Making Payroll Sexy Again!

That's right.  Wait...was it ever sexy?  I can't say for sure.  All I know is that our friends in HR and IT get all of the cool kids and payroll gets the old ladies.  We're kept locked away in a dark closet and data entry and push a button. 

Just kidding....

I'm not old and I don't sit in a dark closet. 

I have to admit, I never sought out to be a payroll professional.  Who does, really?  Like many payroll professionals before me I fell into payroll.  It was a collateral duty, and sometimes, it's still viewed as such.  No one needed experience in payroll; it's just a process.  You only had to be good with math and have a slight understanding of federal and state withholdings (if that).

I learned to deduct taxes using the IRS publications and used ledger books for accruals (ah...sweet memories for those of us born before 1980).  And direct deposit didn't exist. Simpler times.

Today's payroll professional has to be an expert in not only federal taxes, but state and local taxes, not to mention reciprocity issues.  We must have a solid understanding of state and federal DOL regs, FLSA, benefits issues such as DOMA and its impact to taxation, retirement issues and vacation policies.  We must understand finance, forecasting, budget variances and SOX.  We must understand technology, how it interfaces with employees, our business partners, and other technology our organization uses.

All of these areas of expertise are necessary to be a successful payroll professional. 

So why no sexy?  I cannot put my finger on it.  In my opinion it's the lack of awareness of what a payroll professional actually does.  We're not button pushers.  We're not data entry clerks.  Sure, in some roles within payroll there are transactional tasks, but you will find that within many professions (you hear me, I9 validator?!).

My goal as a payroll professional is to advocate change and bring awareness of the role.  I don't have a roadmap yet, but it's in process.  And it's gonna be sexy.

And if you are a people manager, like me, having the above expertise is not enough.  You then must deal with the bullsh*t of having direct reports.  That's another post.

Until then, my payrollers, keep your head up and your costs low.