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Zellis User Summit 2024 welcomed a record attendance of nearly 400 payroll and HR professionals from across the UK and Ireland to London for a day of insightful talks, expert panels, breakout sessions, and networking with industry colleagues.
We’ve rounded up key themes and highlights from the presentations delivered at this year’s Zellis User Summit. If you’d like to watch any of the sessions for yourself, click here.
View from the top: our strategy and outlook
John Petter, CEO of Zellis Group, celebrated “the biggest ever Zellis User Summit with the most customers ever in attendance” in a presentation which traced the company’s growth in lockstep with improvements in customer satisfaction scores, and reiterated our commitment to sustainability.
Abigail Vaughan, newly announced CEO of Zellis UK & Ireland (pictured above), outlined a bright future for Zellis, capitalising on the careful deployment of artificial intelligence and reinforced by a commitment to working closely with our customers.
Connecting with customers: wellbeing and digital transformation
Attendees had the opportunity to hear and learn from a variety of Zellis customers and expert guests throughout the day.
Moments that matter – employee engagement and wellbeing panel
Group Chief People Officer Caroline Drake hosted a discussion about how companies can provide support and care for their colleagues with Sophia Baker, Head of Payroll at Harrods and Katie Duxbury, Head of Pay and Reward Services at Bupa. Joining them were Emily Trant, Chief Impact Officer at Wagestream, and Anita Lettink, payroll technology analyst and author.
They talked about the critical role of touchpoints in the employee experience, not least of which: the point of payment. As Anita Lettink observed: “You can erode their trust in that one moment that the payslip is wrong… and people cannot pay their bills.” Recognition and benefits were also important to the discussion, with Emily Trant opining, “Getting some recognition, maybe doing a great job serving a customer and being noticed for it… can be a really nice moment for people.”
For a better-connected business – digital transformation panel
CPTO David Woodward was joined by Sarah Hopper, Payroll and Pensions Manager at St. Helens Council, Ian Hodson, Director of People and Culture at Housing 21, Michelle Thompson, Head of HR Operations at Lookers, and Graeme Proud, Head of HR Operations at Zellis to discuss how their operations had been transformed by the adoption of new technology, particularly the features of Zellis HCM AIR, of which St Helens is among the earliest adopters.
Michelle shared how Lookers is using Power Automate to handle notifications and other repetitive tasks, freeing up staff for more valuable work. Automation and efficiency were also key themes for Sarah, who talked about St. Helens Council’s move to the cloud and self-service: “We introduced the MyView app to all our employees, which has helped reach all the services.” Ian spoke in favour of flexible pay (earned wage access), stating, “If you’ve done the work, you should be able to access the pay.”
Fresh products and services: Zellis HCM AIR and Zellis Customer Learning
We unpacked our new flagship solution Zellis HCM AIR, as Chief Product Officer George Dunnett (pictured above) shared the stage with members of the Zellis product team. The session featured never-before-seen live demonstrations of AIR’s artificial intelligence and realtime capabilities – including intelligent anomaly detection, intelligent anomaly detection, and our intelligent payslip.
There was also an update on the expanding capabilities of the Zellis Intelligence Platform from Chris Quiney, Director of Product Management – Insights and Integration. Then, delegates saw a live demo of the enhanced self-service experience from MyView+, including improved findability and the new pay module, with Bob Hoskins, Director of Product Management – HR and WFM.
Rebecca Mullins, Director, Value Creation Services for Zellis, introduced an enhanced Zellis Customer Learning offering, with new e-learning courses for customers to keep their knowledge and skills up to date and enable good practice.
“It’s no longer a destination… there’s always something new to learn,” said Rebecca, explaining that the new e-learning platform includes a full suite of courses covering all Zellis applications, allowing flexible, self-paced learning.
Phil Cass, National Act Manager at The Payroll Centre, joined Rebecca as part of a new partnership and provided an overview of a tailored approach to legislation skill evaluation and bespoke training programmes for customers.
Zellis independent User Group update
Asraf Kassam (pictured above), founder and chair of Zellis independent User Group (ZiUG), addressed the audience to share the latest updates from the user group, reiterating why so many customers have chosen to join the community.
Lisa Martin and John Keen, respective chairs of the Scottish and Irish user groups, also shared their experiences and the benefits their organisations have gained from ZiUG membership. As both agreed, “It’s really the networking and making those key contacts… sharing some of the practice that other people have had.”
Learn more about ZiUG and the value its members get from being part of the collective here.
Dedicated HR and payroll breakout sessions
In the afternoon, dedicated breakout sessions offered delegates the choice of delving deeper into either payroll or HR.
The evolving legislative agenda panel (pictured above) covered major statutory changes underway or on the cards, from National Insurance rises to the Employment Rights Bill. Host Nick Clarke, Director of Product – Payroll and Portal at Zellis chaired a chat with experts including Cybill Watkins, Zellis Group Product Legislation Manager.
Session sponsor the CIPP was represented by Mat Akrigg, Policy and Research Officer. Meanwhile, Pamela Cryan, Country Lead (ROI), Managed Services at Zellis, brought the Ireland perspective with updates from Budget 2025, including pension auto-enrolment.
Other essential topics covered included many of the recent fiscal and legal announcements from the UK Government. Payroll professionals heard analysis and advice on the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions, the provision of Neonatal Leave provision, and the landmark Employment Rights Bill. The experts also answered questions from the audience.
At the same time, a separate breakout session, The new HR landscape, explored the changing priorities, challenges, and opportunities facing the HR profession, and how Zellis is positioning itself to support them. The audience participated by answering a series of thought-provoking questions live, including what their key priorities are for the next year and beyond.
The presenters from Zellis were Bob Hoskins, Director of Product Management – HR and WFM, Chris Quiney, Director of Product Management – Insights and Integration, Maurice Roche, Director – Data Analytics and Automation, and Valentina Hovhannisyan, Senior Product Manager. The session was kindly sponsored by Cornerstone.
A high-performance finish
The day was brought to an inspiring close by Jake Humphrey (pictured above). The sports presenter and podcaster energised the audience with his meditations on the topic of high performance. This is also the name of his hit podcast, where he interviews celebrities and successful entrepreneurs about the secrets of their success.
Watch presentation recordings in our Zellis User Summit 2024 recap
Click to read Zellis User Summit 2024 – RecapThanks and see you soon!
Zellis User Summit 2024 was organised in partnership with Zellis independent User Group (ZiUG), with sponsorship from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) and Cornerstone. Other partners and sponsors hosting stands in the exhibition area included Benefex, Veritone Hire, Eploy, Rotageek, UKG, and Wagestream.
Both Zellis and ZiUG look forward to welcoming you to our next conference in 2025.
In the meantime, learn more and join Zellis Independent User Group (ZiUG) here.
