We initially reached out to Simon Puryer, who is speaking at our upcoming Reward & Payroll Summit, with some questions over email. But he wasn’t having any of it. He opens our Teams call on a grey Wednesday with a friendly smile about it being “a long day”, and adds, “I much prefer speaking to people.”

This is also fitting because Puryer’s expertise is in building understanding. Whether that’s between organisations, payroll teams, and the executives who often underestimate the risks (and opportunities) hidden in those monthly runs.

From Retail to Payroll Consultancy

Puryer’s route into payroll was anything but conventional. “I came out of retail. I worked for WHSmith for a number of years and then moved into consultancy,” he explains. “It was actually while working with a retailer that someone asked me to help with a payroll project they were struggling with. I said, ‘Of course, how hard can it be?’”

He laughs. “Four years later, I realised just how hard it could be. But that project became a turning point. It built this niche for me, bridging the gap between clients and providers, helping organisations understand how payroll integrates within their wider systems.”

After years of doing just that across UK and global clients, he was introduced to the founders of LACE Partners, a pure HR consultancy. “They were doing payroll projects, but they wanted to build a true payroll practice, something we could take to market as a specialism. That’s what I came in to establish, and it’s grown ever since.” 

A Practice Built on Real-World Experience

Part of LACE’s success, he says, comes from the makeup of the team. “The people who work with me are all subject matter experts, people who’ve lived and breathed payroll. Many have been global heads of payroll themselves. So, when they speak to clients, they can genuinely relate to the challenges. It’s not generic consulting; it’s experience speaking to experience.”

That empathy, he believes, is what sets them apart. “Clients tell us they can feel the difference straight away.” 

When asked about the most convincing argument for payroll investment, Puryer says “risk”, without hesitation. “On paper, payroll might not look like a big win in terms of cost savings. But the risk of not investing is enormous. You’ve got people relying on single individuals, outdated spreadsheets, no documentation, that’s a single point of failure. Then there’s compliance, audit risk, and even legal exposure.”

He’s seen first-hand what can happen when systems slip. “I’ve known cases where people left the business a year ago and were still being paid. Trying to recover that money is nearly impossible and in some US states, you can’t legally claw it back. There’s also something we call ‘payroll leakage’. Up to 3.5% of the total pay bill lost each year due to errors or overpayments. On a large payroll, that’s millions.”

Then there’s the human factor. “Payroll teams are often undervalued and under-recognised,” he says. “If you’ve got key people quietly carrying all that risk, at some point they might just say, ‘Enough’s enough.’ That’s a business continuity issue, not just a morale one.”

Changing the Perception of Payroll

For many organisations, payroll still sits in the shadows. A back-office cost centre rather than a value-driving function. Puryer wants to change that.

“Everyone works to be paid. Payroll touches every employee, and it sits right at the heart of HR, finance, and IT. You take that cog out, and the whole system falls apart.”

So how do you persuade executives to see it that way? “It’s about education,” he says. “A CFO might not have visibility of how complex payroll really is. When we map it out for them, every step, every dependency, they often say, ‘Oh my goodness, I had no idea it was that complicated.’ Once they see it, they’re far more open to investing.”

He admits that changing payroll systems can be intimidating. “It’s not for the faint-hearted,” he smiles. “But it doesn’t have to be scary.”

The key, he says, is strategy. “You have to understand where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. It’s not always about ripping everything out, sometimes it’s about optimising what you’ve got. Start small, get some quick wins, and build from there."

When budgets are tight, he recommends focusing on people, processes, and governance rather than just technology. “You can have the best system in the world, but if your processes are broken and your people aren’t trained, it won’t make a difference. It’s like building a shiny new house on bad foundations.”

The Fear Factor and Why It’s Time to Lift the Lid

If there’s one message Puryer wants to share at the upcoming summit, it’s that “Payroll isn’t as scary as you think.”

“People are often afraid to lift the lid because they worry about what they’ll find. But the longer you leave it, the worse it gets, like a dripping tap. It’s better to face it head-on. Once you do, you can start to make it better,” he says.

“And once you make it better, it stops being the ‘boring back-office function’ and starts being something people are proud of. That’s what excites me, changing that perception.”

As we wrap up, I ask if there’s anything he feels we’ve missed. He pauses for a moment. “Just that people who work in payroll, like people in retail, are some of the hardest working, most passionate professionals I know. They deserve recognition. If we can make payroll a little less feared and a little more appreciated, then I think we’ve done our job.”