Shaping the Next Generation of Payroll Leaders

Executive Summary

Payroll is no longer simply a transactional function. In this interview, Adam Flight (AF), Payroll Partner at AAB, shares his insights with Catalyst’s Annabelle Yee (AY) on the qualities that define effective leadership within payroll and HR infrastructure.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, he explains why today’s leaders must combine technical expertise with commercial awareness, strategic thinking and strong cross-functional collaboration. Adam also discusses the growing influence of technology and AI, the importance of proactive compliance and change management, and why curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to embrace new challenges are critical for future success.

These themes reflect Adam’s own career journey and leadership approach. As a Payroll Partner at AAB, he works with organisations ranging from SMEs to multinational businesses, helping them navigate complex payroll, HR, and employment challenges while building resilient, future-ready people functions.

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AY: Your career has spanned HR, payroll, and consultancy. Looking back, what does it really take to move from an operational role into strategic leadership?

AF: Although I’ve worked closely with payroll throughout my career, I wouldn’t describe myself as a technical payroll professional. My experience has been much more about coordinating payroll from an in-house perspective before moving into consultancy and leadership.

For me, the biggest shift is learning to think beyond individual functions. Too often, organisations operate in silos – payroll focuses on payroll, HR on HR, finance on finance, but every decision affects multiple parts of the business. Hiring or dismissing employees isn’t simply an HR process. It has implications for payroll, tax, pensions, benefits, finance, settlement agreements and workforce planning. The people who become strategic leaders are those who recognise those connections and the impact they have on each other. They don’t just think about completing a process; they think about the wider commercial impact and who else needs to be involved.

Building relationships is equally important. Whether you’re working internally or advising clients, knowing who to involve and encouraging collaboration between teams leads to better outcomes. That’s one reason I’m such a strong advocate of joined-up payroll, HR, benefits and employment tax services. When advisers work together rather than in isolation, businesses receive much more valuable strategic support, with the outcome of having a happy and engaged workforce.

The transition into leadership isn’t usually one defining moment. It happens gradually as your responsibilities evolve and your focus moves away from processing work towards solving business problems.

AY: What qualities separate today’s payroll leaders from strong payroll professionals, and how can they build influence across the wider business?

AF: Technical expertise will always be essential. Payroll demands accuracy and compliance, and strong technical knowledge builds credibility, especially when someone moves up into a management role – their team need to trust them when they need help.

However, what differentiates leaders today is much broader than technical ability. Commercial awareness, communication, change management, resilience and the ability to influence people have become just as important.

Payroll and HR are becoming increasingly complex. Legislative change is constant, client expectations continue to grow, and leaders are expected to guide both their teams and their organisations through that change. That means interpreting data, advising stakeholders and explaining complex legislation in a way people understand.

Influence starts with trust.

You earn trust by delivering consistently, anticipating problems and taking accountability when mistakes happen. Payroll is run by people, and people will occasionally make errors. Strong leaders own those mistakes, resolve them quickly and learn from them.

Equally important is understanding the story behind the numbers. Payroll data provides valuable insight into overtime, staff turnover, workforce trends and future employment costs. Rather than simply reporting statistics, payroll professionals should be asking why those trends exist and what they mean for the business.

In one of my earliest payroll and HR roles within the hotel industry I was regularly asked to explain increases in overtime. The answer wasn’t found in payroll itself; it involved speaking to reservations, housekeeping and catering teams to understand occupancy levels and operational demands.

Those conversations enabled payroll to explain future labour costs before they happened, allowing the wider business to plan accordingly. That’s when payroll becomes a trusted adviser rather than simply a processing function.

AY: Compliance is becoming increasingly complex. How do you stay ahead of legislative change and ensure payroll remains audit-ready?

AF: You can’t manage compliance reactively – you have to stay ahead of it. That starts with being disciplined about monitoring legislative developments, but it also means recognising that no individual can know everything.

One of the strengths of our business is having specialist employment tax, pensions and benefits teams who support one another. Future leaders should build similar internal and external networks rather than feeling they need to have every answer themselves.

During COVID, for example, professional associations, bureau manager forums and peer networks became invaluable for sharing knowledge and discussing emerging guidance, which was changing on a daily basis. Nobody has time to read every legislative update in detail, but strong professional relationships help you identify what really matters and enables you respond quickly.

Ultimately, compliance is a team effort. Leadership is about knowing where to find the right expertise, translating complex legislation into practical actions and communicating those changes clearly to your team and clients.

AY: Payroll is constantly evolving through legislation, technology and changing client expectations. What have you learned about leading teams through continuous change?

AF: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t lead change reactively.

Preparation is everything. Whether it’s legislative updates, onboarding new clients or payroll year-end, successful teams are the ones that plan early, communicate clearly and keep everyone aligned. Transparency is particularly important because people are much more likely to embrace change when they understand why it’s happening rather than simply being told a new process has been introduced. They may not initially understand the reasons behind why a change is happening but once the benefits have been explained to them and they start to reap the benefits of that change, the more agreeable they become to future change as they trust the rationale behind it.

The same principle applies when onboarding new clients. Signing an engagement letter doesn’t mean payroll can go live immediately. Proper implementation takes planning, data validation, parallel testing and realistic timelines. Setting those expectations early prevents unnecessary pressure or unrealistic expectations later.

During year-end, we also communicate with partners and clients months in advance, encouraging them to complete tasks such as annual payroll registrations well before deadlines.

Those small conversations make an enormous difference to how smoothly the busiest periods run. The teams that deal best with change aren’t necessarily those who work the hardest, they’re the ones who prepare the earliest.

AY: As AI and automation reshape payroll, how do you see the profession evolving over the next few years?

AF: Technology is undoubtedly changing payroll, but I don’t see it replacing payroll professionals. Automation is already removing much of the repetitive administrative work, and AI will continue to develop, although I think we’re still some way from relying on it for complex payroll calculations. What technology does create is capacity.

Instead of spending time processing transactions, payroll professionals can focus on reviewing exceptions, analysing data, advising clients and building stronger relationships. Those advisory skills will become increasingly valuable.

Future payroll professionals will need to understand technology, interpret data and manage systems confidently, but they’ll also need excellent communication and relationship-building skills because clients will continue to value trusted advice.

At the same time, organisations shouldn’t adopt every new technology simply because it’s available. Sometimes it’s better to let solutions mature, learn from others’ experiences and implement change in a measured, controlled way.

The most important thing is ensuring your people understand that technology isn’t replacing them but instead is allowing them to contribute in a different way which is futureproofing their role.

AY: What do you look for when developing future payroll leaders and building high-performing teams?

AF: Technical expertise is essential, but it isn’t enough. One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is promoting someone because they’re technically excellent and expecting them to become an effective people manager overnight. Leadership requires training, mentoring and ongoing support.

When recruiting and developing future leaders, I look for curiosity, accountability, adaptability and strong communication skills. Technical capability is often a given; it’s the softer skills that distinguish exceptional leaders. I also look for resilience and a willingness to embrace change. Payroll professionals deal with constant legislative updates, system improvements and evolving client expectations. The people who actively seek opportunities to improve processes and challenge existing ways of working often become the strongest leaders.

It’s equally important to understand individual ambitions. Not everyone wants to become a manager, and that’s perfectly fine. Every successful payroll team needs dependable technical specialists alongside ambitious future leaders.

The key is creating opportunities that match people’s aspirations while ensuring the business has the right balance of skills for the future.

AY: Finally, what advice would you give someone who wants to become a future leader in payroll or HR?

AF: The biggest piece of advice I’d give is to step outside your comfort zone.

If you wait until you feel completely ready before taking the next opportunity, you’ll probably never take it. Several moments stand out in my own career. Moving from an in-house HR role into consultancy felt like a huge leap. Later, taking responsibility for a payroll bureau despite having limited hands-on payroll experience stretched me even further. More recently, leaving an organisation where I’d spent twelve years to join a new business was another major decision.

Every one of those moves felt uncomfortable at the time, but every one of them contributed to my development and where I am today. I’d encourage people to think beyond the job they’re doing today. Focus on where you want to be in three to five years, understand how businesses operate, build relationships across different departments and actively seek opportunities that challenge you.

Very few candidates ever tick every box for a senior role. The people who progress are often those who demonstrate curiosity, resilience, accountability and a willingness to learn quickly. Technical skills can be developed, but mindset is much harder to teach.

Ultimately, leadership is about far more than technical expertise. It’s about being visible, approachable and willing to learn.

The people who continue asking questions, embrace change and build strong relationships are the ones most likely to shape the future of payroll and HR.

Annabelle Yee is a Consultant in the HR Infrastructure team. Find out more or reach out for a further discussion.