Completely messed up weekly payroll run in my first week in new job...

I started a new role in HR last week but it has been hell.  Part of my new role has been to input weekly hours into SAP (I have never worked in payroll before).  During  my first week of doing this I had no one peer checking my work and the codes I have used were wrong.  I ended up paying people for absence when it should have been unpaid - this has now been rectified and now I worried I've also not used the correct coding for unauthorized absence - instead logging this as authorized unpaid (although we would have sent RTW forms out for these during the week because it was another team member actioning these).  I am just sitting tight and hoping that no further issues don't come to light when the staff get their payslips but i have found the whole experience really stressful.  I am determined to do next week's correctly but I am just worried about this week's mess as it was my first time and I look totally incompetent .

The General Manager even came to talk to me about it - should I just quit now?  I feel like total rubbish and the lady who trained me (we are the only 2 in the office) has told me not to worry because things can be rectified but I feel like a failure already - I nearly fell asleep at college last night cos I've been awake worrying all night, since I pressed the button to submit payroll.  

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  • Hi Lesley,

    First off... do not quit! I completely empathise with you. I started my current job 18 months ago (my first HR role) and I was tasked with payroll as I'm stand alone. I only had a 2 week handover period, and with weekly and monthly paid staff, i got myself into such a state and stressed out, after my handover. I had completely forgotten to close off one weekly, and started the next and ended up overpaying all the employees (long story). However, after dealing with the issue and endless hours of re-inputting data etc, it all sorted itself out. The experience still scars me, especially when the auditors recently came in and queried certain payments from that pay period.

    I would completely recommend asking for additional training with your payroll provider or from colleagues if they previously did payroll. It is a learning curve, and the fact that you have acknowledged it and want to fix it and and ensure it doesn't happen again, shows strength of character.

    Looking back it was one of the things I hated about my job, but it's probably one of my pleasant tasks now, as I have developed ways to ensure i gather all the data necessary in a timely manner, to avoid getting stressed (don't get me wrong, pay day still feels me with dread) and double checking things, and if it takes me a bit more time than i try to allow myself sufficient time.

    It will be ok, and as one of our colleagues have said, you will be able to laugh about it before long. My friends all want me to work in their payroll teams :-) god knows why??

    Please don't be so hard on yourself Lesley.

    Kind regards,

    Adam
Reply
  • Hi Lesley,

    First off... do not quit! I completely empathise with you. I started my current job 18 months ago (my first HR role) and I was tasked with payroll as I'm stand alone. I only had a 2 week handover period, and with weekly and monthly paid staff, i got myself into such a state and stressed out, after my handover. I had completely forgotten to close off one weekly, and started the next and ended up overpaying all the employees (long story). However, after dealing with the issue and endless hours of re-inputting data etc, it all sorted itself out. The experience still scars me, especially when the auditors recently came in and queried certain payments from that pay period.

    I would completely recommend asking for additional training with your payroll provider or from colleagues if they previously did payroll. It is a learning curve, and the fact that you have acknowledged it and want to fix it and and ensure it doesn't happen again, shows strength of character.

    Looking back it was one of the things I hated about my job, but it's probably one of my pleasant tasks now, as I have developed ways to ensure i gather all the data necessary in a timely manner, to avoid getting stressed (don't get me wrong, pay day still feels me with dread) and double checking things, and if it takes me a bit more time than i try to allow myself sufficient time.

    It will be ok, and as one of our colleagues have said, you will be able to laugh about it before long. My friends all want me to work in their payroll teams :-) god knows why??

    Please don't be so hard on yourself Lesley.

    Kind regards,

    Adam
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