COMPLIANCE
After the break, we were reminded of a rather serious and important topic: burnout. Karen Thomson, UK payroll director at AAB and Kuljit Bawa, managing director at ActiveOps, delivered this session in two parts. First, Karen gave a very open and honest account of her own struggles with burnout, how to spot it within your team and what steps can be taken to combat it. Discussing this sort of topic needs to begin with this type of honest reflection to destigmatise the connotations associated with it, and Karen’s presentation resonated with many in the room. Kuljit opened his section with the shocking revelation that 79% of British adults feel stressed at least once a month and 13.7 million workdays are lost each year to work-related stress. Against this backdrop, he explained the work ActiveOps have been doing with organisations to: l identify those at risk of burnout l take preventative action l implement long term changes to improve well-being. He highlighted the fascinating artificial intelligence advancements which can spot burnout before it has happened, allowing organisations to take action sooner and subsequently reduce employee stress. Finally, there was a panel discussion. But this time, the panel was made up not of those working in payroll services, but of clients in receipt of payroll services. Ruth Mojzis, commercial and operations director at Australasian Recruitment, Meg Kirk, payroll manager at Albany Beck Worldwide and David Fenlon, chief executive officer at Media Exchange Group were grilled by both me and the audience. This really gave attendees the opportunity to see payroll services through the eyes of the client. As such, much of the discussion centred around what attracts clients and what keeps them from leaving for a competitor, aside from price. The importance of understanding the business you’re dealing with and setting expectations was stressed. Ruth had previously had negative experiences with outsourcing payrolls, as the customer service levels weren’t at the standard expected by the business. David was looking at expanding into many overseas territories, so a bureau which understands how their business operates and can offer strategic advice while navigating this would be key. Meg was in the position of being lucky enough to be a payroll professional, while also handling the complexity of outsourcing. She highlighted the importance of still having in-house payroll knowledge while engaging with a third party. The event was a huge success, with all sessions being positively received, sparking some interesting conversation. It’s an absolute must-attend for anyone working in the payroll services space. While the networking drinks were cut short for some because of the threat of an incoming storm, there were plenty of opportunities to discuss upcoming events in payroll and to make connections. Thank you to all who attended, and I hope to see many of you at next year’s event. You can register your interest here. https://ow.ly/ xcQN50Q6l8E.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 96 | December 2023 - January 2024
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