REWARD
When payroll manager isn’t the only option...
Katie Sharpe MCIPPdip, director – head of UK payroll, Mazars, explains how there are multiple different career paths to pursue within the payroll industry B ack in 2008, I started my journey on a payroll apprenticeship, fresh out of college. I had chosen payroll (I know, I know, who chooses payroll?!)
Does that mean I’m not actually a payroll professional anymore? Absolutely not, and as an industry, we have to be so much more transparent with our newer generations to make them aware of all the different avenues they can take within this profession. We have specialist recruiters, operations, business developers, technology creators, app designers, marketing experts, writers and trainers, to name just a few... Outsourcing and in-house Also, do we fully acknowledge the clear difference in skill sets it takes to be successful between in-house payroll or outsourced payroll? It’s my belief that we aren’t there just yet and we don’t talk about it enough. The divide in the two specialisms only widens with ongoing additions to complex legislation and demands from employees for better technology – this affects both sides in very different ways. If someone doesn’t seem to fit the mould in outsourcing, why not encourage them to try in-house and retain that talent within the payroll industry? I think it’s obvious at this point that my heart belongs to outsourced payroll. It’s where I started at 18, I’ve dipped out twice briefly but outsourcing is where my career will remain for a very long time. My passion is customer service and client relationships, having an impact on their journeys as an
organisation and adding value to their employees’ lifecycle in the company is what gets me out of bed in the morning. My tasks will change every week but typically I’ll be: l meeting with potential new clients l visiting existing customers to check in l spending lots of time with our leadership teams l mentoring l putting forward new ideas to improve our processes l monitoring changing legislation l writing articles for the CIPP! Finally… I imagine at this point you still have the burning question, “But how does someone who is a self-described “not great payroll manager’ lead a team offering payroll services?’ I’m just one player in this team, there are 64 other team members with the widest ranging skill sets, and together we fill every single requirement our clients could have. If I could end this article with just one piece of advice for someone in the payroll profession looking to change their role or advance their career, it would be to seek out those who have the opposite skill set, personality or experience to you and talk to each other. You will learn so much and gain an entirely new perspective – the perfect recipe to make your next move. n
because I loved maths, but my Dad’s job as an accountant looked a little too boring for me. I love to be with people, I adore new challenges and above all, I need variety. I was so lucky that day to have a career advisor who told me I should try payroll. I can still clearly remember my training back then, and how everything seemed to be aimed towards this long-distance goal of becoming a payroll manager. It didn’t mean much to me at 18 but over the years this goal was re-enforced often, at times it felt like that was my only path and getting to manager would be my peak. Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I know hundreds of epic payroll managers and have the honour of working everyday with some of the best payroll managers I’ve ever met; but here’s my secret… I’m not the greatest payroll manager. I haven’t processed a payroll in nearly four years for good reason. I don’t have the attention span nor the eye for detail to be honest. My friends would call me impulsive and my Mum would describe me as a bull in a China shop. Not great qualities for managing a highly complex system involving hundreds of pieces of legislation that needs to produce 100% accurate and efficient results.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | March 2023 | Issue 88 40
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