“My team knows every workaround”

Head of Payroll · HR and payroll software

A Head of Payroll who knows every workaround is proud of a team that keeps people paid despite the system, not because of it. Don't criticise the system they've mastered. Respect the expertise, then ask which workarounds they'd happily never do again, and how long each one takes in a pay run.

What the buyer says

My team has run payroll on this system for twelve years. We know every workaround. Why start again?

How to handle it

Listen

Hear the pride in "twelve years" and "every workaround". It also tells you the workarounds exist, and that the team is carrying them.

Acknowledge

Recognise the expertise it takes to run payroll reliably on any system, and that starting again means giving up hard-won knowledge.

Explore

Ask which workarounds take the most time in a pay run, which ones only one or two people know how to do, and what happens when those people are away. Ask what they'd stop doing first if they could.

Respond

Focus on the workarounds they named, and show specifically how each would work with your product. Position their expertise as what makes a move go well, not something it throws away.

Say this
“That's real expertise. Keeping payroll right for twelve years takes a lot of skill.”

Say this
“Which workaround would you most like never to do again?”

Say this
“What happens to the pay run when the people who know those workarounds are away?”

Variations

Payroll Manager: “The system's old, but it works, and we know it inside out.”
Finance Director: “Payroll is the one system that never lets us down.”

Questions people ask

How do you respond when a payroll team says they know every workaround in their current system?

Respect the expertise first. Then ask which workarounds take the most time, which ones only a few people know, and what happens when they're away. Show how your product handles those specific workarounds.

Why do payroll teams resist changing systems?

Payroll has to be right every time, and a team that has learned an old system's quirks has reduced its risk. A new system feels like starting again. Changes go better when the team's knowledge is treated as an asset in the move.