Employees in payroll specialist jobs serve an important function within any organization that compensates staff for their work. Depending on the scope of work and the steps needed to complete payroll, payroll specialist jobs may exist at many different levels and across several departments for a large company or complex organization. There are several general payroll specialist jobs that are common to organizations such as salary and compensation managers, payroll and expense clerks, benefits administrators, and human resources generalists, to name a few.
Salary and compensation managers are human resource or accounting professionals who specialize in determining the fair wages that different assignments should pay. By using updated data concerning job types, industry rates and regional data, these payroll specialists are responsible to determine what workers will earn. Many salary managers develop salary incentives for workers that lead to progressive growth, enhanced recruiting, and payroll functions.
Among the most familiar payroll specialist jobs are that of the accountants and expense clerks who process payroll. Expense clerks and payroll accountants are skilled at handling the financial processes that include hour and wage calculations, expense reports, personal deductions, taxes, benefits, deposits and check printing. These responsibilities are all important functions of processing payroll. Payroll accountants and expense clerks may work as part of a payroll team or they may be contracted by an organization to perform these particular duties.
Other payroll specialist jobs include the benefits administrators who select the many benefits for a company's employees. In addition to regular pay, employees often receive health benefits, wellness programs, retirement savings, and payroll deduction benefits as part of their compensation packages. Benefit administrators process these benefits and help employees sign up for the programs that meet their individual needs.
A vast majority of payroll specialist jobs are handled by human resources generalists who manage a wide range of employee-related duties, including payroll. By having a well-rounded view of the entire hiring, employee resource management, and termination, human resource generalists are in tune with the daily activities at an organization and can handle payroll specialist functions efficiently. For the payroll specialist, working as a human resource generalist can be a goal to achieve over time.
