During the last 10 months at Oakleaf I’ve had the pleasure of working solely on junior to mid-level payroll hires in the permanent space across a myriad of sectors from financial and professional services to commerce and industry.
There has been some exciting intel at this level – as businesses expand or re-structure, their mid-level tier of employee base grows.
Candidates at this level are chomping at the bit to get into a business where they can expand their career and long term opportunities. From the client side, it’s been great to work with businesses who respect payroll and appreciate the value of its function. I’ve also been delighted with clients being open to the background of the candidate and allowing me to consult. For example, an original brief for an EMEA hire requiring EMEA but ultimately a candidate with solid UK experience getting the job, who wants to learn EMEA – but has the perfect culture fit.
In fact, culture fit has never been more crucial and I’ve personally seen how the right culture fit can override the hard skills a client thinks they need – the right team fit and soft skills win every time. Meeting people is the part of my role I enjoy most and that face to face interaction with our talent pool has never been more crucial when recommending the right candidate for opportunities.
The mid-level is brimming with our future leaders of payroll and I’m excited to see their careers evolve and to get involved in further developing their skill set.