Payday Friday

Let me tell you a wild story about a lady whose name I have to keep anonymous. She was a Payroll Administrator who always found herself buried under a mountain of spreadsheets, timesheets, and PTO requests (figuratively speaking). Every Monday and Tuesday, she worked 12 to14 hour days. She did so because she knew that getting payroll done on time and accurately was crucial. Yet, the toll it was taking on her was damaging...she missed dinners at home, holidays slipped by unnoticed, and the weight of her responsibilities made her reach the brink of burnout.?? Eventually she found an HCM software that turned her work/life balance around. Can you guess which one?

Just kidding. This is a fictional story that I used AI to help me write to grab your attention, but here’s my point. The lifestyle described above happens more commonly than you think, especially in the HCM industry.

The Payroll Team is the heartbeat of any organization, even though some may disagree. They’re busy making sure we’re paid on time and accurately. For the average person, there’s nothing fun about auditing a payroll every pay period. So, I very much appreciate the ones that have taken care of my pay over the years. I also have profound respect for all HCM customers I’ve directly supported in my previous roles that made sure their employees’ payroll issues were taken care of no matter how late they had to work and how many weekends and holidays they had to log in on, taking time away from their families and personal lives.

For those of you that are not in the HCM industry, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes when your Payroll Team is calling into their payroll software provider to have something fixed, whether or not it was their Payroll Team’s mistake. Those situations can become very stressful for everyone involved, because software is not perfect, and neither are humans- both can make mistakes. So just keep in mind that your Payroll Administrator is going to bat for you each week, whether you are an entry-level employee, salaried with quarterly bonuses, or an Executive making a salary that some of us can only dream of. That team is taking care of you and doing their best to keep you happy so that you can maintain your lifestyle and not have the added headache of pay discrepancies (fingers crossed).

Without looking up any statistics I’m just going to assume “pay” is the number one reason people either accept or quit a job this day in age. Some will stay at a job with great pay even if their manager is awful. So, I no longer agree that people leave primarily because of bad managers. I think that was true at some point for several decades, but not anymore. The cost of living is so different now. Pay has become the main priority. In my own personal experience, many moons ago I also stayed under not-so-great leadership because my pay met my needs.

If there were ever a nomination for unsung hero at work, it would be the Payroll Administrator (I take back my bias from last year when I said it's the CSM??), because they keep the wheels turning smoothly, while the rest of us focus on growth, innovation, and customer happiness and we get recognized publicly when we excel. Unless you work on the Payroll Team, it’s easy to forget they exist, because we are consumed with our paychecks that they produce, forgetting the actual people behind all the work. I’m guilty.????♀?

So, if you have a few minutes today, or any day, thank them with a quick note of appreciation, especially if your workplace has an employee recognition program. It’s always a good day to thank them or surprise them with a small gift of gratitude.