Celebrating payroll

It’s all about communication. And it really will be for payroll professionals at this year’s National Payroll Week (NPW).

Communication is the theme of the Canadian Payroll Association’s (CPA’s) annual NPW, running from Sept. 14 to 18, with events planned for cities across Canada.

"Communication is the most common activity of payroll at every level, from payroll administrator to payroll supervisor to payroll manager," says CPA president and CEO Patrick Culhane. "Even if there is an HR department, people tend to go to payroll first."

The week provides an opportunity both to celebrate payroll professionals for the work they do to pay workers accurately and on time and to raise awareness of the profession outside of the payroll community, he says.

During the week, the CPA will host breakfasts and luncheons in cities throughout Canada that feature a summary of the association’s latest survey results and a presentation with tips on effective communication skills. Culhane says he expects about 4,000 people to attend 28 CPA events.

The association also encourages payroll practitioners to mark the week within their own organization with activities such as payroll lunch-and-learn sessions, information fairs held in conjunction with the organization’s payroll services or benefits provider or an article about payroll in the company newsletter.

The CPA held its first NPW in 1995. Over the years, the event has grown and changed, says Culhane. "It used to be that we would get together and say, ‘Hey, isn’t this great? We’re celebrating National Payroll Week. Give yourselves a round of applause.’"

Then, about 12 years ago, former CPA board chair Alan Sinclair suggested adding a professional development component to the week. It proved popular and the association has since included professional development in all of its NPW celebrations, with a focus on a number of themes including time management, negotiation skills and payroll skills and competencies.

Another change was the addition of a public relations campaign called Keeping Canada Paid, with the release of results from CPA’s annual survey on employee financial health.

It was about raising awareness, says Culhane.

"Many people do not understand that payroll is a compliance-based profession. Many people feel that payroll is administrative only. The adage in the payroll profession is ‘It’s easy. Push a button.’"

In 2009, the CPA launched its first annual national survey called Living Pay Cheque to Pay Cheque. It asks employees how they would fare if their paycheque was delayed for a week, how much they save, the type of debt they have incurred and their target retirement age.

Culhane says the survey not only provides insight into the state of Canada’s economy, it also gives the association a chance to promote the fact that payroll professionals can help employees better understand their pay and ways to save it.

Last year, 3,400 individuals responded to the survey, he says.

"It’s generated a huge response," says Culhane. "Last year, our material on Canadians living paycheque to paycheque generated 400 articles that were read by 58 million people. The previous year, it was 33 million."

The media attention is a great morale booster for payroll practitioners who see the coverage or who hear about it at the CPA events, he says.

"Success breeds success. It makes people feel good about what we are doing and even more importantly, about what they are doing."

Following the CPA’s lead, payroll associations in other countries, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, have since created National Payroll Weeks.

"We are very proud of it," Culhane says of NPW. "If you have other people adopting what you have done, then you are obviously on the right track."

The associations sometimes give and get advice from each other on issues related to NPW, but they do not co-ordinate their events, he says. A number of years ago, the CPA did try to run the Canadian week at the same time as the American one, but many here found it too hectic since the U.S. event occurs the week of Labour Day, when Canadian parents are focusing on getting their children back to school.

And it makes more sense for the CPA and the American Payroll Association (APA) to have separate events, given the differences in payroll-related laws in the two countries.

"(F)or payroll legislation, it’s country-specific and provincial- or state-specific even. When you start to think about it from the market perspective, there is not that much value in trying to co-ordinate," says Culhane.

Both the CPA and the APA have a dual focus of recognizing the hard work of payroll practitioners and promoting the profession in the media.

Similar to the CPA, the APA surveys employees on payroll and financial topics and releases the results to the media. Like the CPA, the APA encourages employers and payroll practitioners to celebrate the week in their workplaces.

In addition to celebrating payroll, the APA focuses on financial literacy through a Money Matters National Education Day during its NPW. On Sept. 10 this year, payroll professionals in the U.S. will volunteer to teach high school students in their community about pay, methods of payments and payroll deductions.

"This structured lesson, designed for students new to the workforce or about to enter the workforce, teaches the elements of a (paycheque), the amount of taxes they can expect to have withheld, how those taxes are calculated and various options to receive their pay," says the APA on its website.

The CPA provides a similar program for students in Canada, called Understanding Your Pay. But it runs throughout the year, except for National Payroll Week, says Culhane.

"The APA tries to do it during National Payroll Week but, for us, we find that we are too busy and when you are there and you are with the young students, you want to be there and present and engaged. You don’t want to be thinking, ‘OK, fine, I’ve got to get through this presentation and then get off to the NPW meeting tomorrow.’ We try to use our resources the best way possible."

Culhane says teaching young people about their pay is important because most do not understand how their pay is calculated and what the difference is between gross pay and net pay.

"When my children got their first paycheques, they said, ‘What are these deductions, Dad? Who is this CPP guy?’" says Culhane.

The CPA’s student education program has become so popular, Culhane says demand for it has exceeded the number of volunteers available to teach it. To address this, the association is planning to create a teaching video this year.

"We are envisioning it being a stand-alone video," he notes. "We can have somebody speaking (in-person to the students) but, if not, it will be a stand-alone piece that will then enable the teacher to use that video as part of a presentation."

The video, like the employee financial survey, can help improve financial literacy in the country, while also raising the profile of the association beyond the payroll community, says Culhane.

"We see that as something that is going to dovetail well into financial literacy because if you understand what your deductions are and what your pay is and we can get that message about saving in there sooner, people will a) understand the difference between net pay and how it could be used and b) they will probably use it a little more wisely."

When this year’s NPW wraps up, there will not be much time for CPA staff and volunteers to rest before beginning work on next year’s event. Planning the week is a Herculean task that takes months, says Culhane.

"When we are finishing off National Payroll Week this year, we will have a debrief and actually start booking venues and thinking about themes for the next year within a month. It’s a huge activity."