Traditionally payroll has been perceived as a less exciting domain of those in dull clothing immersed in numbers from dusk to dawn. However, like many industries today, payroll has been disrupted by technology and transformed by innovation, changing career paths and creating new opportunities.
 
In this digital era, software has stepped in to hold the reins of the numbers while payroll professionals find the patterns, manage the people and stand at the front line of company culture. It has become a career perfectly suited to young people with curiosity and mathematical capability.
 
“Payroll is a terrific career for young people looking for an opportunity that challenges their people skills, their mathematical talents and their ability to think outside the box,” says Cathie Webb, Executive, South African Payroll Association (SAPA). “Payroll is the largest cost that the company carries every month and those who work in this area become a strategic part of the business. They are fundamental to how the business operates.”
 
Not only has payroll changed thanks to technology, but it has evolved in its relevance to the organisation. It demands a savvy mind and the ability to unlock important insights – perfect for young and agile minds and those who are hungry to grow as individuals and in their careers.
 
“Payroll has also undergone changes in its structure,” adds Webb. “Now there is career progression from junior to mid-level to senior, dependent on the size of company you work for. In addition, there are recognised payroll qualifications at NQF Levels 4 and 5 as well as a BCom – strong business qualifications that can stand anyone in good stead across multiple areas of the organisation.”
 
Proactive payroll pays off
For young people just leaving school and looking to expand their horizons and explore different opportunities, there are also a variety of learnership programmes available. These provide school leavers with the ability to learn payroll practice while earning money over a two to three-year period.
 
“We are starting to see a lot of younger people choose this career today,” says Webb. “Payroll can be seen as the “shop front” of the company to its employees - it gives you the ability to impact how people feel about the business they work for.”
 
Payroll plays a powerful role in engaging with people and building a company’s reputation. Usually, if people are unhappy, it is payroll that’s the first to find out and can be the first to make a difference in their lives. Payroll is the department that sees evidence of the litmus test of how people appreciate, and feel appreciated by, their company. Add into this the advancements of technology and the variability of industry, and payroll is easily one of the more dynamic careers available today.
 
“You are part of the creative team that works at building how people perceive the company they work for, and the benefits provided by the company,” concludes Webb. “And, because every company needs someone to run their payroll, you can choose to work across a multitude of different industries. Payroll in a bank compared with a graphic design company or an architectural firm will be as varied and as exciting as the industry you choose. Payroll has become a really interesting career choice for the youth of today as it offers rich growth and plenty of opportunity.”
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAPA please visit:
Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association

Despite the prevalent gender bias in the South African payroll industry towards women, change is under way says Val Forrest, Executive Director and Administrator of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA).
 
“Payroll has a high level of discipline and routine and women handle routine well, others just fall into the job because they are good at figures and can build good relationships,” Forrest adds.
 
The gender imbalance is also evident in SAPA’s membership, which is currently sitting at 50% female that are white and Indian, with the remainder being divided between black women and men.

“However, it is enormously exciting to see the number of men that are coming into payroll and they have a definite layer of sophistication to them,” Forrest says. “In this profession, if you are good, no business wants to lose you and those who come into the profession today are well aware of this.”
 
She further notes that she would like to see change around equal pay for equal work and more recognition as to the important role the payroll professional plays in the success of any business.
 
Evolution of payroll
Focussing on other changing trends in payroll, Forrest mentions that in the 60’s, the payroll practitioner inhabited an entirely different world to the one in which they currently practice. It was, to be precise, a hard slog.
 
“Sometimes I wonder how we managed back then,” says Forrest, who has been in the payroll industry for the past 50 years. “We did the calculations for payroll in an enormous ledger that was so big, I had to stand up to complete the top lines when I started a new page.”
 
Wages and salaries were manually calculated and checked by the accountant, before being drawn in cash from the bank. The pay envelopes were painstakingly handwritten, carefully filled and recipients signed for their money in a ledger.
 
Then came the Kalamazoo payroll systems, which automated some of the manual processes.
 
Transformative technology
The advent of the personal computer brought Turbo Cash accounting software, which allowed records to be pulled up in seconds rather than laborious physical hunting for files. Payroll was transformed.
 
“However, payroll became more complex, vast volumes of legislation were passed and we became project managers, counsellors, guardians of information, diplomats and accountants,” says Forrest. “Now the payroll practitioner is a true professional who knows how important the role is.”
 
“I have been at SAPA for 14 years and watched the association grow,” adds Forrest. “We have SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) recognised qualifications, have become a professional body in South Africa and added inordinate value to the payroll profession. But there are still some inequalities that need to be addressed, changes which need to be made.”
 
“Organisations need to give as much attention to the development and training of professional payroll personnel as they do to the rest of the people they employ,” says Forrest. “And they need to introduce the concept of payroll as an attractive choice for young people to build a career.”
 
Forrest will be concluding her successful payroll career and involvement with SAPA at the association’s conference in September this year. For more information, visit http://www.sapayroll.co.za/Events/Conference.aspx.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAPA please visit:
Website: http://www.sapayroll.co.za/
Twitter: @SAPayroll
LinkedIn: The South African Payroll Association