REWARD
Quick progression From an early outset, although I knew nothing about payroll, I embraced the challenge and absorbed as much information and knowledge as possible from more experienced colleagues. I quickly progressed from a junior position into a senior role, eventually handling the payroll for more than 60 clients across various business sectors. Payroll was the perfect fit – I had excellent analytical skills and a particular focus on attention to detail which was recognised by my managers at the time. The Covid-19 health pandemic highlighted the importance of payroll. Businesses relied heavily on the furlough scheme. My workplace was under significant pressures to support all clients timeously. This was my opportunity to thrive, becoming a pivotal part of the organisation. I took the bull by the horns and used this unique opportunity to take a lead and become a reliable member of staff, working under minimum supervision at the young age of 21. I successfully supported clients during a difficult and demanding time and mentored junior staff members to upskill and provide effective support. By this point in my career, I knew payroll was my passion. I decided to further my education by pursuing the CIPP’s Foundation Degree in Payroll Management. Despite facing financial challenges and a lack of support from my employer, I fully funded the course. Following completion of year two of my degree at the age of 22 I progressed again, taking on a new role as payroll team leader at Hillcrest, a large social housing provider. Here I managed a small team of three individuals and oversaw the payroll and pensions for 1,200 employees. More responsibility This experience exposed me to new challenges and opportunities for growth where I had line management responsibilities and gained an understanding of the challenges of running in-house payroll. Despite the differences between bureau and in-house payroll teams, it became evident that within the profession there was a lack of qualified individuals, and this posed a real risk to organisations. It made me more motivated to continue studying so I had both experience and qualifications to complement each other. Hillcrest was an excellent employer. It was a bold move to employ me into a management role at the age of 22, but
I was mature, driven and showed my professionalism and passion for the role. As an employer, Hillcrest supported me and gave me the best opportunity to progress and succeed. I will be eternally thankful for my time there. “The Covid-19 health pandemic highlighted the importance of payroll. Businesses relied heavily on the furlough scheme” Within a year as payroll team leader, I was promoted to project manage the implementation of new human resources and payroll software. This was a huge learning curve for me as the lead of a large team. I was responsible for the full project cycle, from procurement to data conversion and parallel runs. In this role, I gained lots of knowledge on how technology and process re-design can improve the payroll services delivered. Throughout this experience, I realised that although I had never been a project manager before, I had the transferable skills from previous experiences that shone through to bring success in the role. One phrase - people skills. This is key in any project management role, to enthuse and empower others to meet deadlines. Working in a high pressure and deadline- driven environment is tough; normalising the ability to adapt at short notice and most importantly, being able to work and communicate clearly and concisely with other senior people requires certain skills. New challenges By the age of 24, I was ready to progress again – I accepted the role of payroll manager at Angus Council, managing a team of ten, overseeing the payroll for 7,500 employees. This role is particularly exciting as we face the ambition of amalgamating our payroll services with other local authorities. The aim of this is to create a resilient shared service payroll department for local authorities throughout the nation. I am in the fortunate position to be playing a key role in this, with great support around me.
Working within a local authority has presented a variety of new challenges, such as complex terms and conditions, outdated processes and lack of technology usage. They face unique challenges which have an impact on performance such as budget cuts, being heavily unionised and political involvement. However, I see this as an opportunity to make improvements with my payroll team. All local authorities will face similar challenges, therefore, working together to drive change will have the maximum impact. This role has demonstrated yet again that there’s such widespread variation within the payroll profession which allows for real opportunities for payrollers’ careers to become innovative and adaptive to sector challenges. Despite my achievements so far in my payroll career, there’s still so much I would like to accomplish in the future. Earlier in the year I ran to be on the board of directors for CIPP, which has always been an aspiration of mine. In addition, I run my own payroll consultancy business, assisting various organisations with payroll processing, handling complex queries and supporting with the implementation of new software or other payroll-related changes. “There’s such widespread variation within the payroll profession which I’m passionate about promoting payroll as a valuable profession and hope to see it taught in schools as a career pathway in future. I believe my journey demonstrates the countless opportunities in payroll, from leaving school at the age of 16 to becoming a senior manager in a Scottish local authority by 24. I’m excited to continue supporting others in their payroll careers and promoting the profession. n allows for real opportunities for payrollers’ careers to become innovative and adaptive to sector challenges”
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 101 | June 2024
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