FEATURE INSIGHT
A professional performance
Payroll and pensions personnel are becoming increasingly invaluable to employers that want to stay on top of ever-changing legislation and avoid costly mistakes. But how do these professionals ensure they remain at the top of their game, asks freelance writer and editor Kavitha Sivasubramaaniam
O ver the years, both payroll and pensions professionals have seen significant changes affecting the way they do their jobs; the introduction of real time information and automatic enrolment being just two examples of this. And, as the government continues to introduce new legislation affecting businesses, their roles are growing increasingly important in ensuring that organisations remain compliant and avoid any associated penalties as a result. So, what does it take to be a good payroll or pensions professional, and what should be done to make sure they are performing to the best of their ability? Clearly there are key skills and attributes vital to their roles, as well as several that would be detrimental for them to possess. Communication Overall the most valuable skill for anyone working in payroll or pensions is to be an effective communicator, according to Ken Pullar, chief executive officer of CIPP. “Someone’s pay is very personal and very important to them, so it is essential
for payroll professionals to be able to communicate with individuals regarding their pay, deductions from pay and overall reward and remuneration package in a personable and approachable manner” he says. ...communication skills will only grow in significance... Payroll involves much more than just moving pay forward, so it is vital to be able to convey the significance of an overall pay and reward strategy to director level within your organisation, as well as communicate the overall benefits of actively utilising the rewards package and benefits available to all employees, Pullar adds. He expects communication skills will only grow in significance due to changes such as gender pay reporting and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“With gender pay gap reporting, it is important to communicate the legitimate reasons why there could be a gap within your organisation, for example if the industry is heavily dominated by one gender. With GDPR it is important to communicate the benefits to employees, and probably more likely ex-employees, for payroll to retain their data on file beyond their employment.” Ian Hodson, head of reward at the University of Lincoln, is responsible for overseeing all aspects of pay, pensions, employee benefits and systems. He agrees that being a good communicator is now a must for any payroll or pensions specialist. “This is not the skill we used to associate with the profession when thinking about handling difficult queries. This is more the ability to deliver excellent customer service and to be able to market the different benefits that are offered through the payroll and articulate such aspects as financial savings. If we think about legislation such as auto-enrolment it is really fully dependant on the reward team being able to deliver the key
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2018 | Issue 39 40
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