FEATURE TOPIC
impact how we recruit and develop professionals? Are we looking for a different set of skills and behaviours? VG: Within payroll, there’s an increased dependency on technology for payroll calculations and transactional aspects of the role. This is exciting as it allows payroll professionals more time to focus on the strategic value they bring to an organisation, such as data analysis and interpretation, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the skills and behaviours of payroll professionals will change.
phishing emails or a lack of knowledge and understanding, this is something we can address and work towards improving. Regular reviews of policies and frequent training with examples tailored to payroll are an effective way of ensuring our people are aware of the risks and can mitigate against them. Justyna Kwiatkowska: In today's digital era, we’re all exposed to the risk of online fraud, especially payroll departments, which often find themselves at the front line of this battle. Despite facing numerous challenges from fraudulent activities, payroll departments use crucial procedures and tools to safeguard sensitive data, which is highly coveted by hackers. This is crucial given that many payroll specialists now work remotely or prefer remote work. The primary defence mechanism is secure payroll software. Modern payroll software comes equipped with advanced security features such as multi-factor authentication processes. A strong password is fundamental, but an enhanced two-factor authentication process can block nearly 99.9% of automated attacks. If your current payroll system doesn't offer these essential security measures, it might be time to upgrade to a more secure option. Restricting access to payroll information is another effective countermeasure, along with conducting regular audits. And finally, there’s fraud detection software. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), this software can learn to identify patterns indicative of fraudulent activity, becoming a critical component of modern payroll systems. Hazel Tritschler: Simply, we cannot do it alone! There’s such a collective responsibility around data protection, and although payroll has a key role, employees need to help look after their own data too. In the main, the best way is to ensure you follow outlined processes as an employee, as these will have been created with data protection in mind. Payroll professionals must ensure their processes only use the data that’s necessary, and that it’s retained securely, ideally working with their vendor partners for confidence that the system is able to ensure security.
Overall, we should be looking for professionals who are digitally literate and able to derive efficiencies from systems, enabling them to focus on areas such as data analysis, risk mitigation and legislative compliance. Brian Sparling: Digitalisation has changed everything about work. This includes how businesses recruit, and the skills and behaviours they need from their employees. Organisations have a responsibility to ensure current staff are upskilled to keep up with technological changes, rather than just looking for new candidates who possess those skills, as this will only increase the skills gap among employees. Businesses which can adapt and flex to the changes technology brings at pace are vital in the modern world. This includes the ability to interpret the data derived to inform organisational decisions and growth opportunities, as well as being able to spot potential discrepancies and inaccuracies which could impede business. While digital skills are important in the modern workplace, retaining the core skills required for a payroll professional is just as important – accuracy, attention to detail and customer service skills. Being able to communicate this information effectively across the organisation and implement it to drive change and success are all the human ‘soft skills’ that AI and technology simply can’t replace. HT: Increasingly we’re seeing people actively choosing to forge a career in the world of payroll, and this is enabling a shift in who we recruit and the skill sets they possess. More and more, it’s about the person being: l keen to learn l multidimensional l people-oriented. This is certainly a move away from purely technical payroll specialists. I’m not sure that this is related to the dependency on technology, but more the case that the improvements in technology are enabling us to be more people-centric. We’re recruiting people who can provide a different skill set, which improves the experience of our users.
"There’s such a collective responsibility around data
One of the things I love about working within this profession is that those responsible for paying people are passionate about ensuring their employees are paid accurately and on time, every time. As such they demonstrate diligence, determination and compassion for their colleagues and co-workers. These behaviours will still be required in a digital world to deliver the human role of payroll. The system may calculate gross pay, but it’s the payroll professional who needs to check that it has done so accurately and answer any queries employees may have. And they’re responsible for ensuring people are paid if the system is unavailable. We saw many examples of this during 2023 because of cyber-attacks in the industry, which meant that payroll professionals had to revert to manual calculations to ensure people were paid. Payroll-related legislation is also becoming increasingly complex so it’s important to ensure that those responsible for delivering payroll services, whether in-house to colleagues or as a service to clients, understand the legislation and the impact it has on calculating net pay. protection, and although payroll has a key role, employees need to help look after their own data too"
Does more technology sometimes mean less
understanding of practices? VG: While technology may simplify processes and calculations, it shouldn’t
How does increased dependency on technology
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 99 | April 2024
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