Adopting a project-management approach for managing payroll processes can help you achieve a successful year-end.

How do your organization's payroll projects stand up to the whirlwind of year-end activities? By devising a proactive year-end plan, you can weather the storms of payroll project management and breeze right in to a successful new year.

"Year-end tasks can seem extremely daunting," explains Ginny Elkins, Ceridian senior process consultant. "It's difficult to separate everyday work tasks from year-end tasks, but having a plan can help you create a sense of control for managing your year-end."

When creating a plan for year-end project management, your organization's payroll leader or payroll manager should start by considering how long each task should take and who should be on your payroll year-end planning team. Other important aspects of the plan include budget considerations, keeping team members motivated and ensuring task completion is on schedule. A comprehensive plan should include the four key phases outlined below:

Phase one: Initiation

During the initiation phase, prioritize and rank major payroll activities by risk factor, such as high, medium or low. Determine a target completion date for each activity and consider setting up a priorities worksheet to keep tasks on track. Then evaluate the skill sets of those who are best qualified to complete each task. Consider what level of supervision is required, if the team member is capable and willing to do the job, and whether or not you will need to go outside of the payroll department or even the company.

Payroll project management team members also must have clearly defined expectations. This can be accomplished by outlining the scope of team members' roles and requesting that they participate in all planning. You can encourage them to be active members of a successful year-end team by reviewing task lists and explaining how their skill sets support the team.

Phase two: Planning

Begin the planning phase by creating a master list of the required payroll tasks for your year-end project management. You can use your previous year's list, or if you don't already have one, your Ceridian representative can provide you with a checklist to help get you started. Remember to include tasks required by company departments outside of payroll, and third parties.

Next, balance the tasks by time and resources. Divide the project into manageable tasks, determining the most logical sequence of completion and which tasks may interfere with another if not completed on time. It may be helpful to list all of the required tasks in the appropriate order of completion or use a blank calendar and insert the tasks on the days they are scheduled to begin and end. As tasks are sequenced, indicate who will be responsible for completing each task.

Finally, develop a workable master plan. Identify all required tasks by due date using a computerized scheduling program or a blank calendar. Review your task list for "overloads" on specific dates and pay close attention to tasks that have hard dates. Remember to account for company and banking holidays, vacations and normal work responsibilities of team members.

When implementing the planning phase, set an expectation that there will be revisions along the way. Careful preparation and flexibility can help reduce stress when changes occur.

Phase three: Execution

A celebratory kick-off meeting can go a long way to inform, lead and motivate members of the year-end project management team. The team leader should be present, visible and acknowledge the challenges ahead and the commitment of the team to meet those challenges. Meetings and clear communication are important aspects of the execution phase. Make sure your execution plan includes:

• Weekly meetings to ensure everything is on schedule and that any adjustments can be made quickly.
• A schedule for conducting milestone reviews (biweekly is a good plan to start with).
• Attendance of team members at all meetings so that messages are heard by everyone.
• One-on-one communication time with each team member.
• Even with the best laid plans, "firefighting" can be a natural occurrence. To minimize unexpected glitches in the plan, constantly monitor progress and provide quality communications. This includes updating the plan and communicating changes as soon as possible.

Phase four: Completion

Once year-end projects are completed, schedule an event to acknowledge efforts of the team. Consider presenting awards to team members who excelled in their performance, or provide certificates or rewards for all team members. The completion phase also is an important time to learn from experience. An evaluation meeting or survey to solicit feedback from team members can reveal what worked well and where there are opportunities for improvement. Save notes and file away lessons learned so that the plan can be modified for the next year-end.

"The biggest reason to meet your year-end payroll requirements is to ensure that your employees' W-2 information is correct and issued on time," said Elkins. "Effective project management is also essential for filing annual tax returns and making payroll tax deposits resulting from employee paycheck withholding. Through year-end project management, you can ensure that these tasks are completed in a timely manner."

Your year-end can go even smoother with Ceridian's payroll and tax management solutions. Our solutions give you the freedom to focus on what matters most - business initiatives, revenue, recruiting, professional and personal development, even balancing your work and life.

Find out more about Ceridian's payroll solutions.

Call 1-800-PAYROLL or contact us online.

Adapted from the October 2007 issue of Ceridian Connection.