PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
to go through all of the team’s work that day, to try and replicate how we worked in the office and more importantly, to ensure all members of the team were socially active with others in the team. On top of that, we’ve introduced more regular social activities, such as escape rooms, quizzes and bingo nights to encourage interaction. KY: Once the pandemic subsides, most organisations are likely to be moving towards a hybrid working model which will see staff come to the office two or three times a week and work remotely two days from home. Thinking about how you can create the right team environment for your payroll team in this instance is important. Early on, set expectations and make accountability clear to all staff so that both home and office-based employees can work together productively and know who is doing what. As part of this, you might run daily or weekly meetings with your entire team to start each day or week on the right foot, then share progress regularly on key projects with the entire team to maintain momentum, and think about the technology you can use to achieve this. When you are managing a hybrid team, it can be easy for unhelpful or negative attitudes about the ‘other’ group to slip in. You won’t want your office-based staff, for instance, to think that remote team members don’t work as hard or have an easier working experience. So, encourage office-based and remote workers to proactively build on their working relationships, and facilitate this as much as possible. There should be a culture of support and respect in your hybrid team. Will less office working result in more dependency on external training providers to support professional development? ND: E-learning technologies are advancing rapidly. In parallel, face-to-face virtual training can now be conducted from any global location. Therefore, I am not convinced that less time spent in an office will result in a greater dependency on external training providers, especially for those companies who continue to invest heavily in internal learning development. However, as payroll recruiters, we have seen a stark rise in companies recruiting talent based on soft skills. Employers are increasingly seeking to
recruit talent who demonstrate soft skills in leadership, creative thinking, problem- solving, collaboration and adaptability. The post-covid work world is volatile and ever-changing, so these transferable skills are in high demand. Subsequently, I think external training providers will see an increase in demand from employers wishing to develop their employees’ soft skills. ...training and development is the key to developing strong payroll professionals and a way to attract and retain good staff. SJ: Yes, we believe so. Without being able to bounce off a physical team, you do start to rely on alternative resources and self-learning for ease. Unfortunately, it is more intrusive contacting someone when remote as you are unable to gauge what they are doing. That being said, tools such as Teams and other message platforms do help to connect people and this will remain vital to transpose training into practice. LL: External training providers have been developing how training is being delivered and the type of training being provided. Adapting what used to be full one- day face-to-face courses for online learning is providing greater flexibility for organisations and attendees. Short or interactive sessions keep attendees engaged and focused as well as being
cost effective. That said, with increased use in technologies, organisations are also introducing their own innovative ways of delivering online learning. There will always be a need for external providers; this may increase for some organisations whereas others will use it to complement their own learning and development portfolio. MM: I have always believed that ongoing training and development is the key to developing strong payroll professionals and a way to attract and retain good staff. This has been further highlighted by staff working remotely, resulting in us having to adapt how we develop our team moving forward, including utilising external reputable and recognised bodies, such as the CIPP. We want to deliver specific payroll training programs to our team, to ensure they have the relevant skillsets to accommodate our clients’ requirements. KY: I think for professionals in payroll at the start of their careers, being in the office for all or most of the week is still going to be essential to support learning and progression which ultimately is more beneficial in person. However, many employers have been proactive in adapting to lockdown and social distancing requirements by creating virtual internships, hosting online inductions for new starters, and turning previously in-person training schemes into fully digital ones. There are many benefits of conducting virtual training. Such as the flexibility it offers, cost savings, knowledge retention from shorter training modules, increased convenience in terms of people’s schedules, not to mention the environmental benefits from the reduction in travel. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | June 2021 | Issue 71 18
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