Payroll and HR is BORING right?

Author: Gary Smith (FCMI), Commercial Chief of Staff at Zellis.

WRONG!

Last night I bumped in a well known and respected software peer, who I hadn’t seen in years and he was astounded to hear that I had moved from a global operating system software company, powering the world’s greatest technology platforms to working for a Leading Payroll and HR software provider who pay 1 in 6 people in the UK and Ireland.

You see, deep down I’m a people person first and a tech geek second.

I’ve always cared about people, so working somewhere who’s entire purpose is to “make people feel appreciated for the work they do” really struck a chord.

Controversially, I still believe people are the greatest asset, it may not be true for every company, but tech is still not mature enough to replace people and this may not be true during my lifetime.  

It was a great conversation, and one that really made me think about my last 3+ years at Zellis.

For example: leading the customer communications programme on Covid-19 at the peak of the pandemic, keeping our customers informed and working with our product teams to ensure employees across the UK and Ireland continued to be paid, was by far one of my career highlight, not because of anything other than I knew we were making a difference and I was part of that contribution.

However, it did really make me think….  how many others have wondered the same?

So, if the above isn’t enough, here’s why Payroll and HR, and specifically Zellis for me personally, is probably one of the most exciting places to work right now.

P.S. These are all my own words, not those of marketing, or product, or strategy, this is just me and I’m proud to be able to share them with you.

• Our #CIPP award winning cloud HCM offering, Zellis HCM Cloud has enabled and made available a whole new level of business and data intelligence around our customers most important asset, their people. Powered by Microsoft Azure, fully integrated with Office 365 and Power BI, you’d be surprised to understand the wealth of information you have at your fingertips
• Our commitment to Customer Success and satisfaction is  a huge differentiator for us in the market and that’s why, this year, we announced to the whole company that every single employee has a role to play in customer success, because we all work in customer success! Every employee in our company is tasked with placing the customer at the centre of what they do every day.
• We all understand that the world is facing some difficult times right now, with cost of living and energy crisis; making ends meet is tough for a lot of the country’s workforce, that’s why at Zellis we have brought a number of products to market which allow our customers to help their employees at this difficult time.

1. 1. Earned Wage Access provides customers with the ability to allow employees to draw against earnings to date within any given pay period

2. Faster Payments enables customers to have the flexibility to choose when they pay people, reduce payroll cycle times, and drive increased payroll accuracy. Particularly useful for those working shifts who perhaps do not have a consistent wage on a regular basis. It also ensures everyone gets paid even when there’s a problem and things go wrong.

3. Wrkit discount and wellbeing applications provide a typical UK family, with everyday savings estimated at around £1,250 per year and access to free courses, as well as much needed support on both physical and mental wellbeing.

4. Class leading benefits and recognition products from our award-winning sister company, Benefex will ensure your employees have access to the benefits that they really need, in a flexible and easily consumable manner.

The employment market has never been more buoyant, we are in unprecedented times with The Great Resignation, the introduction of the 4-day work week, Hybrid Working and a War for Talent. Never before have we seen a time where the number of available jobs outweighs the number of people available to work, and unfortunately that does mean that there is an opportunity for people to oversell themselves AND for employers to act hastily when hiring someone because speed to secure talent is critical. There is now also legal requirement for Registered Bodies and Responsible Organisations to undertake digital identity verification.  It’s a little-known fact Zellis is one of the country’s leading providers of background and employment checking having conducted over 2 million checks and have the capacity to more than double this. We are committed to service improvements and new background and employee verification product offerings during this year to support an ever-changing world.

Whether it’s basic right to work check, an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check, a digital ID verification or a social media, our full suite of Education, Employment and Personal checks will ensure our customers will make the right choices and remain compliant with the latest policies and regulations. 

 AND we don’t just do software!

Our consultancy and solutions organisation now consist of more than 100 experts who can work together with our customers to drive value and digital transformation beyond implementation, training, and configuration of our products. We have hired and continue to hire several of the industry’s leading strategists to provide the necessary provenance and creditability to ensure our technological innovation is matched with real world thought leadership

So overall, I have no doubt about why I do the work I do, and why I work where I work, my challenge to you is, can you articulate the same?