Organisations are facing growing complexity in how they manage their workforce and a more agile, data-informed response from HR. Yet in many businesses, HR and Payroll functions remain disconnected from strategic planning. When HR and Payroll teams are equipped with the right information and the tools to use this effectively, they can provide real business value, helping to shape strategy, not just implement it.
For many HR and Payroll professionals, the day-to-day is dominated by essential but routine tasks: ensuring accurate payroll runs, maintaining employee records, supporting line managers with workforce queries, and responding to compliance needs. These are critical responsibilities, yet they often leave little room for more strategic contributions.
However, the potential for HR and Payroll teams to add value goes far beyond process execution. These functions hold the data and insights that can inform decisions on everything from workforce planning and organisational design to cost management and compliance. The challenge is not the absence of value, it’s the lack of access, visibility, and time to unlock it.
In this blog, we explore how HR and Payroll teams can shift their role within the business, becoming trusted strategic partners. We’ll look at the mindset and capabilities required, share practical steps to start this journey, and highlight how tools like Query Manager from EPI-USE Labs are enabling teams to take control of their data and deliver timely, actionable insights.
The case for a more strategic HR and Payroll function
Organisations are facing growing complexity in how they manage their workforce. Hybrid work, increasing regulatory scrutiny, cost pressures, and shifting employee expectations all demand a more agile, data-informed response from HR. Yet in many businesses, HR and Payroll functions remain disconnected from strategic planning. They’re often seen as administrative enablers; reliable and compliant, but not deeply involved in business direction.
This disconnect isn’t due to a lack of insight or ability. It’s often rooted in two things: access to timely, trusted data and the capacity to engage with the business at a strategic level. When HR and Payroll teams are equipped with the right information and the tools to use this effectively, they can provide real business value, helping to shape strategy, not just implement it.
Making better use of SAP HCM data
One of the most common barriers to strategic reporting in HR and Payroll is the complexity of accessing SAP HCM data. Many teams rely on IT or technical specialists to build reports, which can be slow, inflexible, and difficult to tailor to changing business needs. In some cases, reports are run manually from multiple sources, increasing the risk of error and inconsistency.
EPI-USE Labs' Query Manager software addresses this challenge by allowing HR and Payroll professionals to create and run their own reports directly from SAP, without needing technical skills. It provides an intuitive interface for accessing live SAP HCM data and building custom queries, allowing for sharing insights with key stakeholders.
This shift in reporting capability has been transformational for many organisations. At Farmers Insurance, for example, with the implementation of Query Manager, the HR Analytics team reduced report errors to 0%, went from delivering 100 reports per month to 1,200, and became a trusted advisor to the business. Read more about the success of Farmers Insurance.
The ability to automate reporting has saved us time, made us more efficient and provide higher quality reports containing actionable insight to our heads of business. Before, [we] were simply running reports, or creating lists of new headcounts and movements. Now we have automated all of that and are able to focus on advanced analytics and predictive models.
John Worman, HR Services /Analytics Manager at Farmers Insurance
Empowering HR and Payroll with self-service reporting
The real power of software like Query Manager lies in the autonomy it gives HR and Payroll teams. When users can access the data they need, when they need it, they can focus more time on interpreting results, identifying trends, and advising the business.
Some of the practical benefits include:
- Faster turnaround on ad hoc data requests
- Reduced reliance on IT or external consultants
- Improved data accuracy and consistency
- The ability to support compliance and audit needs more confidently
- Time savings that can be redirected to more strategic work.
Self-service reporting is not just a technical improvement; it's a shift in how HR and Payroll teams operate. It enables a more responsive, insight-driven function that can engage with the business on a deeper level.
Small changes, big impact
Becoming a strategic partner doesn’t require an immediate overhaul of systems or processes. In many cases, small, focused changes can have a big impact.
This might mean identifying a high-impact reporting need, such as turnover trends, absence patterns, or payroll cost breakdowns, and using that data to start a conversation with leadership. Or it could involve standardising a few key reports that help provide consistency in monthly reporting.
Whatever the starting point, the key is to build momentum. When HR and Payroll teams deliver useful insights quickly and accurately, they build trust, and that trust opens the door to greater strategic influence.
Becoming a strategic partner in 1, 2, 3
Shifting the perception and impact of HR and Payroll requires more than tools. It also involves a mindset change and a willingness to step into a more consultative role.
Here are three principles to support that shift:
1. Speak the language of the business
To influence strategy, HR professionals need to frame their insights in terms of business outcomes, not just headcount or absence rates, but productivity, retention costs, workforce risk, and growth capacity. Understanding the commercial context and aligning HR data to broader organisational priorities is essential.
2. Be proactive, not reactive
Rather than simply responding to requests, strategic HR teams anticipate challenges and identify patterns. This might mean flagging upcoming talent gaps, analysing the cost impact of workforce changes, or modelling different scenarios to support decision-making.
3. Build data confidence
Strategic influence depends on trust in the data. Inaccurate or inconsistent reports can undermine the credibility of HR insights. Investing in better data governance and reporting processes helps ensure that HR information is seen as reliable and useful by other business leaders.
Final thoughts
HR and Payroll teams are already central to how organisations operate, but with better access to data, they can become central to how organisations plan and grow. By improving data access, building confidence in reporting, and adopting a proactive mindset, these teams can elevate their role from operational support to strategic partner.
Tools like Query Manager help make that possible by giving HR and Payroll teams the means to manage their own data and deliver insight with speed and confidence. But the real transformation happens when people start to use that capability to ask better questions, tell better stories with data, and influence the future of work in their organisations.