FEATURE TOPIC
BS: A successful career in payroll requires a variety of soft skills, including: l strong communication skills to effectively engage with colleagues and clients l problem-solving skills to troubleshoot and resolve any payroll-related issues that may arise l calmness is crucial in a fast-paced and often stressful environment, enabling professionals to stay composed and make clear decisions l effective time management is key to meeting payroll deadlines and ensuring accuracy l adaptability is necessary to stay up to date with constantly changing rules, regulations and technologies l and finally, self-motivation is essential to stay focussed and productive, and to continuously improve one’s skills in this critical field – especially in a world of working from home. “The concept of soft skills can be introduced in an academic environment, but truly building those skills takes time and a little trial and error” Are new soft skills needed in the payroll profession following the pandemic? VG: Yes. Pre-pandemic, payroll was often (always) an office-based role, with payroll professionals working in an office with payroll software hosted on physical servers. The idea of running payroll from home, or remote locations with software in the cloud was not often entertained, usually for security reasons. Then the pandemic hit, and payroll departments were forced to work from home. This shifted people’s perceptions and mindsets, but also meant payroll professionals needed to develop soft skills to enable working in this way. Remote working is a different way of working to office-based working; it requires excellent communication
and deliver the right outcome, regardless of the situation. It also helps to be a critical and creative thinker, taking any opportunities to improve and innovate. Think of this as just a snapshot of the skills used across payroll roles. Brian Sparling: Absolutely not – at the end of the day, payroll is essentially a customer service function. To be successful, soft skills are just as critical as technical skills, like the ability to calculate gross-to-net figures or navigate statutory payment and pension
Are so-called soft skills less important than other skills we see in payroll? Vickie Graham: Soft skills are incredibly important in payroll, probably more so now than ever. Payroll is an emotive topic as it’s fundamental to employees’ lives and livelihoods. It’s also a really complex area which is often misunderstood as many employees don’t understand their payslips, nor the deductions made each pay period. Therefore, it’s important for payroll professionals to have excellent communication skills to listen and explain individuals’ pay and pay elements to them, in a way they’ll understand. This issue, Jerome spoke to: Vickie Graham DipM ACIPP ACIM, business development director, the CIPP Samantha Johnson LLB (Hons) ChMCIPPdip, payroll services director, Dains Accountants Brian Sparling ChMCIPPdip, director of managed services (EMEA), Ceridian. Samantha Johnson: Soft skills are essential at every level in your payroll career. Technical skills are important, but they must be complemented by the right soft skills to ensure the correct outcome is delivered. You need to be agile and able to adapt quickly to change. It’s also essential to be organised, manage time effectively and be deadline-driven. Other useful soft skills are: l being a strong communicator with great interpersonal skills l having a natural eye for detail l having the confidence to problem solve “It’s important for payroll professionals to have excellent communication skills to listen and explain individuals’ pay and pay elements to them, in a way they’ll understand”
automatic enrolment complexities. While technical skills are certainly
important, it’s soft skills like the ability to communicate clearly, solve problems and adapt to change that regularly set payroll professionals apart and help them succeed in their careers. What are the top soft skills needed for a career in payroll? VG: There are many different career routes within the payroll industry, and this may impact on skills required. But the top soft skills that CIPP members have identified as being the most important for payroll professionals are: l communication – as I have already mentioned, the ability to explain complex payroll legislation and scenarios in a way which is easy to understand is an important role of all payroll professionals l customer service – this one comes up a lot with members working in the payroll service industry but is equally important to in- house payroll professionals whose customers are their employees. SJ: The answer to this really will depend on the individual’s role in payroll. There are so many avenues a payroll career can take, and skill sets will vary. Often, payroll roles are customer facing, so the ability to build and maintain a strong relationship with payroll ‘customers’ is essential. This could be with clients, in outsourced or consultancy environments, or in-house employees. In leadership roles, the development of that soft skill extends to key internal and external stakeholders, and when engaging in business development with new clients. A natural inquisitiveness and curiosity are traits I look for in my team – a person who asks questions to understand why a process works in a certain way and looks to introduce process improvements where necessary.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 89 | April 2023
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