PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
# Be Payroll Cathy Wilson MCIPP, payroll and fleet manager at Flagship Group, shares why she became a member of the CIPP and how it’s helped throughout her career
Why did you choose to become a member of the CIPP? Membership of the CIPP helps me to remain connected to other payroll professionals, and to gain advice or keep up to date with current news. My CIPP membership has helped me promote my experience and enables colleagues and organisations to recognise the value of my expertise. How has your membership helped you in your career? My membership has helped me to remain current with payroll updates and helps me to consider their impacts on the organisation I work for, and in research for my PhD. What membership benefits have you used or enjoyed the most and can you give me some examples? The CIPP’s Payroll Reference Book has been invaluable to me as a point of quick reference, and useful to train other employees. Membership has also helped me to realise the payroll profession is one to be proud of, and as a payroll professional you’re required to have, and maintain, various skills and diverse experiences. This is to help you understand payroll from not only a transactional financial perspective, but also from a personal human resources (HR) ‘people’ perspective. Can you describe your payroll journey to us so far? After completing my MSc Business Management Degree with distinction from The University of East Anglia, I started working in HR in public sector education in October 2017. This is a sector in which HR departments tend to be responsible for payroll. I learned to process monthly payroll there on MHR iTrent, and was promoted to deputy payroll and pensions manager, therefore specialising in payroll, in June 2019. This position is where I gained the necessary skills to process end-to-end payroll, administer pension schemes effectively and improve processes and procedures. This was also the position in which I finished my Level 5 Chartered Institute of Personnel Development HR Diploma. I’ve found this useful in both my HR and payroll experiences, as I consider payroll to be a ‘people process’, that is, a highly personal and important process integral to the lifeblood of any organisation. Throughout the pandemic, I gained further experience with a private sector food manufacturer, processing weekly payroll on Frontier software, and then a different education establishment, back on MHR iTrent. I started working as payroll and fleet manager for a social housing company in April 2022, where I manage three end- to-end monthly payrolls with two administrators, along with a
fleet of 260+ company cars. Alongside my work experience, I’m researching for my PhD at The University of Essex, with my thesis regarding the effects of Covid-19 on the gender pay gap in the UK theatre industry. My part-time job revolves around theatre and performing; therefore, my research combines all my work and highlights my passion for equality for all. What are your hopes for your future career? Once I’ve completed my PhD, I intend to continue researching in the form of a post-doctorate, and then work as a researcher, likely with a focus on gender and equality. I also intend to remain in my current position as payroll and fleet manager and maintain the balance I have between my ‘on the ground’ work and my research. However, I’m excited to see where both paths take me, and what the future holds, to become the best I can within my role. Do you have any plans to study any CIPP qualifications or training course? I don’t have any current plans to study a CIPP qualification, however, I intend on taking a post-doctorate after graduating from my current PhD course. What advice would you give to those new to the payroll profession who are just starting out in their careers? Payroll is an integral part of any organisation, and it’s essential that its importance and highly personal nature is understood. I’ve worked in payroll positions based in both HR departments and finance departments; however, I see payroll as a mix between the two and a sub-department in its own right. Communication is key in payroll, and it’s important to work towards solutions that are right, both morally and ethically, and to consider impacts of decisions, and process changes, before implementing them. School education doesn’t always teach skills in understanding payslips, tax codes and pensions, therefore, ensuring the employees / clients you pay understand their pay and any changes, is of the utmost importance. This will help you create and maintain strong and useful communication channels. My main piece of advice to new payroll professionals would be to have the confidence to speak up and ask why when you’re unsure. In payroll, we don’t normally hold responsibility for any decisions, but we do have to implement changes from others’ decisions, and sometimes explain them to employees. Asking why, holding the critical lens up to those in power, and ensuring choices are moral, legal and ethical is essential. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | December 2022 – January 2023 | Issue 86 10
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