Global Workforce, Local Trust: Barry Flanagan and Steve McWright on Payroll Visibility, Compliance Risks, and Leading with Empathy
Description
Live from isolved Connect in Charlotte, William Tincup and Ryan Leary sit down with Barry Flanagan and Steve McWright to dissect the mess of managing global payroll—and the unexpected consequences of getting it wrong.
From pouring the perfect pint of Guinness to navigating compliance chaos in Poland and Argentina, this episode blends humor with hard truths. Barry and Steve share how hidden jurisdiction issues, fragmented systems, and reactive processes threaten not just legal standing, but employee trust.
The solution? Full visibility, automation, and radical transparency. They walk through a success story of seven countries unified under one platform, and explain why access to accurate information isn't just operationally smart—it’s a philosophy for 2025.
People heroes aren't just administrators. They’re leaders who consolidate, automate, and empathize.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Guinness, rugby, and global context: the Irish connection to compliance
04:28 — The real challenge: payroll consolidation across countries and services
06:17 — Success story: 7 countries, 1 platform, total workforce clarity
07:39 — Compliance blind spots from COVID-era remote work
08:32 — Hyperinflation and policy reversals: Argentina, Poland, France
10:03 — The cost of non-compliance: lost benefits, broken trust
12:08 — Steve on the path forward: automate, empower, consolidate
13:00 — Barry on transparency as HR’s 2025 leadership mandate
14:07 — Defining People Heroes: empathy, leadership, and showing up
This episode was recorded live at isolved Connect on the UNC Charlotte campus.
The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.
Learn more about isolved: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/
Connect with Us:
William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/
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