A West Flemish services company with around 250 employees took over a second company and had to fully merge with it. A growth story on paper. In practice, a minefield, with payroll as the biggest risk.
The two companies worked with different social secretariats, fell under different joint committees and applied different wage structures and employment conditions. In addition, employees worked in multiple countries, each with their own local payroll rules and providers. Everything had to grow together, while every pay slip had to remain correct down to the euro, in every country. One mistake and the employees' confidence was immediately hit.
Step 1: Katrien combines payroll and transformation
Through HR as a Service, Human Minds introduced Katrien, a Transformation & Payroll Manager. She started her career in a social secretariat and grew into an expert in international payroll and HR transformation. She knew the technology of payroll processing as well as the dynamics of a changing organization. That combination made her the right person.
Step 2: harmonize the payroll
Katrien first mapped everything out: the different wage structures, benefits and collective labor agreements across the joint committees. She then mapped out a migration path to one streamlined payroll process, with clear choices about what was aligned and what was temporarily retained. She coordinated local partners for foreign employees and monitored compliance with regulations per country.
Step 3: continuity without errors
During the entire transition, the payroll administration continued to run as it should. Katrien set up controls and a strict timetable so that every month-end closing proceeded correctly, even during the busiest phase of the integration. No surprises on the pay slip, in any country.
Step 4: people participate in the change
Payroll is technology, but also trust. Katrien therefore also focused on the human side: she streamlined processes and systems, guided managers and communicated clearly to the floor about what changed and why. In this way, integration did not become something that happened to people, but something that they were involved in.
The result
- One streamlined payroll process across both entities
- Harmonized wage and employment conditions across the joint committees
- A correct international payroll, in accordance with local rules
- A correct payslip, every month, in every country
- Employees who understood the change and stayed
Why HR as a Service works
An integration stands or falls with payroll. It is the most underestimated and at the same time most sensitive part of any merger. With someone like Katrien, HR as a Service brings exactly the profile that is rarely available in-house: someone who masters transformation, multi-PC complexity and international payroll, and who keeps the payroll administration correct and the people involved at the critical moment.
Remark : these cases are based on real projects. Because these are strategic assignments, we have anonymized the information or worked with aliases. This way, the discretion of our customers is always guaranteed.
