REWARD
“I’m a huge advocate of introducing ‘real life’ topics into schools such as understanding, managing and budgeting personal finances”
have a lot more fun than people think. BM: I’d go for my favourite genre – the ‘romcom’. The entire time things look like they weren’t destined to be and there are so many issues to overcome along the way. But just before the end credits roll, payroll’s out the door and everyone’s been paid. Q: What’s your favourite thing about working in the pay industry? GB: I’ve always enjoyed solving puzzles and payroll certainly throws up a few of those. I also like the pressure of the deadlines of payroll. If we didn’t make it work, there’d be big fall-outs, but as we tend to find fixes, people very rarely notice. AB: My favourite thing about working in the pay industry is the constant opportunity to solve complex problems. Payroll involves navigating a range of regulations, system challenges and individual cases, which requires analytical thinking and attention to detail. The problem-solving aspect keeps the work engaging and rewarding, as each challenge strengthens my expertise and contributes to smoother payroll operations. WJ: Hands down, the community. Every payroller is there because they have incredible devotion, attention to detail and are acutely organised. If you aren’t in the pay community, you’re missing out. If you are, you know you’re in an elite club of amazing professionals doing an amazing job. BM: I like the mentality in payroll. Although everyone ‘falls’ into it, it’s usually the same type of people who stay. Those who are willing to go above and beyond, take holidays in non-critical weeks (if you go on holiday in the last week of the month, you won’t meet any payroll managers out there) and genuinely care about getting things right for the employees. Q: What’s something you learned at school that’s turned out to be completely irrelevant in your adult life, and how much more useful would it have been to learn about things like pay, tax and National Insurance instead? GB: There’s quite a lot that practically
I’ve never used again in my life but I’m not saying it was completely irrelevant. I mean, I’ve never had any use for the lessons I had on the Egyptian Pharaohs or what pH level a certain substance is when running a payroll, but I guess seeing or hearing about these things could have been useful in some respects. AB: I remember going on a geography field trip to Sheffield to learn about urbanisation and having to count how many Greggs we saw when walking a mile. Not sure that’s ever been useful again… WJ: I didn’t really do well at school and had zero interest in it. Most of what I learned at school had no relevance to what I do in my career. What’s clear is that I’m a kinaesthetic learner and learn best with direct engagement to actual challenges, not textbook ones. I’m a huge advocate of introducing ‘real life’ topics into schools such as understanding, managing and budgeting personal finances. BM: We once dissected a tongue I remember (dissected might be an exaggeration). As someone who prides themselves on avoiding horror films, hospitals and anything relating to the human body, that was never a lesson I was going to enjoy. Q: What’s been your biggest achievement since working in the payroll industry? GB: It’s a tough call because I’m just happy to be the guy behind the scenes. So, I guess my biggest achievement must be that wherever I’ve been, I’ve never been noticed massively by customers because, in payroll, that normally means you’re doing a good job and everyone’s getting paid what they expect. AB: I’d have to say making the friends and colleagues I have along the way. I’ve genuinely made some friends for life, and it’s made my working life so much easier through the tough times. WJ: I’ve worked in this industry for over
two decades, and there have been many achievements along the way, some bigger than others but all of which got me to where I am today. I guess my largest achievement was starting TLG, which is my contribution back to the payroll industry, helping organisations get the best out of their payroll people, processes and technology. BM: I think my biggest achievement is that I’ve always managed to keep working with people I care about and respect. I’ve thankfully been able to follow good people around the pay industry, and they’ve trusted me to bring my friends along where possible too. While I still get to work with good people and meet more of them along the way, I don’t think I’ll be leaving the pay profession. Q: What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome since working in the industry? GB: The beauty of payroll lies in the constant challenges we face daily, meaning it’s never dull. Covid and the whole furlough scenario really come to mind, as that was a crazy time ensuring payroll systems were updated as most just weren’t ready. AB: Figuring out how to read through endless spreadsheets without my eyes glazing over! Keeping a sense of humour through all the number crunching has made the journey a lot more fun though. WJ: Losing my business partner, mentor and best friend to pancreatic cancer, yet continuing to keep the business functioning and ultimately growing. BM: Broken record but Covid was a tricky time for the pay profession, with skeleton staffing and the interpretation of furlough and how to apply that to different customers. It was challenging but interesting. Q: Sum payroll up in three words. GB: Critical organised chaos. AB: Crunch, calculate, celebrate. WJ: It’s our secret. BM: Eat, sleep, payroll. n
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 115 | November 2025
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