A week in the life of...
Michelle Shepherd ACIPP PayStream payroll & expenses manager
Monday I leave the house to travel the couple of miles to work. This is my thinking time to prepare for the day ahead. I’ve only been in this role a few weeks and I find myself still learning new areas of payroll after 25 years in the payroll sector! The world of umbrella payroll at PayStream, paying contractors and processing daily payroll runs, is still new. There is so much to learn from the intricacies of internal systems through to areas of legislation that impact processes. I arrive at work by 8.15a.m. to settle in before the team starts to arrive. Monday is a day of preparation, catch-up and organisation and review. Though we still process payroll, numbers are lower on a Monday and Tuesday. The morning starts with a senior manager meeting to review key performance indicators from the previous week, to identify any concerns from that week and look at any significant impacts to the current week (resourcing/agencies/ people) across the teams. In the afternoon I have a weekly catch- up with my direct reports, feeding back from the senior manager meeting and looking at the department’s key impacts for the week ahead such as covering for members of staff who are off during the week. One of our agenda topics is to discuss and agree the events we will be running to celebrate National Payroll Week. The last hour of my day is spent checking and signing off the payrolls for each of our umbrella payroll products – making sure everything for either the same day or next day payments.
Tuesday As well as the umbrella payrolls we also run a small number of outsourced clients. This week in the month is time for these to be processed. I am getting involved to grow my knowledge of these payrolls through checking and completing the gross to net reconciliation. My aim is to identify areas for improvement so we can become more efficient and remove areas of risk. Staff are key to the productivity and the department’s successful results delivery, so I also have scheduled in 1:1s to ensure my reports are happy, identify any training issues and look at any areas for concern. During the day I begin planning for the growth we expect in 2020 due to a number of changes in legislation and to ensure the team’s objectives support the growth and identify any areas where we can look to improve. Wednesday There are new joiners last week who have had a week of training and opportunity to practice on and familiarise themselves in the test system. They are now ready to work in the live system, so I am around to support and keep a watch on their progress to ensure if there any concerns we can get them dealt with straight away. Today is the start of the busiest few days in our week of umbrella payroll – agencies that have been collecting timesheets and data, processing payments, chasing agencies for funds to ensure timely payment. The atmosphere in the office changes as everyone becomes focused on working together to ensure we meet our average weekly payments of 9,000.
Thursday Today is the department’s busiest day of the week. I support the team as they reconcile and match funds coming into the bank from agencies, processing remittances and paying contractors. I liaise with internal departments to ensure contractors are fully communicated with and up to date. Each payroll administrator has responsibility for their individual agencies and tasks. The senior team members support and manage the delivery ensuring that everything is completed before the end of the day. I complete the final checks and approvals. I know the day is well-organised to ensure we pay contractors accurately and on time. Friday Still as busy today and we run more regular payment batches to ensure we get as many contractors paid as possible before the weekend. We process right up to close of business hours on Fridays to make this happen. The team work together to ensure that everything is processed, and I am available to approve batches and assist as required. I am around at the key points during the day to approve the payroll runs and try to ensure that any meetings are kept to a minimum. In this week of the month we also review and reconcile liabilities to HMRC. I find this satisfying as it is the end of a monthly payroll cycle. The end of the day arrives, and another week is over. Every day is going so fast in my new role and each day is very enjoyable. On my way home I reflect on the day and week, making mental notes of anything I want to pick up the following week. o
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2019 | Issue 54 50
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