Zellis launches HCM AIR with AI real-time payroll features

Zellis has announced a major product upgrade, Zellis HCM AIR, which integrates advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time payroll calculation to enhance its payroll and HR software offerings. The company aims to improve functionality, user experience, accuracy, and efficiency for employers in the UK and Ireland.

The upgrade introduces four new features designed to modernise the payroll experience. These are real-time payroll, intelligent anomaly detection, intelligent data entry, and intelligent payslips. Each feature is intended to address specific challenges within the payroll and HR processes.

Real-time payroll is a significant addition, replacing traditional batch processing with an "always in calc" model. This approach aims to distribute workloads more evenly across the payroll cycle, thereby reducing peak workloads and end-of-month stress. According to Zellis, this feature will provide payroll teams with more time to verify data and drive accuracy, ultimately reducing the costs associated with errors and late leavers. Real-time data dashboards are also included to enhance payroll visibility, support agile decision-making, and improve operational resilience. Additionally, autonomous payroll task-scheduling is part of this feature set.

Intelligent anomaly detection uses AI and rules-based methods to identify irregular or unexpected payroll data. This feature aims to highlight potential errors in real-time, enabling them to be corrected immediately. By reducing the need for manual payroll verification, this capability is expected to save significant time and effort for payroll teams.

Intelligent data entry enhances efficiency by scanning information from handwritten or printed HR forms such as P45s and new starter documents. This information is then automatically entered into the relevant employee records, reducing the need for manual data input.

The intelligent payslip feature offers personalised, AI-powered explainer messages in digital payslips, helping employees to understand their pay, deductions, and variations over time. Powered by Azure OpenAI, this feature builds on Zellis's existing integration with Microsoft Azure, including Power Automate and Power BI. The goal is to improve financial understanding among employees and reduce pay-related queries.

During the product launch event in London, which was streamed online, company leaders provided demonstrations of the new features. A keynote address from future-of-work analyst Anita Lettink highlighted the potential impacts of these innovations. Clare Barclay, CEO of Microsoft UK, participated in a fireside chat during the event, emphasising the strong partnership between Zellis and Microsoft.

George Dunnett, Chief Product Officer at Zellis, stated, “As a company, we are proud of our innovative culture, and we have been very thoughtful about the best use cases for new technology. Zellis HCM AIR is a truly significant product upgrade, enabled by our sophisticated data architecture, that supports unprecedented levels of efficiency and accuracy, and we look forward to bringing these tangible benefits to our customers.”

Dunnett also noted that the design of Zellis HCM AIR considers both employer and employee needs. “Realtime payroll reduces the stress that payroll teams experience at the end of each month, and intelligent payslips will improve employees' financial understanding by bringing a personalised and consumer-grade experience to payroll,” he said.

Anita Lettink, a future-of-work expert, commented on the significance of these innovations, stating, “These innovations will help to solve some of the most pressing issues that employees and payroll teams are facing today. Not only that, they provide the valuable use cases that HR leaders are looking for as AI becomes ever more pivotal in the future of work.”

Customers using Zellis Managed Services also have the option to upgrade to Zellis Managed Service AIR. This next-generation service combines the technology of Zellis HCM AIR with exclusive collaboration tools and transformation expertise, aiming to enhance colleague experiences and support customer transformation agendas.

Zellis HCM AIR is expected to be generally available in the third quarter of 2024, with additional functions and features to be introduced in subsequent cloud cycle releases.