From the course: Human Resources: Payroll

HR's role in payroll

From the course: Human Resources: Payroll

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HR's role in payroll

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- When I first started out my career fresh out of graduate school and eager to change the world as a senior HR generalist for a leading aerospace company, I was also eager to tackle the world of HR while sitting in my new office feeling confident in the expertise I could offer, in walks a man with a question that I would least expect. He hands me a document and says my paycheck is wrong and I need you to fix it. I was confused as to why he came to me when there's a payroll department right down the hall. But then again, the sign on my door clearly does say human resources. When we enter the field of human resources we enter the field of all things human and payroll could not be more central to the human experience. No matter what country you live in, payroll is fundamental in why we come to work each day. It's why we pick an organization to dedicate a good majority of our time to. Our pay is as crucial to our lives as payroll is to the HR function. If a company can't pay its employees accurately, lawfully or fairly, why would you even want to work there? In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Maslow describes that a person's pay fuels the most basic needs which are air, water, food, and shelter which are at the very bottom of the pyramid. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will be able to be motivated to move up to those secondary or higher level needs. As you can see, a person's pay is at the very bottom of the list, and without it a person cannot move up the hierarchy to self-actualization or even move up to the next level which could be personal safety or love and belonging. So imagine how messing up someone's paycheck would feel to a worker if it's the very basis of all human motivation. All in all HR professionals give the opportunity to impact a person's full potential, all while creating a solid and secure business foundation for their organization.

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