At the latest Zellis Independent User Group event in Edinburgh, customers came together to share experiences, hear updates and discuss the practical realities shaping HR, payroll and workforce operations today. The agenda covered some of the biggest themes facing teams right now, including legislative change, AI, payroll confidence, product direction and customer-led learning, with plenty of opportunity for questions, discussion and peer-to-peer insight.
That is what makes the Zellis Independent User Group (or ZiUG) such an important community. It gives Zellis customers a space to connect with people who understand the same systems, pressures and opportunities, while also sharing feedback that helps shape future conversations around HR and payroll technology.
Preparing for change in HR and payroll
One of the strongest themes from the event was the volume of change facing HR and payroll teams.
During the legislative update, attendees talked about developments across areas including Benefits in Kind, pay gap reporting, the Employment Rights Act 2025, the Fair Work Agency, auto-enrolment in Ireland and EU Pay Transparency. The discussion highlighted the importance of preparing early, understanding what these changes could mean in practice, and making sure teams have the right data, processes and communication plans in place.
For payroll and HR professionals, this kind of preparation goes far beyond keeping up with new rules. It involves translating complex requirements into clear actions, helping employees understand what is changing, and creating enough confidence across the organisation so that change feels manageable.
That point came through strongly in Edinburgh, where the conversation returned several times to the importance of clarity, communication and practical readiness. In an environment where legislation continues to evolve, having trusted systems and reliable data can make a real difference to how confidently teams respond.
AI that helps people work with more confidence
AI was another major topic at the event, with the discussion focusing on how it can support payroll and HR teams teams in practical ways.
Rather than treating AI as an abstract future concept, the conversation centred on real work. Attendees explored how AI could help people understand pay information more clearly, support teams with routine questions, and make it easier to find the right information at the right moment.
The discussion also recognised that payroll and HR are high-trust environments, where accuracy, consistency and human oversight matter. When people are dealing with pay, employee information or compliance, AI needs to support confidence rather than create uncertainty.
That is where practical, human-centred AI can make a meaningful difference. Used in the right way, it can help reduce repetitive admin, guide people to clearer answers and give specialists more space to focus on the work that needs their judgement and expertise.
Payroll confidence is part of the employee experience
The discussions also reinforced how closely payroll is connected to employee experience.
Pay is personal, and when employees can access, understand and trust their pay information, it helps build confidence in the wider employee experience. During the event, attendees discussed the importance of making pay-related information easier for employees to understand.
For HR and payroll teams, this is a useful reminder that employee experience is shaped by everyday moments as much as major initiatives. A payslip that is easier to understand, a question that is answered quickly, or a process that feels more straightforward can all contribute to a smoother working experience.
There was also discussion around financial wellbeing and the role pay can play in giving employees more flexibility and peace of mind, including examples of how access to earned pay could support employees and help organisations respond to workforce challenges, particularly where shift cover and overtime are important operational considerations.
For employers, this points to a broader opportunity to think about payroll as part of a connected employee experience, where accuracy, clarity and flexibility all matter.
Turning workforce data into practical insight
A standout part of the event was the customer show-and-tell session, where one council has been using Power BI with Zellis to bring HR and payroll data together in a more accessible and actionable way.
The session explored how users can build a dashboard that gives managers more timely visibility of workforce information and helps them better understand trends across their teams. It was explained how the dashboard supports more informed decision-making by allowing users to explore data in greater detail, from workforce trends to overtime patterns, while ensuring people only see information relevant to their role through role-based security.
The speaker shared some of the practical realities behind the project, including the time needed to learn, test and refine the dashboard, as well as the importance of ongoing improvement once a solution is live. Rather than treating analytics as a one-off implementation, the council has continued to enhance the dashboard over time, with future ideas including a team calendar view that could help managers see when people are off.
The discussion also touched on change management, which is often just as important as the technology itself, for instance the crucial role of workshops, communications and intranet updates in helping managers understand and adopt the dashboard, while also recognising that building confidence with new ways of working is an ongoing process.
For attendees, the session offered a valuable look at how one organisation is using connected HR and payroll data to make workforce information easier to access, easier to interpret and more useful in day-to-day decision-making. It was a practical example of customer-led learning in action, showing how shared experience can help other organisations think about their own approach to data, insight and change.
A stronger voice through shared insight
Across the day, attendees brought practical questions, shared first-hand experiences and discussed what they need from systems, processes and support as their organisations continue to change. That kind of open conversation helps customers learn from each other, while giving Zellis valuable insight into the realities teams are managing every day.
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