PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
# Be Payroll Brian Sparling ChMCIPPdip, director managed services EMEA, Ceridian, chats to us about why membership with the CIPP is so important to him
Why did you become a CIPP member? Initially, it was to help me gain understanding of payroll early in my career and to work towards qualifications. How has membership helped you in your career? My membership has helped me in many ways – I have gained payroll qualifications and increased my knowledge and understanding of payroll. I’ve also been able to meet some amazing payroll professionals and build a strong network that can help with any questions and queries I have. The payroll community are wonderful sharers and always willing to help, and membership of the CIPP helps nurture that feeling. What membership benefits have you used or enjoyed the most, and can you give me some examples? Access to the Advisory Service is a key benefit for me – the team are great at confirming answers to queries in a quick and clear manner, whether it’s confirmation of something reasonably straightforward or a more complex question. Regular News Online updates are valuable too and the speed of the updates are key – coming straight after budgets, etc. helping professionals keep their knowledge up to date. Ceridian obtained accreditation under the CIPP Payroll Assurance Scheme in 2021 and this is another key benefit for us – to be able to benchmark our policies, processes and procedures as best in class. It also gives our customers assurance and confidence in what we do. Can you describe your payroll journey so far? Like so many people, I ‘fell’ into payroll in 2000 when the person doing the payroll in the company I worked for left. I picked that as part of my role and then in 2001, took up my first dedicated payroll role as a payroll assistant. I learned a lot in that role and then changed positions in 2003 to work on a high-volume payroll role. I had a great manager who encouraged learning while working and I studied for the Diploma in Payroll Management offered by the CIPP – at that time, a three-year course. In the following years, I built experience of managing and then leading teams, providing both in-house and outsourced
payroll services. I’ve always advocated the part the CIPP can play in building a career in payroll through knowledge and experience building. In 2019, I gained Chartered member status of the CIPP by showing a clear commitment to compliance and best practice in payroll and being a strong advocate for payroll as an industry. I see this achievement as one of the highlights of my career and would love to be able to help the CIPP in shaping payroll as a career of choice. What are your hopes for your future career? I have achieved a lot in my career to date and I’m happy with the position I’ve attained. For the rest of my career, I want to help encourage and nurture future talent in payroll and hopefully help other people see themselves growing into an effective career path. Do you have plans to study any CIPP qualifications or training course? I don’t have any plans for more qualifications but I’m always looking at training courses to help grow and expand my knowledge, especially where new rules and regulations are brought in. I also really enjoy the CIPP National Forums as these are a free of charge opportunity to hear the latest developments. What advice would you give to those new to the payroll profession? I’d encourage anyone to see payroll as a career and to embrace any chances they have for growth – there are great opportunities available and as payroll becomes more global, there is a great chance to be involved (and travel), all in the name of payroll. Payroll needs to become a loud voice in the world of work – government recognition during the pandemic helped and we’re becoming seen more as a strategic partner in businesses. We have the information and data available to help leaders make truly informed strategic decisions and we need to grasp that and grow as an industry. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2023 | Issue 89 16
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