How to Hire the Right Payroll Specialist

When payroll runs smoothly, nobody notices. When it doesn’t? Everyone does – and fast. 

Your payroll specialist is actually one of the most critical members of your team – after all, this person is handling the financial heartbeat of your business. They’re the ones ensuring everyone gets paid accurately, on time, and in full compliance with ever-changing regulations. The wrong hire can mean more than a few disgruntled employees – it can lead to costly penalties, legal exposure, and serious disruption.

So, how do you hire the right one?

Define What You Actually Need

It’s good to start with the structure. Are you running weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payrolls? Do you handle international payments? Are pensions, benefits, or bonuses managed in-house? Clarify what systems are already in place and what your business needs in six months, not just day one. A good specialist should be able to handle today’s volume, but also help you scale.

And don’t forget about experience: generally speaking, a payroll specialist typically requires 2-3 years experience. 

Fun fact: payroll specialists have some of the largest pay ranges, ranging from £28,000 to £55,000, based on the size of the business. 

Look Beyond Just Payroll Experience

It’s tempting to focus only on candidates who’ve run payroll cycles for years. Experience matters – no question. But it’s only one of many things to look for in an applicant’s CV. Equally important is how they think. The best payroll professionals are proactive: they spot risks before they become issues, adapt quickly to legislative changes, and communicate clearly with everyone from HR to Finance. 

Soft skills matter here. Empathy, attention to detail, and discretion aren’t so much “nice to haves” as they are core competencies. It’s also about keeping your team happy – according to a survey by GPA, around 46% of UK employees had been underpaid at least once, with a large portion likely down to payroll errors. Aside from being bad for employee morale, repeated problems like this can become a reputational risk, one that compounds over time.

Don’t Underestimate Systems Knowledge

The systems your team uses “and how well your payroll specialist can navigate them”, will either streamline your month-end or create additional challenges. So whether you’re on Oracle, ADP, Workday or iTrent (or something bespoke) find out what tools candidates are confident with and how quickly they adapt to new ones.

Better yet, ask for examples: How involved or what level of back-end configuration have they experienced? Have they implemented or migrated systems? What role did they play? You’ll quickly get a feel for whether you’re dealing with someone who can keep the lights on or someone who can modernise your function entirely.

Make Compliance a Priority

HMRC makes even more visits in 2025 than before, so it’s important to understand how a payroll specialist would handle this.  

The right candidate should not only be aware of key legal frameworks, but able to articulate them and demonstrate how they’ve kept up to date.

During interviews, don’t just ask if they “know the rules.” Go deeper. When was the last time they dealt with a payroll discrepancy? Have they ever dealt with an HMRC visit, and how did they handle it? 

Test for Real-World Thinking

A polished CV and the right jargon can’t cover for poor decision-making. Ask candidates how they’d respond in real scenarios: What would you do if a director’s bonus was calculated incorrectly, or perhaps if a system went down on payroll cut-off day?

Situational questions reveal a lot more than theory – they show how someone operates under pressure, how they communicate with stakeholders, and how they problem-solve in real time.

Transparency About Career Progression

When you’re hiring, don’t just talk about what the role is. Show them what it could become.

Can they step into a manager role eventually? Will they liaise with external auditors or take on system upgrades? Be transparent about expectations, but also about the growth they can look forward to.

Our Closing Thoughts

Hiring the right payroll specialist is a strategic decision that impacts every employee, every payslip, and every compliance tick-box. Whether you’re hiring your first in-house payroll lead or expanding an established team, take the time to look beyond just technical experience.

The right person can add value far beyond month-end. And when you get it right, you don’t just fill a gap, you strengthen the foundations of your business.

Invest in a Recruitment Partner

It’s not just about filling a vacancy – it’s about connecting businesses with payroll professionals who genuinely match their structure, scale, and culture. That’s where we come in.

At The Portfolio Group, we’ve supported thousands of businesses across the UK and internationally in making the right hire the first time. With 35+ years in the industry and a team of specialists who understand the unique challenges of payroll recruitment, we know how to read beyond the CV, and help you understand the motivations, the mindset, and all the red flags.

And we don’t stop at candidate introductions. We guide our clients through interview preparation, salary benchmarking, offer management, and onboarding – all with one goal: make the right hire, with confidence.