REWARD
know in my house, it’s an ongoing debate about me pushing a button in payroll, and my husband turning equipment on and off again in IT! We both know there’s so much more to both professions, but we still joke behind closed doors. The difference is, in the public arena, we wouldn’t tease one another about our professions. So, here’s my pitch to you… Why don't we embrace our big red button? After all, we’re embracing automation, advancements to technology and streamlined processes. By celebrating our push of a button, we can attract new payroll professionals into the industry and become a career path of choice. School leavers are living in a world where technology rules, and our industry is evolving alongside. This is our prime opportunity to shout about the career prospects people can embrace in our profession. “Payroll will always be a people game” As avid readers of Professional , I don’t need to remind you that last month’s issue revolved around soft skills for payroll professionals. It featured several pieces on essential key skills, most of which don’t spring to mind when you first mention payroll, but that we use daily. Payroll may centre around numbers and calculations, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In my opinion, payroll will always be a people game. Payroll provides individuals with their basic life needs. Payroll ensures three statutory deductions are calculated correctly, taken from pay and sent to the relevant third party on an employee’s behalf. That’s essentially three direct debits employees don’t need to be concerned about because their employers manage them. Payroll offers eligible job holders the opportunity to save towards retirement. Payroll is there for individuals when they have a query about why their pay isn’t what they expected it to be. Payroll professionals are so much more than number crunchers. Throughout my career, my soft skills “I’ve got skills, they’re multiplying!”
have grown alongside me, including, but not limited to: l communication l listening l time management l problem solving l empathy l customer service l teamwork l decision making. In every role in the industry I’ve worked in, I’ve used every single one of these skills, and more, every day. “Payroll professionals are so much more than number crunchers” Homework – yes, you heard me right I’m sorry I didn’t set expectations at the start of this article, but I’m sending you away with some homework. You can thank me when you see me next. There’s one thing we can all do now. And that’s to be more positive about our wonderful industry. Let’s start shouting about all the amazing work we do in payroll, and how we, as payroll professionals, have a wider impact than most may first realise. You could celebrate by remembering: l I save payroll departments administratively burdensome repetitive tasks l I save companies money l I implement innovative solutions l I build software to save hours of manual manipulation of countless reports l I use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation to allow me to focus my specialisms elsewhere l I tutor payroll professionals to enable them to obtain a degree l I analyse data and save clients money l I project manage successful software implementations l I work with a number of clients, helping them maintain best practice l I make £xxx profit for my organisation l I improve employee engagement l I create AI
l I save my organisation £xxx per year l I am a payroll professional.
I want to end by saying a huge thank you to the leaders within our industry who took part in our roundtable event in April. Together, we can all get our industry to the next level. Daniel Cull ACIPP Nick Day ACIPP Vickie Graham DipM FCIM ACIPP Ian Hodson MSc ChFCIPPdip Will Jackson ACIPP “There’s one thing we can all do now. And that’s to be more positive about our wonderful industry” I’m proud to #BePayroll Payroll needs to be seen as a career of choice, and one with multiple pathways – not just to a team leader or managerial position, but to board level. Head over to our website to hear stories from some of our #BePayroll champions: http://ow.ly/ fC4k50O14Fu. If you’d like to get involved in elevating our profession and becoming a champion of payroll by sharing your career story, why not take part in our #BePayroll campaign? This campaign is all about choosing payroll, being proud to be payroll and working with the incredible payroll community to continue to grow, learn and refine your skills, in which ever role (or roles) you choose. Would you like to get involved? Contact the policy team to find out more ways you can work with the CIPP to #BePayroll , at Policy@cipp.org.uk.
Ana Liau MSc FCIPPdip Maria Mason MCIPPdip Mel Pizzey Alex Scott-Ruddock MCIPPdip Brian Sparling ChMCIPPdip Michelle Sutton MCIPPdip . n
l I am a developer l I problem solve
37
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 91 | June 2023
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker