Your business’ payroll department is only as strong as the employees who run it – so what should you look for when building your department and recruiting staff?
Building your payroll system, and recruiting the right payroll administrators isn’t easy – payroll is more than just ensuring employees are paid, it’s also about navigating a complicated landscape of compliance and regulation. Whether you need to hire an entire team or a single administrator, the people you choose for your payroll department are its most important resource – their work contributes to inter-company satisfaction, and the wider reputation of your business.
So, how do you go about building the best possible payroll operation – and what type of employees should you find?
Business Needs
Your business needs should be a significant consideration when building and resourcing a payroll department:
- Size: The size of your business, and its number of employees, will dictate the shape of your payroll operation. Even smaller businesses may need a dedicated administrator to handle their payroll process, and a variety of associated compliance and regulatory issues. Implementing a payroll team, or even an entire payroll department may be necessary for businesses with more complex needs
- Tax obligations: Your business’ tax obligations will inform your payroll needs. Once again, the size of business and the type of service it offers will affect tax payments are due – and, by extension, the pressures placed upon your employees.
- Compliance: The payroll process is subject to a wide variety of rules and regulations – ensuring compliance and avoid costly penalties, will significantly affect the way your payroll system is implemented.
- Outsourcing: For businesses with limited resources or time to allocate to payroll, outsourcing the process to a third-party organisation may make sense. For a fee, professional payroll organisations offer expertise and efficiency, and a chance to tailor service-packages to the needs of your business.
- Integration: Your payroll department will need to integrate, and work with, other parts of your business. The size and shape of your payroll department may be affected by the way it intersects with other departments – in particular Human Resources.
- Professional development: Consider how you want your payroll employees to develop within your business. In order to develop and maintain an efficient system, your payroll employees will need to have access to industry training, and the opportunity for professional development.
Employee Skills
Your payroll process’ effectiveness will be driven by the capabilities of its administrators. When you are hiring, certain traits and skills should make prospective payroll employees stand out from the crowd:
- Behaviour: Perhaps the most important trait of any new hire – not just those joining payroll – is positive behaviour. Although payroll involves a long list of important regulations the processes they involve can be perfected through training and practice. It’s more important to have the confidence that prospective employees will approach their duties with diligence and responsibility.
- Adaptability: Payroll teams deal with a shifting legislative landscape and must adapt quickly to new rules and regulations introduced by policy changes. The flexibility of your payroll employees directly affects their performance since they must regularly field. not just legislative changes, but the everyday challenges arising during the payroll process.
- Digital expertise: The payroll process is very much part of an ongoing digital revolution, meaning you’ll need staff with the relevant skills to work with that trend. Dedicated software for salary and tax calculations has become an integral part of modern payroll – look for candidates with experience using platforms like Sage, Quickbooks and Xero.
- Data handling: Payroll employees handle sensitive information in almost every aspect of their job. Prospective payroll candidates should not only understand why their role requires discretion, but understand how to achieve it – that is, display the appropriate technical and data-handling skills to protect client information during the payroll process.
- Qualifications: Payroll positions require smart, perceptive employees, but certain qualifications are particularly useful. For entry-level payroll positions university qualifications, in subjects like maths, business, and IT, tend to identify candidates with the potential to excel in the role.
- Crossover Potential: Candidates from a spectrum of backgrounds may be ideal for payroll positions. The field intersects with numerous disciplines – in particular, Human Resources. Be on the lookout for candidates with experience in HR, communications, management and other close-proximity service roles.
- Career Development: Since the payroll field isn’t stagnant you’ll need your employees to be motivated to keep up to date with new compliance rules. In practice, the best candidates will aim for professional development – even gaining accreditation from recognised industry bodies, like the American Payroll Association, or the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.
Author’s bio: Sandra is our Group Human Resources Manager with 18 years’ experience in Human Resources and senior food retail operational management. Her role at activpayroll is key in driving business growth and change, growing talent through training and development, encouraging, recognizing and mentoring people to reach their full potential.
Her early background was in food technology and production, managing a large team and being responsible for delivering sales plan and business growth. For the last 13 years, Sandra has held the senior role of People Service Manager in a large, fast paced global organisation. In this role, Sandra was responsible for all aspects of the HR department operation, with accountability for 350 hourly paid employees and 14 department managers.
