What makes a good payroll officer?

Your organization's success depends on recruiting the right people. This holds especially true for your payroll team, which handles one of the biggest costs to an organization—distributing employee salaries. Payroll plays a significant role in improving employee morale and the overall reputation of your organization, so it's important to find someone with the right skills to look after this process. If you are a small organization trying to grow your payroll team or a new organization looking to develop one, it can be tough knowing what to look for when hiring, but we've got you covered. Here are six skills that make a great payroll officer:

• Understands compliance

A good payroll officer should be well aware of all the national and regional payroll laws that pertain to your business. They should also have a zest for learning so they are motivated to stay on top of any legal updates that affect your organization's payroll. Compliance ensures your employees receive fair treatment, and adhering to these regulations will save your organization money in penalties and legal fees. Conducting a payroll quiz can help you assess a candidate's proficiency in compliance management.

• Time management

Your organization needs to be able to pay its employees on time. Not only is this just common courtesy toward employees and their livelihoods, but employees who are receiving inconsistent paychecks all the time are not likely to stick around your organization for long. Processing payroll for several employees at once can be pretty confusing, and it may take a while initially. A good payroll officer will anticipate this and use excellent time management skills to ensure payroll is always processed on the promised date. They should be able to select a payment schedule that works the best for your organization, considering the type of employees you have and what your overtime policies are. 

• Communication skills

Payroll officials need to coordinate with different members of an organization, especially in the HR and finance departments. If they can get their message across without any uncertainty, they'll be more successful in collaborating with all the people involved in the payroll process. They will also be the number-one point of contact for employees if they have concerns about their paychecks. This can be a stressful position to be in, so interpersonal skills are absolutely vital. Miscommunication can do a lot of harm to your organization by causing delays or errors in the payroll process or damaging the trust employees have with the organization's administrative staff.

• Math and calculations

Payroll processing involves several intricate calculations that have to be completed carefully to ensure employees are paid accurately for the job they do. Payroll officials need to possess strong math skills and an eye for detail to ensure every aspect of payroll calculation is free from errors, from reimbursement, conveyance, and basic salary to provident funds and other deductions. Otherwise, your statutory compliance will take a huge hit.

• Problem-solving and decision-making

As payroll processing involves compliance, payroll officers should be able to tackle issues and overcome them with confidence. For instance, if there has been a mistake in a tax deduction or if an employee has a complaint about their paycheck, your payroll officer should take quick action to ensure that it's resolved and the employee is satisfied. If a legal issue is raised, then it's also up to your payroll officer to make decisions that are fair and consistent with organizational policies. They don't have to be perfect (everyone is human!) but when they encounter a mistake, then it's up to them to resolve it. It could be their own error or the problem could have originated from a third-party source, such as an insurance company. They must be on their toes and rectify any errors before they damage your organization or anger employees.

• Technological skills

Many organizations are starting to use cloud-based payroll management systems to ease and automate payroll calculations. If you are among them or have plans to automate payroll processing in the future, you need to hire payroll officials who are proficient with technology. Finding a candidate who has prior experience in using payroll software will be an added advantage. This will help them to use whatever system you implement to the fullest and take your payroll management to the next level.

Hiring the right talent for managing payroll operations in your organization is not something that should be taken lightly. Draft a job description that clearly defines what you expect from your ideal candidate. Perhaps some of these skills will make your list! We hope this article gives you a great starting point for finding and hiring your next payroll officer.

Also read: Can you do payroll yourself?