REWARD
Do you have what it takes to be a well-rounded payroll professional?
Claire Warner MSc FCIPP MBILD, Regulatory Analyst at Ciphr, shares the A-Z of both technical and soft skills payroll professions need to succeed in their roles
T he foundational knowledge a payroll professional needs to successfully deliver in their role hasn’t changed much over the years. These foundations include payroll – its processes and procedures – plus the legislation and case law which underpin and support the calculations of pay from gross to net pay. But what has changed is the need to draw on a great array of other skills to help us successfully deliver in our roles. These skills range from expertise in a range of systems beyond just payroll (think time and attendance and expenses / benefits, for example) to budgeting, organisational and management skills. The skills you need to excel It’s a long-standing joke that payroll professionals need a fully functioning crystal ball to successfully deliver an accurate payroll. And this still seems to be the case, as we’re often meant to know details that simply haven’t been shared with us. Given that our crystal ball is often broken or misfunctioning (or maybe it’s that an employee has forgotten to update their details or submit overtime!), we need to draw on other skills too if we’re to operate at the top of our game.
A-to-Z of technical skills
system, benefits platform and expenses software. Plus, other essential tools of the trade, such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
Accounting knowledge How to create a general ledger journal, or how to accrue a cost for holiday pay. Compliance – payroll regulations and case law Legislation and case law evolve all the time. Keeping pace with these changes is a core skill. Data entry and accuracy I was always taught that ‘rubbish in gives rubbish out’. Accuracy, validation and sense checking are essential. Multitasking Rarely is someone in payroll doing a single task. They may look calm and controlled, but think about a swan gliding across the lake, and the furious paddling that’s going on under the surface. That’s us! Numerical skills You don’t need to be a mathematical genius to work in payroll, but you do need to understand numbers – it’s what we do. Software proficiency Here we don’t just mean the payroll software itself. You also need to be skilled in using your organisation’s chosen time and attendance
A-to-Z of soft skills
Adaptability Things don’t always go to plan. The ability to keep calm under pressure and adapt to the situation is essential. Attention to detail Payroll involves a lot of calculations, often with multiple options for the answer. Daily rate is a prime example: there are so many possibilities, such as: l annual / 52 / 5 l annual / 365 l annual / 260 / 261 (or any of the multiple other variations) l annual / 12 / working calendar days in the month. These are all correct, but could be different for every company, payroll, location or even contract. So, paying attention to the details is critical. The ability to pick up anomalies, or spot something that ‘just doesn’t look right’ from a list of values or a report, is an acquired but very useful skill. Accurate and on time is the payroll mantra.
Communication So simple, and yet so many get this wrong.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | July-August 2025 | Issue 112 26
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