Modern payroll: A profession built for the next generation

Payroll professionals may be the quiet achievers of the workplace, but their work impact is loud and lasting, writes Judy Barnett.

The payroll profession is evolving, and fast. Driven by advances in technology, shifting compliance demands, and rising workforce expectations, payroll careers today look markedly different from even five years ago.

For the next generation of professionals entering the workforce, this change presents a unique opportunity: to step into a career that blends people, purpose, and technology from the very beginning.

A career that blends technology, people and purpose

Payroll today is so much more than processing pay runs and reconciling numbers. It’s a profession that sits at the intersection of data, compliance, technology, and people.

Modern payroll professionals need to be confident with digital systems, nimble in responding to legislative changes, and capable of navigating increasingly complex employee expectations. They’re often the ones facilitating benefits like cultural leave and flexible entitlements. They help maintain trust across an organisation by ensuring employees are paid accurately, on time, and in line with modern awards or agreements.

And as the profession grows more interconnected and tech-enabled, it presents a clear opportunity: to build a career that’s not only essential, but future-facing, combining critical thinking, digital fluency and people’s impact from day one.

Meeting the next generation where they are

Younger workers, particularly Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha, expect systems to be intuitive, mobile-friendly and data-rich. Their experience with platforms and AI tools shapes what they expect from their employers.

Payroll solutions like ADP Lyric HCM are built to meet these expectations, with search-led functionality and built-in automation that moves with the pace of modern work. But technology alone isn’t enough. We must also reframe payroll itself: not as a reactive administration task but as proactive problem-solving, tech-enabled collaboration, and expertise that touches every part of an organisation.

Breaking the perception barrier

Payroll may not yet have the “glamour” of other roles in technology or business. But it offers something just as valuable:

• Stability and clear progression.
• Career pathways in data, compliance, systems, or leadership.
• Opportunities to shape employee experience and workplace culture.

Payroll is like oxygen: invisible when it’s working well but immediately felt when something goes wrong. Getting it right may go unnoticed, but it underpins trust across an organisation – and when trust is strong, culture thrives.

Reframing payroll as future-fit

To attract the next generation, we need to make payroll visible, aspirational and rewarding. That means investing in early-career pathways, showcasing success stories, and supporting professional development across both technical and interpersonal skills.

Payroll professionals may be the quiet achievers of the workplace, but their work impact is loud and lasting. In an era of smarter technology, rising complexity, and higher employee expectations, payroll is no longer a fallback role – it’s a future-fit profession with purpose, longevity, and real impact.

Judy Barnett is the operations director at ADP Australia.