Payroll saves the day

How to... be a payroll hero

How often do you hear the words 'Payroll' and 'Hero' in the same sentence? Not often, I would guess, but I wonder why not? Within any organisation is there a more important department than the payroll department? Let’s spend a moment thinking through some of payroll's responsibilities, and it may become clear just how often payroll professionals become the hero in many situations.

Quite often the payroll function is regarded purely as a cost, adding little value and just “pushing a button” to ensure everyone is paid.  This couldn’t be further from the truth. The legislative knowledge, combined with the knowledge of contractual terms and conditions and software systems means that payroll professionals need to be highly trained and skilled to fulfill their role within payroll effectively. An experienced and dedicated payroll professional will always be challenging all the costs within their department including salaries, stationery, payroll systems etc. to ensure the cost per payslip and the cost per employee is as low as possible whilst continuing to provide a high level of service to the organisation's employees.

There is a constant drive within the payroll team to improve the quality of the service provided to employees and the employer. If employees are not paid on time and accurately it can have a devastating affect on the productivity of the organisation, as colleagues will become distracted from their duties by being concerned about receiving their pay. This could ultimately lead to the workforce withdrawing its services to the employer until the issues are resolved. Ian Walters FIPP MSc, UK Operations Director, Ceridian

Change is continuous for everyone. However, in the payroll team, this is probably more true than for other professions. They are continually subject to changes in legislation brought about by budget announcements or changes of government, resulting in the need to react quickly and professionally to ensure the organisation is fully compliant with legislation and that there is no exposure to financial penalties. The payroll team also need to react to changes required within the organisation such as annual salary increases or contractual changes to remuneration, and these changes often have a very short implementation timeline.

Payroll systems are becoming ever more sophisticated as organisations' requirements continue to evolve and become more integrated.  The payroll team is the hub of all the data that passes around the company, taking feeds from areas such as HR, Finance and Time and Attendance systems. Once data is produced, the payroll team are often required to provide Management Information to drive the efficiency of the organisation. This takes many forms and requires a high level of systems knowledge to generate the relevant MI.

So should we use the term “hero” and Payroll” within the same sentence?

Well, if you can:

• Drive down the costs within your department to make it as efficient as possible. Going paperless will not only help you cut costs, but will also reduce your carbon footprint immediately.
• Provide the highest levels of quality in terms of accuracy and timeliness of payments to employees.
• Provide high quality management information to the organisation to help it drive business efficiency and maximise profits.
• Cope with a continually changing environment regardless of whether that change is business driven, forced upon you by an external body such as the HMRC or a change of political direction
• Identify the best systems available to improve information solutions throughout the organisation and work to transition from your current system and implement the latest solution.
• Ensure all the team are skilled to a high level to maximise business efficiency and profitability.

...then I believe you truly are a “payroll hero” so let’s ensure everyone knows how much value the payroll team really does add to every organisation.