Hiring the Right Employee

Many of you have been faced at one time or another with the need to hire an employee.  How do you go about finding someone?  How do you hire the right person?  In the payroll universe it is especially difficult to hire the right employee.  What should you look for?  What qualities do you need?  Which qualities are at the top of your list as must have?

It appears that not many recruiters really understand the niche market known as Payroll.  The competencies required for a payroll position are very specific and unique.  The recruiting selection process can be quite intimidating when it comes to finding the right person for the job.

Recruitment and hiring for a payroll position is often based solely on the resume. As a result many a disastrous hire has happened in organizations for whom the full payroll process is a complete mystery.  Employers will read the resume and look for things like:

• Do they have the required designation
• How long the candidate has been working in the field
• What industry has the candidate worked in
• What software has the candidate been exposed to
• Have they completed a full cycle of payroll from data entry to year end

While these are all important competencies, they are not the most important!  You can teach anyone about your industry or how to use your software.  Of the questions above the one I would consider of value is the # of years a person has worked in payroll.  Depending on the position you need to fill, this could be important to understand.  Having said that, don’t go looking for someone that has been working in payroll for 20 years if all the position requires is data entry level:)  Keep a watchful eye because not always is someone who has been working in payroll for many years a qualified individual.  More often than not, they have not progressed in their careers for a reason.  Are you ready to take on this type of employee??

I would have to say that the most important qualities to look for when hiring for payroll are as follows:

• Do this candidate have the compassion and passion required to work in payroll
• Do they have drive and ambition
• Do they fit in with the existing team
• Do they have demonstrated ability to understand the relationships Payroll has with HR or Finance teams
• Are they able to connect with the rest of the business and provide the best customer service
• Have they had past experience with any payroll software
• Have they worked with an in-house or outsourced payroll before (not necessarily the one being used in the organization today
• Do they understand the full cycle of payroll (depending on the position you’re hiring for)

Lastly, do they have a designation?  While the designation itself is important, the fact that they have it at all is very significant.  It demonstrates, the desire to embrace the industry, the ability to learn new things and be open to change, and they are self starters/go-getters that are open to change.  Exactly what the payroll doctor ordered.

Here’s to helping you better understand what’s in your pocket.

Until next time.