ASK THE EXPERT – NATIONAL PAYROLL WEEK

A Perfect Day of Golf and Networking at Sharp Consultancy's Annual Event Sickleholme!

Another delightful day out at Sickleholme Golf Club for Sharp Consultancy’s latest Invitational Golf event!After a little scepticism late Thursday night concerning the weather, the early sunshine on Friday was a sign of things to come, an absolute belter of a day ensued with glorious weather throughout and some fairly ‘bright’ golf too! Guests started the day with breakfast and refreshments, before sampling the spectacular views of Sickleholme's 13th whilst trying to secure one of the three prizes on offer! Those being, Nearest the pin, Longest drive and of course OVERALL WINNER. Jonathan Ward deservedly scooped the Nearest the pin award with a tee shot within 7ft of the 13th hole and Ian Robinson justified the low handicap with a beautiful drive on the 17th hole to secure the Longest Drive award – well done to you both! The OVERALL WINNER was a much more competitive affair, and it was left right until the final group had finished to declare an overall winner, with a final score of 35 points James Rutter claimed the glory and won the main prize – congratulations James! As always, a massive thank you to all of the team at Sickleholme who allowed us to host and facilitate yet another great day which we rounded off with some much-needed beers and of course the famous Sickleholme Chicken burger!! With new faces and plenty of long-standing friends of Sharp Consultancy it was great to finish the day with some wider networking and it’s great to hear so much positivity out there in the local marketplace. There truly is few better ways to enjoy a Friday, with beautiful weather, picturesque views, and a rewarding golf course to help broaden your business and professional network. We can’t wait to see you all again at our next event!Are you looking to strengthen your team with top-tier finance and accountancy professionals? At Sharp Consultancy, we excel in connecting your business with exceptional talent for temporary, interim, or permanent roles. With our well-established offices in Leeds and Sheffield, our experienced consultants are dedicated to serving businesses across Yorkshire and beyond. Don't leave your recruitment needs to chance—contact us TODAY and let's find the perfect candidates to drive your business forward.

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It’s National Payroll Week (Mon 6 – Fri 10 Sep), and throughout the week our team of specialist consultants have been sharing their in-depth knowledge and expertise to employers and candidates working in the sector on recruitment and career-related matters.

Sharp Consultancy has been at the forefront of transactional financial recruitment across the North for more than 25 years. Our highly experienced specialist team has an extensive network of talented candidates for roles across the full spectrum of levels within accounts payable, credit control, payroll and purchase ledger.

Today, Matt Civil, Business Manager examines the wider skills that hiring managers are looking for from the modern payroll professional.

Historically, it would be fair to say that the focus for payrollers has been about getting people paid accurately and timely. However, we are now seeing that hiring managers are placing an increasing amount of emphasis upon the value-added skills that a payroll professional can bring such as analytical skills for management information and reporting which require a higher level of Microsoft Excel skills than would have previously been expected from those working in the role.

Such a skill set can save time and money for an organisation; candidates that possess analytical skills will be able to look in to how efficient the payroll is run, highlighting errors and queries which may be avoidable in future payroll runs. This information can help organisation be better informed when it comes to making business decisions; for example, manufacturing and product-based firms can more accurately forecast costs to determine if certain course of action – including price rises, discounts, discontinue ranges – are viable and as a management tool, smart decisions, such as weighing up the value of temporary workers versus overtime costs for full time permanent employees, can be made.

Companies that have a real focus upon training, as well as investment in technology and system improvements, will not only be in a much stronger position to attract the highest calibre candidates, they will also find that by offering study support – and continuing with a programme of ongoing training opportunities - they will improve retention rates whilst their staff are developing sought-after skills.

There have been many changes to regulations and legislation in recent years, including one of the most recent – the Government furlough scheme – which will be coming to an end this month and moving forward, payroll candidates and professionals will need to demonstrate their ability to keep on top of and adapt to these changes. It is likely that more changes will be forthcoming which will lead to higher demand for the most highly skilled candidates; payrolls salaries have seen a sharp increase in the last 3 – 4 years with more emphasis placed on candidates that can run a payroll from end-to-end.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent transactional finance professionals across the full spectrum of roles including accounts payable, credit control, payroll and purchase ledgers. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to find out more.