Today marks the final day of National Payroll Week, a specific week in the year designed to champion those individuals who are so pivotal to how a business functions. To celebrate this we’ve been doing our bit this week to make noise about the profession, through some of our previous blogs, podcasts, as well as videos from some of our team.

Earlier this year we spoke to Stephen Ousley from SD Worx about their whitepaper Reinventing HR, which focused on how HR has supported post-pandemic business model changes, the impact of inaccurate data in payroll, and how businesses can navigate complexity when it comes to payroll. Today’s blog gives an overview of that podcast and some of the core themes, mirroring recent takeaways from LACE Partners’ research, including the HR Shared Services Trends 2022 report, in which one (among many) of the key outputs from respondents was the impact of operational efficiency and why that became so important post pandemic.

The seat at the top table?

The pandemic showed that the voice which so many HR leaders felt was needed pre-pandemic, is now very much firmly there in so many businesses, as the requirement for HR and People teams became changing where the focus is; aligning closer to the strategies of the business and its objectives. When SD Worx conducted the Getting the foundations right: Creating the conditions for HR to thrive research earlier in 2022, they wanted to explore how HR’s role had shifted. As part of ongoing research into the experiences of 3,000 HR leaders across Europe it became clear that HR’s role is increasingly recognised as integral for a business to achieve their goals.

CHROs have used the last 18 months to champion the perception that HR is seen as contributing to the overall business success rather than being the “policeman” at the table making, sure people are in line and meeting their legislative requirements. In HR on the Offensive, released in 2019, HR was challenged to ‘step out of the shadows’. The pandemic did allow this for some businesses, but what about specific business units like the Payroll function?

Are payroll people the heroes?

The SD Worx research highlighted similar outputs to LACE Partners’ own recent HR Shared Services Trends Report in confirming the focus on operational efficiency for businesses post pandemic. Survival and agility were buzzwords for all sectors. But how were specific business units affected? As a business that supports payroll functions, for the team at SD Worx it came as no surprise that The Payroll Department in many businesses felt similar pains to HR functions (perhaps natural given that in some organisations payroll sits in HR rather than finance).

Payroll is one of those jobs you cannot get wrong. You’re seen as an operational and transactional function, expected to pay people on time with the correct amount of money. However, this is really the tip of the iceberg. You’re dealing with a legislative landscape and Payroll’s contribution to the business is typically seen as limited. However, the past few years have shown us that businesses need the ability to adapt, be agile, and change processes quickly. As such, one of the  the payroll function are the heroes of the last few years in terms of enabling businesses to deliver their employees needs.

Taking action

The way in which payroll holds and manages data is different than, for example, HR would. Your HR department is more likely to be using employee self-service and the collection of data is from the individual. There are different sources of information with different levels of validation attached to it, which makes the process challenging.

There’s a consistent theme on every year’s survey that organisations struggle to address. How can businesses data into truly actionable insights? In many respects Payroll can be held up as a shining light from a data accuracy and efficiency perspective; Payroll people can’t afford to get their approach to data wrong, because if that happens then the business quickly knows about it. With that in mind, should payroll as a profession ‘lean in’ to its strengths and champion itself more?

Is payroll a profession that needs to work on its perception and brand?

Payroll is characterised by individuals that are diligent, prideful and have a sense of responsibility. However, as we all know, doing a job well doesn’t necessarily give you exposure or recognition within the business. Visibility comes when you start to push out data that your business leaders can use to make truly informed decisions. As a result, we are seeing a significant increase in demand for individuals who can find the meaning in payroll data, showing a nod in the right direction for recognition in this space. It is no longer just about processing, but about finding ways in which to demonstrate how interpreting data and linking it to improving business productivity and the objectives of the business, can have a significant impact.

The legislative landscape gives us an idea of what’s in the future but there are trends beyond that. How do we look further than the next budget release? Across the general employment landscape, we’ve seen individuals re-evaluate their worth and this is no different with payroll people. We’ve seen a massive shift in payroll people that have been with organisations for a long-time changing employer because they feel they’re not valued. But rather than look to move on, does the Payroll Team just need to get better at shouting about itself? If it has a voice that can use the data it has to evidence the tangible impact it makes in improving business efficiency, then why wouldn’t an organisation sit up and take note. Perhaps payroll as an industry can learn something from its marketing, sales or finance counterparts – when you are able to deliver results, make sure the whole business knows about it.

Champion your team. Champion the industry. Champion the great work that Payroll Teams everywhere do.

Happy National Payroll Week to every payroll professional out there.

Is your Payroll team championed within your business? Does more need to be done? Talk to us about your payroll challenges by dropping your details in the form below.