Payroll Professionals

Stricter regulatory compliance requirements and the additional challenges and complexities linked to remote work have a direct impact on payroll professionals. “If such scenarios occur, it's very difficult and challenging,” Ian emphasizes.

“We really need to review contracts of employment. We need to look at where our people are working. We need to have an organization that is prepared for those kinds of eventualities.” Hence the need for a strategic payroll.

“You don’t want to have a reactive payroll. If you're coming up against these challenges over and over again, you need to look at how the maturity of your payroll can be improved to actually turn it into that strategic function that you need it to be.”

The shift towards a more strategic payroll has a profound impact on the job itself. How is the role of the global payroll professional changing in a world where payroll is becoming more and more technology-driven and fulfills an increasingly strategic function?

From Spreadsheets and Keystrokes to Highly Advanced Tech Stacks

“One of the most significant shifts this year is the evolving role of payroll professionals. As compliance risks grow and technology reduces manual work, payroll teams are beginning to step up as strategic advisors, influencing decisions on talent strategies, cost management, and global expansion,” Ian states.

What used to be a position that involved a lot of manual work and spreadsheet calculations is now undergoing a major transformation. “In the past, payroll professionals primarily dealt with manual calculations, spreadsheets, and compliance updates. When I started in payroll, we didn't have automation. Yes, we had systems, but they were nothing like they are now. Back then, doing payroll took around 500,000 keystrokes a week.”

“Timesheets were handwritten and printed. They needed to be collected and then transferred to a spreadsheet. So you'd sit there with a piece of paper, a ruler, and a highlighter, and you'd cross off everything as your finger ran down the screen. That's what it was like. Now, there are employee self-service portals where they can log their hours through their phone.”

In the digital age, payroll professionals have a growing tech stack at their fingertips that not only allows them to work more efficiently, but to also fulfill the changing requirements of their role.

“Today, payroll teams leverage advanced tools like global payroll platforms which unify payroll data across multiple countries. They have data analytics tools that enable them to provide actionable insights into workforce costs and trends in almost real time.”

"As compliance risks grow and technology reduces manual work, payroll teams are beginning to step up as strategic advisors, influencing decisions on talent strategies, cost management, and global expansion."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

From Outdated Payroll Data to Real-Time Information and Integration

“One of the big issues that we've had with payroll up until recent years is that, by the time we've run the payroll, paid people, and done the reporting, the information is outdated. With real-time information, we can have conversations as to whether or not payroll is right before actually completing it.”

Having access to real-time payroll data is an important enabler for payroll professionals to create value and become real strategic contributors within their organization. “With real-time insights, we get to help businesses make proper decisions about where we should be operating, what costs look like, and whether or not we're overspending.”

The effect on payroll teams: enhanced efficiency and a more strategic focus. “With APIs and integration, we are now able to connect payroll, finance, and ERP systems. These technologies have reduced the time we spend on repetitive tasks, shifting the focus toward strategic activities like compliance management, process optimization, and employee experience,” Ian remarks.

The role of the payroll professional is changing. With this change comes the need for payrollers to up their game and develop and acquire new skills which they might not have needed a decade ago. Which payroll skills are key in 2025 and beyond?

Technical proficiency, data analytics skills, and a profound understanding of AI and machine learning are a good starting point for payroll professionals to keep up with modern payroll requirements. Paired with soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, and change management, these skills already provide a sound baseline of what is needed to succeed. But it takes more than being tech-savvy to become an accomplished payroll professional.

“We need to be strategic thinkers who understand how payroll data impacts broader financial and organizational goals, and we have to be compliance experts who keep up to date on complex global regulations and apply them correctly”, Ian elaborates, before adding another key ingredient into the mix.

“Payroll professionals also have to have a focus on the employee experience to ensure that payroll processes are accurate and timely and that they align with employee expectations. Employee expectations are changing, and they are becoming more demanding than ever.”

“To me, the modern payroll professional is no longer just a number cruncher. They're tech-enabled, strategic leaders contributing to organizational growth.”

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How Can Payroll Professionals Upskill to Stay Strategically Relevant?

In order to stay relevant and drive positive change within their organization, payroll professionals need to embrace continuous learning and adopt a forward-thinking mindset. How can they upskill to fulfill the requirements of a role that is undergoing a deep transformation?

“If payroll professionals stay with a single business for a long time, they often have the same manager for a number of years. Yet payroll professionals grow with mentorship, with coaching, with the right leader—and not necessarily with somebody who is just a manager.”

With the wide range of webinars, podcasts, and events that are available, payroll professionals aren’t short of learning resources. However, they often don’t have the time to actually benefit from the offer. “With many payrolls being either immature or reactive, payroll teams are constantly occupied so that they don't get the opportunity to use their learning budgets,” Ian says.

The seasoned payroll professional especially stresses the importance of attending payroll conferences and similar events to meet like-minded payrollers who will share their stories and advice. “For me, having those conversations is really valuable because that's how we grow. It doesn't matter how long you've been in payroll, there’s always something you can still learn.”

"Payroll professionals grow with mentorship, with coaching, with the right leader—and not necessarily with somebody who is just a manager."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

There’s no doubt that there are exciting times ahead for global payroll professionals. But with things developing as they are at the moment, what does the future of global payroll look like? What can we expect to see in a couple of years from now?

“It’s an exciting time to be in payroll,” Ian says. The global payroll expert sees several developments that will play a pivotal role in the future: technological advances, an increasing need for real payroll specialists, and an important step forward on the payroll maturity ladder.

“I think technology is going to improve. If we look at AI, at some point in time, it will start doing things autonomously and we won't need to be nearly as involved as we need to be now. But this use of technology will also mean that we need real payroll specialists—rather than people who are just moving data from one place to another.”

This growing need for payroll specialists could be addressed through bringing existing talent back into the industry. “I think that lots of people who have left the industry since the pandemic will start coming back,” Ian adds.

“When the right people start coming back into the industry, and while people that are in the industry now are growing their experience whilst using technology, we will see some significant changes. We are going to see more controlled and more strategic payrolls than immature and reactive ones.”

However, the global payroll professional doesn’t see these changes happening overnight. “It’s not about the immediate future. Our businesses don't get better payrolls if we're just thinking about the now and the next payroll cycle. We need to be talking about the next 12 months, even the next two or five years.”

His advice for payroll professionals: “Keep doing what you’re doing. Nobody should expect you to know everything on the spot, but you should know where to find what you need. There are a ton of resources out there. Get active, get involved, and get connected.”

"We are going to see more controlled and more strategic payrolls than immature and reactive ones."

Ian Giles

Global Payroll Strategist & Advisor, LinkedIn Top Voice

Ian Giles is a Global Payroll Sales Director at Dayforce and applies market expertise built from more than 25 years in the payroll, payments, and people space. His experience includes roles in Time 100, FTSE 250, and Fortune 500, providing leadership, direction, consultation, and strategies to populations of more than 100,000+ employees per cycle in over 170 countries to start-up, scale-up, and enterprise organisations in a multitude of industries.

Ian is widely respected and acknowledged globally for his knowledge, research, advisory work, and thought leadership in the space. He is a LinkedIn Top Voice, a regular contributor to industry events, publications, webinars, and podcasts, and has recently been recognised as 1 of the 10 top voices from the payroll industry worth following in 2024 and beyond.