Career growth in HR - payroll and compliance executive in a private firm - feeling as if there is no more room to grow

Hi everyone,

A brief introduction of mine will help you all to understand and guide me in the right direction. I work as a payroll and compliance executive in a private firm with more than 500 employees. I have completed one year in this company. Nowadays, I am feeling as if there is no more room to grow. I am getting nothing new to learn. I had a word with my HOD to let me learn things from operations, HRMS, or any other area which can help me in my career growth.

Please guide me on which other areas I can opt for secondary to payroll and compliance that will help me in the future as well and have great value. Looking forward to your valuable advice. Thanks in advance.

Dear Poonam,

You say that you work as a "Payroll and Compliance Executive" in a private firm. In the compliance part of your job, what are your duties?

Next question is on the division of the HR department. It is divided into how many sections and how many HR professionals are there in the department?

Your future career plans will depend on your qualification and the total length of your experience. Above all, your likes and dislikes also matter. Do you have an inherent pull towards any subject? Please give a little more information.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you, Dinesh Divekar, for your time to reply to me. Below, I'm furnishing the requisite information.

There are four segments in the HR Department, namely:
1. Talent Acquisition
2. Operations
3. Payroll and Compliance
4. Time Management & HRMS

I'm a BCA graduate with a Master's in Economics. Prior to this, I was a mathematics and economics teacher in a private school and had an experience of about 2.5 years. In HR, I have only one year of experience. Here, I take care of the payroll sheet (reimbursement, incentives, overtime, bonus, arrears, etc.), EPF and ESIC, and other statutory compliance.

Dear Poonam,

To grow in your career, I visualize two options:

a) The first one is to find a job in HR Analytics. Many HR professionals openly admit that "they are not good in numbers." However, your Math + Economics background could come in handy for you. You can do a course on HR Analytics; however, you should be able to learn on your own. The job in HR Analytics can be looked at either in the existing company or by changing the job.

b) The second option is to change the job and look for the job of an HR Manager, especially in the manufacturing sector. If you know statutory activities + Payroll processing, then half of the battle is over. In small companies, HR is expected to do multifarious activities. In addition to these two, you can handle others as well.

Notwithstanding the options given above, you will face tough competition from MBAs. Whether to pursue an MBA or non-MBA is a decision taken by the company. Not all companies employ non-MBAs.

Whether in the current company or somewhere else, the common requirement to develop one's career is to improve command over written and spoken English. Not that you are poor in written English. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement, so keep on reading or solving exercises on business correspondence. A good command of the English language is a must. This command will help you stand out from the crowd.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

Hi Poonam Garg,

Your query revealed that you have only 1 year of work experience in HR, and it is too early for you to feel monotony in your job responsibilities. You may wait for 2-3 years and work in the same company. At the same time, try to improve your professional knowledge and skills by joining related HR courses, as suggested by our senior member, Mr. Diwakar.

Since you have worked as a teacher, the Training and Development (T&D) facet of HR function shall also suit you. If you are looking for a job in the manufacturing sector, you need to master labor laws and be competent enough to handle IR management, which is another facet of HR.

Dear Poonam,

Since you have a BCA + MA in Economics, you may consider doing a course on Data Science. Jobs in the field of Data Science are in great demand. It is an upcoming field, and the demand will remain high for the next 15-20 years.

For Mr. Radhakrishna Nair: Your suggestion of acquiring knowledge on labor laws is 100% correct. However, not every manufacturing company has a labor union. A large number of companies in the manufacturing sector operate without labor unions. Poonam Garg can look for a job in such companies.

Secondly, she is getting bored with her monotonous job. This could be due to her personality style. Based on the "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" (MBTI), we need to check what her personality style is. She could possibly be from the "NT" group. Individuals from this group become restless if they are given the same type of work. Of course, the final opinion can only be made after conducting the test.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Poonam,

I do understand your situation, but I would like to say, keep calm your mind, and think about:

1. How could I gain deep knowledge in the same payroll function?
2. Develop your own software that will help other students, enabling you to start your own business.
3. Start to take online lectures or provide free tutorials on your YouTube channel so beginners will follow you. This will help you discover various new queries that you have not encountered before.
4. Find out how I can create new, easy, or smart techniques in the same field of work.
5. Suppose if we continue doing the same work, we become masters in the same field. So, do not get disappointed and learn new things on the same basis. "Because if your foundation is strong, the building automatically becomes strong."

I hope this advice helps you in your endeavors.

Best regards,
[Your Name]

Dear Poonam,

I would suggest you to try for Recruitment part as well if you have any interest in this because Recruitment is a dynamic function. You will get to know various people, their behaviors, etc. It would definitely bring new challenges for you every day, and this way, you would feel good. It not only keeps you refreshed but also keeps you updated and also, it will give you an exposure to deal with the real-world scenario.

I hope it helps.

Dear Poonam,

Payroll and statutory compliance are a huge part of any organization. You should be familiar with the rules of PF/ESIC/TDS on salary, Professional Tax, LWF, Gratuity, Bonus, benefits under the Maternity Act, and many more.

Do you handle all such activities independently, or have you outsourced the services to a third party and provide input only to prepare the payroll sheet? If you manage all these tasks yourself, you could secure a senior position in a large organization.

Dear Poonam,

Greetings of the day,

As you mentioned that you are working as a payroll and compliance executive but besides that, you want to focus on HR aspects such as recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and compensation designing. These areas are in high demand today in various IT and hospitality industries. While working as a payroll and compliance executive, you will be able to handle grievance mechanisms, industrial relations, personnel administration, and be aware of labor laws in the country. These are essential parts of HR and administration, but focusing on recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and compensation designing will enhance your future prospects and help you achieve commendable positions.

Recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and compensation designing will provide you with an extra advantage in the future, in addition to personnel administration and industrial relations. Therefore, do not be disheartened by your current profile. In addition to time office, payroll, and compliance responsibilities, also concentrate on recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and compensation designing for a better future. All the very best.

Thanks & Regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena