Employment Hero, a leading people, payroll and benefits software provider, recently released its State of Technology and Payroll Report examining technology adoption and payroll sentiment in the professional services sector across Malaysia and Singapore.
The survey results, which include responses from more than 300 respondents in the professional service industry, found a whopping 76% of Malaysian and Singaporean employees fear their jobs will be replaced by technology. Despite this, 86% of respondents acknowledge that adopting disruptive technology is necessary to future-proof their businesses and their clients’ success. Additionally, 100% of survey respondents said they use at least one type of client-servicing software. However, the average proportion of manual work, defined as digital documents or paperwork that need to be completed manually, remains high, at 63%.
Payroll-specific issues also seem tough to navigate, with respondents saying their main challenges are manual or paper-based processes taking up too much time (22%), unique payroll scenarios (22%), and chasing clients for payroll data (22%). When it comes to the perception of payroll as a service, responses are lukewarm and split between two camps, with 17% of practitioners thinking that payroll services drive additional revenue, 15% who think payroll services are not profitable. That being said, those who are not providing payroll services, cite complex legislation (36%), lack of internal expertise (36%), and finding it expensive to handle payroll for their clients (28%) as their top hesitations.
Interestingly, when it comes to comparing the overall types of software used to manage client work, Malaysian respondents were more likely to use client-servicing software in comparison to Singaporean service providers:
● Accounting software: 79% of MY respondents vs. 67% of SG respondents
● HRM software: 59% of MY respondents vs. 45% of SG respondents
● Payroll software: 75% of MY respondents vs. 69% of SG respondents
● CRM software: 56% of MY respondents vs. 44% of SG respondents
● Invoicing/payments software: 51% of MY respondents vs. 35% of SG respondents
● Practice management software: 42% of MY respondents vs 21% of SG respondents
● Project management software: 35% of MY respondents vs 26% of SG respondents
Additionally, there are some notable differences between practitioners in Singapore and Malaysia — particularly regarding the increase in advisory work versus administrative work over the past few years. Malaysia has seen a more significant increase in administrative work (43% compared to 29% in Singapore%), most probably due to the fact that clients have been cutting down on the technology they use or subscribe to as a way to mitigate rising inflation rates and current economic climate.
“The professional services industry has radically transformed, and firms in Singapore and Malaysia had to embrace digital transformation to adapt as clients are now seeking more comprehensive and personalised services. We found that the biggest challenges clients are facing right now are cash flow difficulties and higher labour costs, and that the best ways firms can support them is through cash flow management and optimisation through technology. HR and payroll solutions can offer much more than meets the eye, and it’s time for practitioners to fully leverage these technologies available to them to provide better service, and better counsel,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, Managing Director Asia at Employment Hero.
