Switzerland payroll delivered with precision

While Switzerland’s resident population of 8.9 million makes it the 22^nd most populated country in Europe, its subdivision into 26 cantons (member states) across which four official languages are spoken (German, French, Italian and Romansh) makes it one of the most complex countries to operate payroll within.

“In addition to each canton having its own regulations and administrative timeframes, notably around social security and taxation,” observes Tania Osadciuc, Operations Manager for Swiss payroll at Safeguard Global, “each produces documentation and typically requires engagement with its administration in its local language. Moreover, the main business language is English. As such, our multilingual team is there to support both companies and individuals navigate their way through these administrative complexities in whichever language – or languages – are required.” Tania’s team is also regularly asked to support global payroll clients to establish a legal trading entity in Switzerland. In these cases, Tania's team helps liaise with local insurance scheme providers to present a range of versatile options.  

In advance of any implementation, Tania and her team are also regularly called upon to talk to prospective international payroll clients about what they can provide and, crucially, how they operate. “They want to speak with people who will actually deliver their solution, to gain reassurance that the people on the ground can demonstrate the local and global payroll knowledge and experience that they need. They often throw scenarios at us to respond to and demonstrate our know-how, ask for case study examples, elaborate on our experience, and talk about what additional HR services can be provided if required. Essentially, they want to establish trust in our abilities ahead of making a commitment. They want to feel confident ahead of time.”  

Even when committed to working together, it is normal for clients to have a certain degree of apprehension about the payroll transition, which also typically comes with very tight and immovable timescales. “On one particular go-live,” Tania recalls, “we learned that we additionally needed to accommodate extremely complex pension contribution calculations as part of the solution – something we initially did not expect to be within our remit. While this required a massive effort to build calculation tools from scratch to accommodate the additional requirement, it was paramount that we delivered against the need – not just to meet the client’s day-one expectations but also to establish trust in the fact that that we can adjust solutions and evolve according to their needs.”  

Having a team with the capability to deliver against ever-evolving requirements does not happen by chance for Tania. “We work hard to source the best talent – from the novices we hire and nurture to those at an advanced experience level – with whom we go on to secure notable tenure. The average work experience of our payroll specialists, the most junior but most critical members of the team, spans six years. Moreover, they all work towards becoming certified HR professionals - the combination of which is gold dust for our clients and a talent attraction tool for us.” 

However, to allow for career development – which Tania believes is essential to ensure that you retain your very best people – “you need to allow people to progress, diversify their client portfolio, work on challenging new requirements, and engage in more complex projects. This rotational approach enables learners who are agile and adaptive to develop their career within the company. The benefit to our clients is that the knowledge and experience of the team continues to be enriched.” That said, Tania also notes that they do have team members who just want to stay and develop their expertise with the same client portfolio, and that it is equally as important to accommodate their preferences. “As such, the management of these two types of payroll professional is a fine balancing act – and success is measured by how we enable personal growth while strengthening client relationships.” 

And in terms of the unifying DNA of the payroll professionals who comprise Tania’s team, she is clear that “passion and loyalty are the prerequisites for a successful career within payroll: passion for the work and for the company, and loyalty to the cause. It is extremely fast paced, however,” she continues, “so you need to enjoy the feeling of adrenaline! And, with milestones and deadlines that must be met, you need to be results-oriented, have the capacity to deliver with continuity on immovable expectations, and be accountable. You also need to be flexible and adaptive, hunt out opportunities, and have a desire to grow through experience. And you also need to have the ability to embrace and let go of pressure with ease. I liken it a bit to being a surgeon. You have to be calm, thrive and deliver under pressure.”  

Tania chose Switzerland payroll as a career. After working in a bank for two years and discovering that both the work and the style of management were not for her, she met acquaintances who were working in payroll. Intrigued, she started to research the occupation and, from her first interview onwards, she knew that this was the career for her. “One of the key attractions of the role is the autonomy that you are given – you are free to navigate your own area, within the governance framework that provides us structure as a company. With so much space for creativity, the potential for growth is only limited by personal desire and ambition. And the joy that is derived from making things happen - and the praise that you receive for doing so - is addictive. I was amazed at how valued and appreciated I am made to feel just by diligently doing my work.” 

Tania has a very high bar of expectation in terms of what diligence looks like, however. “My brain always seeks to deliver to such a high standard – I have to deliver the best of the best. And when things are smooth, I think I am not doing enough. I have to remind myself that the reason it is so smooth is because of the incredible team of people that I lead. Our values are so radiant; it truly is a harmonious working relationship which, in turn, means that we can deliver with precision for our clients.”