This question was raised with me by an experienced and respected Australian Payroll Professional and my immediate response to the question was “Yep! I’ve been there!”…
Why do so many employers base the position criteria around particular HRIS systems, thus eliminating many otherwise perfectly qualified payroll professionals from applying?
I would love to learn the views of both payroll managers and those responsible for recruiting them, as to whether there are valid reasons to decree specific HRIS systems experience of payroll management candidates.
Although my own resume clearly shows that I have vast experience with a diverse range of HRIS systems and I’ve achieved significant improvement outcomes with each of them, I too have been rejected from the candidate pool from the outset because I can’t tick the particular HRIS system experience box demanded by certain job advertisements.
My view is that there are certainly roles and circumstances where this demand is warranted, such as stand-alone payrolls where there is no handover time and experience is required to hit the ground running, or for some HRIS system implementations that require exemplary knowledge of a particular HRIS system to achieve the outcomes for the business (with a big HOWEVER here, because successful HRIS system implementation requires a great deal more than just expertise in a HRIS system).
The greatest considerations of employers/recruiters, in my mind, before a job advertisement stipulates that experience in a certain HRIS system is a pre-requisite, should be:
- What are the outcomes required of the Payroll Manager in relation to the HRIS system?
- Which HRIS systems are comparable to the one in place at this employer?
- How can candidates demonstrate their cross functional capabilities from comparable HRIS systems?
- How do I as a recruiter, not exclude the best candidates from applying for this position?
The experience that should be sought from Payroll Management candidates should be based purely on their ability to achieve the outcomes of the particular role they are applying for and if a candidate can demonstrate they have similar or multiple HRIS system experience, they may actually be a far better candidate than twenty others with ten years user experience of the HRIS system used within the employing business.
What are the outcomes required of the Payroll Manager in relation to the HRIS system?
The following questions should be raised in order to determine the HRIS system specific position requirements and outcomes:
- What exactly do we require the candidate to know about the HRIS system in question?
- Why is the candidate required to possess certain HRIS systems knowledge?
- Will they be processing the payroll?
- Will they be documenting business processes?
- Will they be required to maximise the functionality and efficiency of the HRIS system?
- Will the candidate have a handover period or will they be thrown into the fire?
- Does the candidate need to understand HRIS system configuration?
- Will the candidate be required to create/write reports within the HRIS system?
- What level of skill and experience is required in HRIS Data Analysis?
- Will the candidate be required to maximise the efficiency of the HRIS system and build automations?
- Do we have other Subject Matter Experts in the business with the required HRIS systems knowledge?
The outcomes required of the candidate in relation to the HRIS system will determine whether the candidate really needs to have experience in a particular system; whether proven experience in a similar operating system will be suitable; or whether it is even a requirement worth asking for.
Which HRIS systems are comparable to the one in place at this employer?
Payroll Software, SaaS providers and HRIS systems around the globe offer a multitude of points of difference but essentially, payroll is payroll and if you understand payroll, accounting and HRIS systems administration, there shouldn’t be a payroll/HRIS system that can’t be learned on the run by a professional payroll manager.
For those who can’t imagine how this may be possible, here are just some of the ways that professionals manage to learn new systems on the fly:
- There’s always a Help button and usually a fairly decent user manual
- More often than not there is a hefty support contract that can be utilised to seek additional information
- Utilising Subject Matter Experts within the business
- User groups, networking groups, forums and colleagues within the industry
- Trusty old Google provides a world of answers
- Payrollers are hoarders and there’s always someone who has the report writing training manual, configuration documentation or other precise information you are seeking
- Most HRIS systems have a functional test database where professionals can model and test the outcomes they are attempting to implement
How can candidates demonstrate their cross functional capabilities?
Just because a group of candidates may have worked with a single system for the last 10 years, this does not automatically validate their ability to maximise HRIS system efficiencies, create reports or undertake data integrity validation. It is important to understand exactly what their user experience is and whether they are actually super users, if that is a requirement of the position.
Again, the outcomes required of the position are an important pre-cursor to enable the recruiter to seriously examine each candidates HRIS systems experience. Your candidate pool may be filled with people proficient only in producing payrolls and creating a handful of adhoc reports and may never even have heard of the concept of maximising the ROI of a HRIS system.
If I was employing a person who had 5-10 years’ experience in a payroll system and in payroll supervisory or management position, then I would be expecting they should be able to demonstrate a long list of improvements they’ve implemented along the way to that system.
I believe recruiters should be asking candidates to demonstrate their experience and previous outcomes in:
- Improving data quality within HRIS systems to ensure data integrity and compliance
- Creating cost and production efficiencies by implementing processes, creating automations and removing duplication of effort
- Advanced report writing experience (or excel capabilities with extracted data) to increase analysis and reporting capabilities
- Understanding the concept of and delivering ROI on a HRIS system
How do I as an employer or recruiter, not exclude the best candidates from applying for this position?
In simple terms, employers and recruiters must truly understand the role… especially the required outcomes, as already discussed. Where the employer stipulates particular HRIS system experience as a pre-requisite, an honest and open discussion by the recruiter will reveal whether this is a real or perceived position requirement.
Simply raise the questions voiced in this article with the employer:
- What are the particular HRIS System outcomes required of this position?
- Can this only be provided by a candidate experienced in one HRIS system, or are there comparable systems or transferrable skills?
- Is there an existing Subject Matter Expert in the business that can be utilised by a Payroll Manager candidate with superior HRIS systems improvement experience, but lacking experience in the required HRIS system?
- How can recruiters be sure that dedicated experience in a single HRIS system isn’t more than simple payroll processing knowledge? Does the candidate know how to manipulate data, write reports, analyse system efficiencies? How will candidates demonstrate their experience in achieving the HRIS system outcomes required?
So, it’s over to the employers, recruiters and payroll manager candidates now… what is your experience? Do you have a view point on whether HRIS systems experience is a transferrable skill?
If you have any questions you would like to raise personally, please email Louise Vidler at The Professional Payroll Manager.
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