Those who responded drew attention to the high levels of stress (34%), job security (31%) and lack of investment in individuals (22%) as the primary drivers for this uncertainty. 

The report also highlights that over half (56%) of all payroll workers believe greater investment is required in the sector, with 47% seeing untapped potential within the payroll function in their organisation.

A crucial, element of this year’s report shows that payroll professionals do not feel equipped to embrace the future of the industry, with 57% believing they need to learn new skills to take advantage of the innovation happening within the industry and only 4 in 10 comfortable with the pace of change. Low skills and confidence are ultimately thwarting morale, with just 45% of professionals excited about the future of the industry.

Jeanette Wheeler, chief HR officer at MHR, said: “Our data is clear - it’s time for organisations to take action when it comes to supporting their payroll workers. If they fail to act, then a brain drain is likely to follow. The arrival of new technology has the potential to make a career in payroll more rewarding and productive, opening-up diverse and exciting career opportunities. However, this won’t happen by accident, and organisations must support employees, invest in their skills and development, and champion the function to ensure its potential is realised.”

While investment in skills is crucial, data highlights that this will be futile unless organisations invest in the right technology too, with 38% still manually inputting data and 30% piecing data together from several different reports. This lack of investment is leading to errors, with 89% of payroll workers stating there have been mistakes in the past 12 months which have led to late or incorrect payments. To help remedy this, 37% believe artificial intelligence will hold the greatest impact on the payroll function over the next five years. 

This year’s report also highlights the low visibility payroll has among other departments, meaning its potential is not being recognised, with just half (50%) believing colleagues understand payroll well. Furthermore, in the current cost of living crisis 49% of payroll workers believe there is an opportunity for payroll to support colleagues with their financial wellbeing.

Wheeler concluded: “As this year’s National Payroll Week theme underlines, there are exciting career opportunities for those who choose payroll. To make this a reality, organisations must innovate their payroll function, maximising the opportunity new technology such as artificial intelligence brings to empower workers, increase accuracy and attract new talent into the industry.”