Trying to change the structure (way of working)

Good morning.
This is Take-chan, a Labor and Social Security Attorney & Management Consultant.
Last night, there was a big match between Kamatamare Sanuki and FC Osaka.
It was a gold-medal-worthy 3-1 victory.
Regardless of that big match, this time I will talk about trying to change the structure (way of working).

Feeling down after making a mistake

The other day, a payroll clerk at a client company told me they had made payroll calculation errors for three consecutive months.
They were quite down and asked what they should do.

After listening a little, they told me the following:
・Took over the role following the retirement of a veteran employee.
・Became the main person in charge after a few months of handover.
・I make my own notes and check them for points where I tend to make mistakes.
・This time, I made a mistake in the irregular processing.
・I didn't even know that irregular processing itself was necessary.

It is true that this client has multiple affiliated companies, making payroll processing somewhat difficult.

However, I felt that if they continue with the current method, there is a possibility of making mistakes again.

Knowledge and experience are required for every job

To fully perform a job, knowledge and experience are required for each specific job.
If you are in charge of payroll, you need the knowledge and experience required for payroll calculation.

For payroll, knowledge includes the mechanisms of the Labor Standards Act, employment insurance, social insurance, income tax, and resident tax. Knowing how to use payroll software also counts as knowledge.

This person in charge seemed to have understood the basic parts of the knowledge during the handover period.

If so, it can be said that a lack of experience is causing the mistakes.
Will they keep repeating mistakes until they gain enough experience?That is the question.

※By the way, there is also knowledge and experience required for department managers and section chiefs.
Are you engaging in reckless management without grasping the knowledge and experience?

Grasping the principles and fundamentals

The cause of this mistake was irregular processing.
It seems they processed a case involving an employee who is also an officer under an annual salary system as if it were a normal case, which was the mistake.

After hearing the details of the mistake, I thought that systematically understanding legal theory (i.e., grasping the principles and fundamentals) is something that is irregular, but not really irregular.

Ideally, it would be better to grasp things through principles and fundamentals rather than patterns like 'do this process at this time,' but it is quite difficult to reach that point.

So, I proposed a different approach.

Trying to change the structure (way of working)

When I asked for more details, they said that because payroll processing is urgent, things get hectic and they start to panic.
There are only about 10 days from the closing date to the payment date, and only about 5 days until the actual transfer date.
It gets even worse when processing for multiple affiliated companies, doesn't it?

They said the current method is to start processing the day after the closing date.
I think that was fine for the veteran predecessor.
They would have experienced such irregular processing in the past, after all.

Therefore, I suggested trying to perform intermediate processing in the middle of the month.
・Is there anything different from the previous month?
・Is there any processing that has never been done before?
・Are there any missed time card punches?

I suggested checking these things during the mid-month period when there is more time.
I also asked them to contact me if they have any concerns or areas they are unsure about.

If you try to process everything at once during the actual deadline, the cognitive load increases, and you may not notice minor mistakes.

Therefore, I believe that reviewing the method to reduce the load during the actual deadline and ensuring the brain is in a state where it can trigger a 'Wait a minute' response will lead to eliminating or reducing errors.

I hope this will contribute, even if only a little, to the smooth business operations of our clients.