On March 2 at The Victory Services Club in London, payroll and HR professionals and industry leaders gathered for the GPA Payroll Summit 2023. High on the agenda for the day was the pressing question of how to attract the next generation into the payroll industry and how to showcase the myriad opportunities that working in payroll can bring. In short, to spread the word that Payroll is a Career!
Exploring the subject for our opening session were Sebastian Löfgren and Annabel Jones from ADP together with Global Payroll Association CEO Melanie Pizzey, Zennie Sjölund from Srf konsulterna and Lee McIntyre-Hamilton from Keystone Law. Invaluable questions and insights from the audience helped make this a lively and eye-opening discussion with some thought-provoking takeaways to ponder going forward.
Mel spoke passionately about the GPA’s #PAYROLLISACAREER campaign, sharing inspiring video footage and encouraging others to get involved. She explained that the lack of understanding of the intricacies involved in payroll is highlighted by the enduring idea that payroll is executed at the push of a button. Mel wanted to draw attention to just how far a career in payroll can actually take you; both professionally and geographically, the possibilities are endless.
Zennie and Sebastian were able to offer perspectives from the Nordics where the recognition of payroll as a standalone industry has advanced further. Zennie described the work that has been done to get payroll on the map over the last decade in Sweden and the higher education qualifications that have helped to gain more respect for and understanding of the industry, bring new blood into payroll and allow it an identity separate from HR.
A question put to the audience about people’s positive experiences gaining recognition for payroll revealed a department from a professional services firm with its own payroll board and a valued voice within the organisation. This echoed a common theme from the day, that payroll has invaluable contributions to make to the big conversations that were appreciated at the height of the pandemic but that its influence has perhaps lost traction in some companies since.
Organisations understood how essential the data payroll holds was when difficult decisions had to be made fast so how can we articulate that the same data can be game-changing for impactful decisions now? Lee noted that payroll has been stepping up to help with cross-border challenges, contributing data and advice to help smooth the way. This is one of many key contributions that the wider company may not be aware of if payroll doesn’t speak up.
This leads us to one of the most interesting takeaways: payroll needs to stop being a discreet problem solver and start being its own cheerleader. Celebrating its wins and sharing data that demonstrates the work it is doing each and every day to keep a company’s engine from stalling.
One contributor noted that payroll professionals can be their own worst enemies, trapped in the story of the lack of appreciation rather than taking steps to raise awareness of every success or save. Communicating those wins using KPIs and data is a topic that Nick Bryant from Expedia explored in a fascinating session later in the day. We will share some of those insights with you in the next blog.
When payroll has a more prominent face it will be far easier to bring new people into the fold. Annabel was part of a company that created an academy to foster skills and train new talent and an excellent point was made about shining a light on the wider opportunities there are within payroll. The payroll industry needs creative input from content writers and graphic designers and contributions from tech specialists. There are also operational and strategic roles to take on in addition to following a more traditional leadership trajectory.
With so many people leaving the industry as they age out, take early retirement or make a change, there is a chance for us to give payroll a proper Gen Z glow-up. The newest members of today’s workforce have different attitudes and priorities from legacy staff and therefore recruitment for and promotion of the industry needs to take their needs into account in order to attract them. Social media is an easy and accessible way to open a window onto the world of payroll as long as we get the window dressing right.
A career in payroll is not about shuffling paper and pushing buttons from 9 to 5. It is a dynamic and personalisable journey that can last a lifetime and take you all over the world. It’s time to let people know!
On March 2 at The Victory Services Club in London, payroll and HR professionals and industry leaders gathered for the GPA Payroll Summit 2023. High on the agenda for the day was the pressing question of how to attract the next generation into the payroll industry and how to showcase the myriad opportunities that working in payroll can bring. In short, to spread the word that Payroll is a Career!
Exploring the subject for our opening session were Sebastian Löfgren and Annabel Jones from ADP together with Global Payroll Association CEO Melanie Pizzey, Zennie Sjölund from Srf konsulterna and Lee McIntyre-Hamilton from Keystone Law. Invaluable questions and insights from the audience helped make this a lively and eye-opening discussion with some thought-provoking takeaways to ponder going forward.
Mel spoke passionately about the GPA’s #PAYROLLISACAREER campaign, sharing inspiring video footage and encouraging others to get involved. She explained that the lack of understanding of the intricacies involved in payroll is highlighted by the enduring idea that payroll is executed at the push of a button. Mel wanted to draw attention to just how far a career in payroll can actually take you; both professionally and geographically, the possibilities are endless.
Zennie and Sebastian were able to offer perspectives from the Nordics where the recognition of payroll as a standalone industry has advanced further. Zennie described the work that has been done to get payroll on the map over the last decade in Sweden and the higher education qualifications that have helped to gain more respect for and understanding of the industry, bring new blood into payroll and allow it an identity separate from HR.
A question put to the audience about people’s positive experiences gaining recognition for payroll revealed a department from a professional services firm with its own payroll board and a valued voice within the organisation. This echoed a common theme from the day, that payroll has invaluable contributions to make to the big conversations that were appreciated at the height of the pandemic but that its influence has perhaps lost traction in some companies since.
Organisations understood how essential the data payroll holds was when difficult decisions had to be made fast so how can we articulate that the same data can be game-changing for impactful decisions now? Lee noted that payroll has been stepping up to help with cross-border challenges, contributing data and advice to help smooth the way. This is one of many key contributions that the wider company may not be aware of if payroll doesn’t speak up.
This leads us to one of the most interesting takeaways: payroll needs to stop being a discreet problem solver and start being its own cheerleader. Celebrating its wins and sharing data that demonstrates the work it is doing each and every day to keep a company’s engine from stalling.
One contributor noted that payroll professionals can be their own worst enemies, trapped in the story of the lack of appreciation rather than taking steps to raise awareness of every success or save. Communicating those wins using KPIs and data is a topic that Nick Bryant from Expedia explored in a fascinating session later in the day. We will share some of those insights with you in the next blog.
When payroll has a more prominent face it will be far easier to bring new people into the fold. Annabel was part of a company that created an academy to foster skills and train new talent and an excellent point was made about shining a light on the wider opportunities there are within payroll. The payroll industry needs creative input from content writers and graphic designers and contributions from tech specialists. There are also operational and strategic roles to take on in addition to following a more traditional leadership trajectory.
With so many people leaving the industry as they age out, take early retirement or make a change, there is a chance for us to give payroll a proper Gen Z glow-up. The newest members of today’s workforce have different attitudes and priorities from legacy staff and therefore recruitment for and promotion of the industry needs to take their needs into account in order to attract them. Social media is an easy and accessible way to open a window onto the world of payroll as long as we get the window dressing right.
A career in payroll is not about shuffling paper and pushing buttons from 9 to 5. It is a dynamic and personalisable journey that can last a lifetime and take you all over the world. It’s time to let people know!