6th September, 2022, Melanie Harriss
National Payroll Week was established by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals in 1998 to celebrate the profession and to give it the recognition it deserves.
Here at Stephenson Smart, we are proud to do our bit in keeping the UK paid with 827 payroll clients across our offices.
We have payroll experts in our Gorleston, King’s Lynn, Wisbech and March offices, and due to demand we are investing in our next generation of payroll professionals by adding two new members of staff to our teams.
Abi Bisset-Smith is our new Trainee Payroll Administrator in our East Coast office, while Hannah Carter has joined our King’s Lynn team.
Abi, 23, who lives in Great Yarmouth, gained a BTech in art from college and spent three years working for The Post Office before she decided upon a change of career.
“My mum had a couple of friends who worked at Stephenson Smart, so I knew that it was a good company to work for.
“I didn’t know much about payroll, but I knew what an important role in plays in everyday life. My training is going well, I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I have got a great team who help answer my questions.
“I’m processing some of the simpler payrolls and I’m working towards getting my basic payroll qualification. I really like speaking to the clients, it’s really satisfying to see a payroll be processed successfully and know that I’ve helped.
“I like the fact that this career has longevity and that it’s doing something really positive for people.”
In her spare time Abi still puts her art qualification to good use by creating digital stylised portraits of people’s pets, as well as spending time with her identical twin.
Hannah, 20, is the latest payroll trainee in the King’s Lynn office. She initially studied history at the University of Lincoln before deciding it wasn’t the correct route for her.
“I’ve lived in Lynn for my whole life and I knew of Stephenson Smart from walking by it many times. I wanted to try something very different to what I had tried before, and I wanted a change from university type education.
Hannah said anyone choosing a career in payroll should be prepared to work to deadlines, be a team player and a good communicator.
“Payroll is very much deadline based, with remembering to get all parts of the job done by a specific date. It also involves working within a team and constant communication within that team.
“It’s so important for society because it makes sure everything is done according to legislation and it takes the weight off employers so they can focus their time on other aspects of their business.”
Hannah’s other passion is her role as a guide leader.
She is the fourth generation of her family to fulfil the role and is travelling to Switzerland with her unit in October. It will be the eighth time she has been, but the first as a leader.
Zoe Taylor, Payroll Manager at the East Coast office, said Stephenson Smart was focused on providing a strategic answer to all payroll issues, whatever the size or location of a business.
“We have four extremely busy payroll departments across our offices. It’s a key part of our business and our ethos is to completely absorb our clients’ payroll administration responsibilities so they can focus on other elements of their business.
“We’re delighted to have Abi and Hannah on board. Investing in our next generation of payroll experts is imperative as we build on our offer even further and it is good to take the opportunity to acknowledge them as part of National Payroll Week. ”
If you would like more information about our payroll services please contact us.
