Sakeena Adams, Regional People Director, Africa and Middle East (AME) at Sage.
HR and payroll teams are under increasing pressure and heavier workloads. They need systems that enable them to be more strategic.
This is according to speakers participating in a webinar hosted by Sage in partnership with ITWeb this week.
Nkosinathi Mbulumeti, Sales Director HR and Payroll for South Africa and Middle East at Sage, said: “If people power business, HR and payroll power people.”
However, the Sage HR and Payroll Leaders Report 2026 survey, which polled over 1 000 HR and payroll leaders in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, found they are stretched more than ever before. Ninety-one percent reported dramatic changes in HR’s role in the past five years, with an increased workload and longer hours. Despite this, they remain optimistic, care about the future of their profession and genuinely want to make an impact. At the same time, many worry about workload, burnout and the future of their role.
“Technology promises efficiency but actually adds more complexity. This is a systematic challenge,” Mbulumeti said.
In a poll of webinar participants, 73% said they felt overwhelmed by the number of HR or payroll systems they are expected to use today.
Mbulumeti said: “At the same time, we can’t avoid the role of AI. Eighty-six percent of the survey respondents said they believe AI will transform HR and payroll in the next five years, but they are also cautious. In South Africa specifically, there is a strong focus on compliance and payroll accuracy. Trust in payroll is the foundation of employee confidence.”
He noted that technology is viewed as essential, but skills and budget create barriers – particularly in small to medium-sized businesses.
Mbulumeti said: “HR and payroll leaders don’t need more pressure – they need the right support. They need practical technology and responsible innovation: systems that build trust and tools that scale with reality, not theory. When technology works well, automation protects the human touch and gives HR the time to focus on people.”
Hendrik De Bruiyn, Senior Payroll Solution Consultant at Sage South Africa, demonstrated some of the features and enhancements of Sage 300 People, an all-in-one HR and payroll solution designed to streamline processes, improve efficiency and support business growth.
“Sage 300 People increases efficiency and allows HR and payroll to go more paperless than ever before,” he said.
De Bruiyn showcased benefits such as having an employee record for life based on their ID number. “The personnel management module allows you to attach content like accidents, fines and disciplinaries – from documentation relating to an alleged transgression, to witness statements and processes, so if you have to go to the CCMA you can just print it out,” he said.
“The equity module is a live system where you set up plans, track targets and actuals, and include variances. You have every equity meeting to hand and you simply export it to Excel as needed,” he explained. “Reports for unions can be scheduled to go out at a specific date and time, and you can also schedule variance and increase reports.
“Some AI is built into the payslip capabilities, such as an insight feature explaining to the employee any changes in earnings and tax. This can be pasted into an e-mail if the employee has queries about these.
“Sage has also created a new UI that will be coming out shortly into the payroll system that is more modern and easier to navigate,” he said.
De Bruiyn assured delegates: “The system is very secure and allows for fields and even single lines to be hidden, so a payroll administrator doesn’t see what the HR administrator needs to see. Sage doesn’t bring anything to market without months of testing to ensure that it is secure.”
De Bruiyn said that in future, Sage 300 People would also use AI to offer the ability to check and flag discrepancies in payroll inputs, and the ability to create documentation to send to employees.
Sakeena Adams, Regional People Director, Africa and Middle East (AME) at Sage, said: “Payroll and HR are increasingly required to be more strategic. HR and payroll systems like Sage 300 People allow us to partner better with business while the system does what it needs to. It gives HR and payroll the necessary data, automates processes, allows us to be more proactive and better in our role.”
Please click here to download the Sage HR & Payroll Leaders’ Report 2026.
