How can you stand out as the best candidate for a promotion?
become more efficient and reduce risk. For example, using payroll software enables you to cut back on the time it takes to do your administrative tasks and even calculate pay. Clever software can automate the most time-consuming parts of your job, meaning you can spend more time on training, networking and developing your career. Secondly, although errors are bound to happen in the payroll process from time to time, your software will protect you by calculating the payroll and reducing human error. Finally, with changing legislation, it’s hard to stay on top of all the updates. And the worst thing you could end up doing in your job is getting your employer on the wrong side of the law. But software can help you stay compliant with HM Revenue and Customs by automatically updating in line with new legislation. The secret to stepping into a senior role: training your successor When thinking about advancing your career, it’s important to find, and train, your successor. Because how are you going to get promoted if there’s no one good enough to replace you? Firstly, training a successor helps the company you work for. It ensures there are no gaps in the organisation when someone moves on, particularly when the role is a critical one. Organisations that don’t plan for succession well are often left feeling the effects of turnover and staffing changes for
quite some time. More importantly in this instance, succession planning is important to help you transition into a new role when the time comes. If a new opportunity comes your way and there’s no one immediately ready to step in, your transition to the new role will always be held back. You’ll find yourself doing double-duty indefinitely, which will impact your success in the new role. Don’t forget, your management team is an important ally in the training of your successor, and they should be on board with this too. Communicate your intentions and ask for their help to prepare measurable milestones, which will demonstrate an increasing level of readiness in your successor. You might be surprised by the buy-in they get from your management teams. n Sign up to the next webinars in our payroll careers series to hear guest speaker, Vickie Graham, business development director from the CIPP. Would you like to learn more about excelling in your career in payroll? Join us for the next webinars in our payroll careers series where we’ll be discussing: ● unconventional career paths in payroll: https://ow.ly/pmyw50PMM53 ● embracing neurodiversity within the payroll industry: https://ow.ly/ gbU550PMM5P.
Look for any new opportunities Whether it’s working for a different team or on a new project, take on any chance to network and work on new things. The skills you learn and your experience in a range of projects will make you stand out, especially if you’ve adapted well and taken a proactive approach to complete a successful project. Train continuously No matter your position, proactively engage in any on-the-job or external training you can to strengthen your expertise. Also, get some qualifications under your belt and take any training offered to you. Keep up to date Stay up to date with any changes, including new legislation, new product functionality and new ways of working. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself left behind. Advocate for yourself Working in payroll can sometimes be a thankless task, and you may feel you only get noticed when something goes wrong. So, bring attention to your quality work, accuracy, positive professional relationships and any other areas where you thrive, to your managers and wider team. Using software to your advantage As payroll professionals, using payroll software within your role can help you
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 94 | October 2023
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