Companies Should Strive for Perfect Paychecks – Friday Distraction
One of my favorite videos is an old clip from the television show “Scrubs” where Dr. Cox gives a lesson on the endless pursuit of perfection. If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out on YouTube.
We often talk about the challenges of being a perfectionist. That trying to be perfect can lead to stress and burnout. But aren’t there times when we should want the endless pursuit of perfection? Like with medicine?
And with employee paychecks.
I’m not saying that medicine and pay are the same thing. But they both share the endless pursuit of perfection. Today’s Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos reminded me how important – and how much work – perfect paychecks are.
Some people might say, “What’s the big deal? If a paycheck is wrong, it will get fixed next pay period.” Here’s what’s wrong with that. Some employees can’t wait a week or two for the mistake to get fixed. They need that money for rent, gas, and food. There are employees right now in states impacted by hurricanes that have missed work and don’t know how they’re going to make up the money they lost during the storms.
Striving for perfect paychecks is important.
Let employees know how to resolve paycheck issues. Companies will make mistakes, but companies can also fix the mistake. During orientation, let employees know how to read their paycheck and where to go when they have questions.
Have HR and payroll available on paydays. It can make some sense to have someone available from human resources or payroll on paydays just to answer questions. That way, issues can be cleared up quickly. It sends a good message when efforts are made to resolve employee pay matters.
Give employees options. Some employees are totally cool with waiting until the next payday and others aren’t. Instead of making the decision for an employee, give them their options and let them decide. That tells employees they are in control of the situation.
Employees deserve perfect paychecks. But let’s face it, occasionally mistakes are going to happen. Organizations can put great processes in place so, when necessary, they can have a perfect recovery.
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