Why Payroll Is Still Undervalued and What Needs to Change with Pete Tiliakos

Behind the Scenes on Why SAP Acquired SmartRecruiters, Autonomous Payroll, AI Agents, & More

In this episode we are joined by Shahzad Naseem from the SAP SuccessFactors Product Strategy team to discuss the strategic reasoning behind the SmartRecruiters acquisition, the roadmap for Autonomous Payroll., & more! We go "under the hood" to explore why SAP chose SmartRecruiters over other vendors. How they evaluated every vendor and what set SmartRecruiters apart, focusing on the strength of their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) vs. "hollow" AI chatbots. Shazad reveals the 2026 vision for Employee Central Payroll (ECP), including the introduction of Autonomous Payroll Agents for compliance, reconciliation, and alerts that allow admins to "go home at 5:00 PM". We also clarify the future of SuccessFactors Recruiting vs. SmartRecruiters and how native onboarding fits into the new ecosystem. Key Takeaways & Chapters 00:00:00 | Intro: The PayrollBADIes Podcast Kickoff 00:01:12 | Meet Shahzad Naseem: SAP Strategy Lead & Musician 00:06:40 | The SmartRecruiters Business Case: Why SAP Acquired Them 00:12:05 | ATS Strength vs. Hollow Chatbots: The Evaluation Process 00:19:21 | Joule AI vs. Winston AI: Will They Ever Merge? 00:23:23 | The Future of "Headless" AI HR Applications 00:25:51 | 2025 Roadmap: Workforce Scheduling & Business Data Cloud (BDC) 00:27:12 | Autonomous Payroll: The Vision for ECP 00:29:55 | How Payroll Agents Solve Finance Reconciliation Gaps 00:32:33 | What Happens to SuccessFactors Recruiting & Onboarding?00:37:16 | Closing: The Future of Payroll Innovation If you care about Payroll, SAP, AI, Recruiting, Compliance, or the future of HR Technology, this episode is for you. 👇 Drop a comment, subscribe, and join the PayrollBADIes community.

SAP Connect 2025 & PayrollBADIEs One Year Anniversary!

A dynamic recap of the SAP SuccessConnect 2025 event, celebrating the Payroll BADIes 1-Year Anniversary! Join the crew as they discuss the massive announcements impacting SAP SuccessFactors HCM & Payroll. We dive deep into the SmartRecruiters acquisition, the future of AI agent-to-agent communication (Joule, Winston), major updates to SAP Time Tracking / Workforce Management, and the rise of the Payroll Baddy community. Learn what's next for payroll professionals and get the dates for SAP Connect 2026 and SAP Sapphire 2026. Video Chapters: [00:00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY]] - Start: Payroll BADIeversary Welcome [00:01:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=105s]] - The Payroll Baddy "Knighting" Movement [00:02:41 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=161s]] - Fan Reactions & Gold Chain TSA Stories [00:04:56 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=296s]] - SAP Connect / SuccessConnect Recap & Event Structure [00:05:25 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=325s]] - Payroll's Dominance at the HR/Finance Combined Event [00:06:48 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=408s]] - Keynote Impressions (Business vs. IT Focus) [00:08:37 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=517s]] - Keynote Innovation Highlights (EC, Ask My Pay Statement, AI, WFM) [00:10:23 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=623s]] - The SmartRecruiters Acquisition & Seamless Integration Demo [00:13:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=825s]] - AI Agent-to-Agent Communication (Joule & Winston AI) [00:15:07 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=907s]] - Celebrating Payroll Customers & The Baddy Parties [00:16:58 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1018s]] - Workforce Management/Time Tracking Updates & Customer Success Stories [00:19:06 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1146s]] - Talent Management News: The Focus on Skills [00:20:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1200s]] - Venue Review & Future Event Dates (SAP Connect 2026, Sapphire 2026) [00:22:52 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1372s]] - Fun Moments & Building the Payroll Community [00:29:43 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1783s]] - Final Thoughts & Call to Action (Newsletter) [00:30:44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECTJvn3gpUY&t=1844s]] - Outro Rap Song

PayrollBADIes with B-RAVE (Bonnie Tinder, Raven Intel): HR & Payroll Better Together, Software Selection, AI Adoption & More

Join this episode to hear from Bonnie Tinder, Founder & CEO of Raven Intelligence, for a no-BS look at what truly drives HR tech implementation success. Bonnie explains why team dynamics and partner quality beat software features, how to use verified customer reviews to pick the right implementation partner, and what really happens when HR and Payroll live on different vendors. We dig into AI in HR (hype vs. outcomes), recent market moves and acquisitions, and where the ecosystem is headed next. Her bottom line: push for unified systems where it counts, and insist on clear accountability across every vendor on the field—because, as Bonnie puts it, running Core HR without Payroll is like running a marathon with one shoe. Highlights Team is greater then tool: the human factors that make or break projects How to leverage customer reviews to choose the right SI Integrations in the real world: HR ↔ Payroll, time, tax, and funding AI adoption in HR: what’s working now vs. slideware What market consolidation means for buyers in 2025+ Subscribe for more conversations with builders, buyers, and doers in HR & Payroll.

Why Payroll Is Still Undervalued and What Needs to Change with Pete Tiliakos

In this episode of the Payroll BADIes podcast, the group welcomes legendary payroll analyst Pete Tiliakos ·       Imran & Raj discuss the backlash they received after the previous episode and get Pete’s thoughts on the role of analysts in shaping the industry ·       Pete gives a sneak preview of his upcoming research: The Payroll Profession Confidence Index ·       The group talks about the five pillars of payroll excellence. ·       Pete gives his prediction on the future of payroll and how Artificial Intelligence will change the game

Calling out the BS! Analysts & Magic Quadrants: Don't Believe Everything you see!

Join Imran and Raj in this episode as they discuss analyst reports and magic quadrants including their impact on software selection and market perceptions. They explore the criteria these reports use, question the credibility of various analyst firms given the pay to play model behind these reports and give very specific examples on serious issues with these reports. Imran discusses his first hand experience being involved with analyst relations including involvement in the vendor response process and Raj shares his experience being solicited to pay in order to be considered in the report. Lastly, they discuss the serious caution that should be used by SAP customers when they use these reports as a decision point for choosing a new software vendor as it does not consider their unique circumstances