Hiring in today’s job market isn’t just about filling roles, it’s about future-proofing your business. Nowhere is this more evident than in payroll—a function that sits quietly at the heart of every organisation, until something goes wrong. And when it does, you’ll wish you had the right people on your team.
Getting payroll right isn’t just about pushing numbers through a system. It involves compliance, legislation, auditing, and—most overlooked of all—human relationships. As PAYE rules tighten and hybrid working complicates tax status, the need for experienced payroll professionals isn’t just a ‘nice to have.’ It’s essential.
Experience Beats Generalism, Every Time
There’s no shortage of recruiters or job boards claiming to specialise in finance and operations, but when you need someone to handle sensitive processes like pensions, tax codes, or statutory leave, generalism falls short. A candidate might be sharp, reliable, and personable, but if they haven’t worked with your industry’s unique payment cycles or reporting structures, you’ll spend more time training them than benefiting from their presence.
That’s why the smartest businesses look beyond broad HR pipelines and find trusted payroll specialists who know the terrain already. Whether you’re in retail, construction, healthcare, or tech, it makes a material difference if your hire understands how that sector’s payroll nuances work in practice.
And it isn’t just about technical knowledge. Seasoned payroll professionals understand what it means to be invisible until they’re not. They grasp the trust placed in them, and how to maintain it.
What You Should Look for (Beyond the CV)
Hiring well for payroll requires you to dig deeper than software fluency and experience with RTI submissions. You’re looking for someone who is calm under pressure, communicates clearly, and doesn’t vanish when errors occur. Integrity matters, especially when dealing with pay disputes, late submissions, or year-end reconciliations. So does discretion.
It’s also worth checking how they approach change. Payroll is one of the fastest-evolving parts of back-office operations, with real-time reporting, auto-enrolment tweaks, and constant HMRC updates to keep track of. You don’t want someone who’s merely competent today, you want someone who’ll still be competent in 18 months, when the rules have changed again.
A quick word on temp vs perm hiring: while temporary contracts can plug a short-term gap, especially during payroll year-end or maternity cover, long-term stability often comes from embedding someone within your culture. A permanent payroll lead becomes an asset, not just an admin resource.
Sector-Specific Nuance Is Non-Negotiable
You can’t afford to lose time explaining zero-hours contracts to someone with no experience in hospitality. Or onboarding a payroll manager who’s never had to navigate NHS pension schemes. These things take time to learn, and while on-the-job learning is part of any role, payroll is one of those areas where a steep learning curve often translates into costly errors.
This is where sector expertise becomes invaluable. A recruiter or specialist hiring partner that knows how your industry operates can filter out irrelevant candidates before they ever hit your inbox. They know what “good” looks like for your size, structure, and compliance obligations. They also understand seasonal trends—when to hire, what notice periods to expect, and what salary bands are realistic for the level of experience you’re after.
Think Long-Term, Even If You’re Hiring Quickly
One of the biggest hiring mistakes businesses make with payroll is treating it as a back-office fire to put out. Someone leaves, errors spike, and you panic-hire. But that kind of reactive approach rarely delivers the best people. You’re better off building relationships with payroll talent early—even if you don’t have a vacancy yet—so that when you do need someone, your network is warm.
You should also think about growth. If your business is scaling, is the payroll hire you’re making today equipped to handle three times the headcount next year? Are they adaptable, curious, and interested in process optimisation, not just process delivery?
Payroll is evolving, fast. Automated software has changed how data flows, but it hasn’t removed the need for sharp human judgement. Hiring the right people, with real-world experience and sector familiarity, is the difference between a reactive payroll team and a strategic one.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
