Payroll Professionals from various parts of the world gathered at PayrollOrg's Global Reception during the 44th Annual Payroll Congress General Session.

Charissa MacDonald came all the way from Australia to attend her very first Payroll Conference.

Traveling so far, she knew it would mean something to gather with other like-minded professionals like herself at the Global Reception.

“For me, it’s been all about the global connection,” MacDonald said, who works for Chrysos. “So obviously I’ve traveled a long way to get here, and I am really for more of a network opportunity connection than we get back home.”

Philip Kopman, with Money Corps, said he felt similarly about the ability to talk with others in payroll who deal with the challenge of paying people across the globe.

“Paying people globally is complicated,” he said, having spent 20 years living in the United Kingdom before coming back stateside to the U.S. “This allows me to compare notes with my other peers in the industry and hopefully brings value back for our client.

Jeff Ruby — as the sponsor host with Deel — said opportunities like this are important to capitalize on when everyone can get together and have face-to-face interactions.

“It helps to bring it all together under one roof,” Ruby said. “We thought it was a great time to get all of our payroll people together, talk to them and see them. It’s great to see everyone in person. We feed off of it, and you have the opportunity to really get to know someone and see what makes them tick.”

Emily West is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.