REWARD
the power of data into the employee’s hands, what does the payroll role then look like for the next generation? Of course, we must retain all the technical skills to ensure system parameters are set up correctly to enable the correct calculations. However, the future payroll manager will need to focus on the added value payroll can bring, and we should ready ourselves to highlight this to our employers. By added value, I mean truly transforming into strategic business partners and standing alongside other business critical functions, such as people and finance. As a strategic business partner, I believe payroll needs to closely align its objectives to the organisational ones and work in close partnership with other business functions. Remember though that payroll is an aging industry and, as much as we invest in the current talent to retrain and acquire the skills needed for business partnering, this won’t be sufficient to sustain the profession in the long run. We need to target Gen Zs and prepare a strategy to later attract Gen Alphas, those who I noted earlier are technologically immersed almost from birth. This young talent is the future of payroll. I hear you, easier said than done! To pitch to these individuals, I believe we need to show that payroll is a desirable industry, with multiple opportunities for professional development and good earning potential. After all, I believe that irrespective of generation, people will always want the answer to the question, ‘what’s in this for me?’ The answer will act as their motivator and those in the industry today, from payroll professionals to professional bodies, have a responsibility to work together to transform payroll into an attractive career which will drive the younger generations to pursue it by choice. We need to build qualifications fit for the future, which complement evolving technology, and are accessible to all, with inclusive assessment methods, which are sufficiently challenging for young minds. Too many times I hear that the youngsters of today don’t show the necessary commitment to see qualifications through to completion and they that they don’t have the ethic to work hard like we did, however I disagree. I believe they have the commitment and the work ethic, but it’s different to those of our generations and, if we want to attract them to our industry, we need to adapt and change the way we do things. This is called progress!
Is it time payroll rebranded?
How do we begin to attract new payroll talent? In addition to clearly defining the career path, coaching and mentoring needs to be at the forefront of this effort and transformation. We must ensure we nurture this talent to keep new people in the industry for longer, as another recent statistic tells us that those new to payroll often leave within two years. I regularly hear people in the profession complaining about long and inflexible hours, holidays having to be booked around the payroll calendar and a general lack of appreciation for the contribution payroll makes in some organisations. Of course, when you consider the above, this statistic makes sense. I believe we should show people how something is done rather than just telling them. Therefore, we should lead by example and recognise those individuals who have become successful in the industry and are valued and appreciated in their organisations. This will hopefully change the current narrative that payroll is a back office function. Payroll is so much more than this, and we need a strong campaign outside of the industry to show the younger generation what success looks like in payroll. We must reach out to them
before they even start considering potential career choices. As I’m writing this, I’m starting to think more and more that payroll needs a rebrand. Rebranding is quite common, and we see this all the time, in all walks of life, from products and services to celebrities, and even other departments within organisations. Let’s take a moment to look at human resources (HR). They were personnel, then they rebranded to HR and, more recently, we have seen them become the ‘people’ department. A similar journey has happened for information technology. These departments have rebranded as their focus has changed and their remit has grown. They therefore needed a new name (brand) to reflect their transformation. This has happened in payroll as well. Our remit has changed significantly over the years, with more and more compliance requirements and responsibilities, going well beyond just paying people accurately and on time. Our brand, however, still tells the same old story as when payroll was just a small department handing out cash on pay day and not big enough to stand alone in its own right. Let’s give payroll the rebrand it so desperately needs. n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 91 | June 2023
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