Regular healthchecks are essential if payroll managers are to ensure their team’s knowledge is up-to-date, argues Cherry Park

Having their staff under or badly-informed does not do much for the credibility of the payroll manager, or indeed of the organisation, so all members of the team must keep up-to-date with changing legislation, practice and software, continue to accrue new knowledge and develop their skills. The current climate of decimated training budgets doesn’t mean that this has to be put on the back burner, but payroll managers need to be a bit more savvy and inventive about ensuring their team members have the knowledge they need.

Find the gap
Before coming up with new ideas for filling specific knowledge gaps or adapting outdated skills, the payroll manager must first ascertain how much their permanent or temporary staff have already grasped. So how can this knowledge healthcheck be performed? ‘A quiz or a fun social event is an excellent idea,’ says Tim Kelsey, a senior consultant at Kelsey Payroll Services. ‘Testing can be made enjoyable and not intimidating if done in the right way. We often finish a training day with a 15-question quiz, which weeds out those who have actually learned something.’

The appraisal process, whether formal and annual, or less rigid and ongoing, is one obvious way of evaluating knowledge. Anita Holden, payroll manager of outsourcing company ESOS, runs a formal appraisal process every January for her team of 25. She also uses a 30-question online skills test provided for a nominal fee by a payroll training company to understand the technical competence of her department. ‘After
the appraisal and online test, we then develop a personal development plan
for each employee and tackle any learning needs they have,’ she explains.
‘Often a simple discussion with clear questioning can provide an opportunity to identify needs and gaps in knowledge, or indeed knowledge which is not being utilised,’ observes Claire Warner, partner at training company Payroll Skills. ‘A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) could be created for individual team members, which should then be regularly revisited, planning any necessary training or mentoring and following up its delivery both formally and informally.’

Another easy, quick and cost free way of testing payrollers’ knowledge is by regularly asking them to perform manual calculations. ‘Software can never be totally relied on and the ability to do a manual calculation remains a key skill,’ says Kelsey.

‘Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is also a good way of keeping knowledge current. Individuals should keep formal records noting time spent on reading, research done, attendance at events, and any work shadowing and its outcome,’ he explains.
Regular customised assessments that test knowledge, skills and confidence by placing staff in realistic, job-based role-play scenarios where they have to answer questions of judgment are another option. ‘Measuring confidence is important, because if employees lack confidence in a job area, they are less likely to perform to their highest potential, while if they have total confidence in incorrect knowledge, they are more likely to be a risk to the company,’ points out Mary Clarke, chief executive of knowledge development company Cognisco.

Sealing the cracks
Once gaps in payroll knowledge and skills have been identified, there is a huge amount that can be done to keep knowledge current that doesn’t cost the earth. For a start, there are the many payroll publications, magazines, newsletters and employment law update services, plus websites such as that of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

Then there is information from suppliers. ‘Notes provided by software suppliers are a good source of knowledge and users should be encouraged to read and understand them. Often updates will incorporate new methods of working which will improve processes,’ says Warner.

She continues: ‘Regular internal meetings should be encouraged and each member of the team given an area to report back on with a change — this can encourage an interest in finding out something new, thus engaging individuals and raising motivation.’
HMRC’s free half-day EmployerTalk sessions give good networking opportunities as well as advice and support. ‘However,’ warns Kelsey, ‘you need to remember you are being taught by the gamekeeper, who won’t necessarily teach you the best way to skin the pheasant!’ LearnPayroll’s education director Ken Gurr adds: ‘HMRC’s free training courses look at tax and NI implications, but very often there are many other factors influencing the training need, such as changes in employment law. The Revenue tends not to have the practical experience of such matters or know what payroll managers are dealing with.’

Networking, whether inter-departmental with HR, finance and pensions, or external, should be encouraged and time given to staff to do so. ‘Networking can reveal what people are missing out on in other departments or companies and give people contacts,’ avers Kelsey.

Encouraging staff to join a professional body such as the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) or take a payroll qualification (available from a number of providers, including the IPP, the Learn Centre, the Payroll Alliance and the Association of Accounting Technicians) does not cost much, although it will depend a bit on the type of qualification taken with everything from NVQs to MsCs on offer. Attending the IPP’s national and regional meetings only costs the business in terms of time. Says Holden: ‘We encourage and pay for all of our payroll staff to go through IPP qualifications and give them time off work to go to meetings. It works really well.’ Susan Callum, assistant payroll manager at engineering company Briggs & Forrester, agrees: ‘The best way to keep ahead and understand payroll is education.’

‘Training the trainer’ is another option. After being trained themselves, payroll managers can then pass on what they have learned to their team, either in groups or on a one-to-one basis. This is cost-effective, but, warns Gurr, ‘you must be careful you don’t get a ‘Chinese whispers’ situation.’

At EDF Energy, a different member of the payroll team researches and then presents what’s new each month to the others. Does this work well? ‘It was difficult for the first few months as there were some issues with presenting skills, but as time goes on, it gets easier,’ says Kevin Neylon, payroll processing team manager.

The use of outside training companies is another option. These are a good idea when several people need training on the same subject, if very specialist information or an ad-hoc mix of several subjects is required, or a new perspective called for.

But ultimately, encouragement is vital, and payroll managers should be doing all they can to support their staff. The commitment of time, rather than just money, is also central to developing the payroll team. ‘You won’t get away with not spending time,’
warns Kelsey.