Payroll professionals—even if they have only attended Payroll Congress once—understand that unmistakable giddiness and the camaraderie of seeing their payroll peers, the joy of celebrating the success of their fellow payroll professionals and learning something new and innovative at the various workshops or from any of the keynote speakers.
But there’s something more afoot: a familiar, magical feeling that fills payroll professionals with pride and inspiration. There’s certainly no cure for this joyful malady, and maybe that’s a good thing.
Even vendors who attend Payroll Congress and interact with payroll professionals see and experience this for themselves.
Holmes Corporation, which creates and markets credentialing course materials such as PayTrain®, experienced that magic firsthand while attending the 43rd Annual Payroll Congress.
Leigh Johnson, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Holmes Corporation, was caught up in those fanciful feelings and shared her experience in a blog post on the company’s website (the article was also published in their “Building Career Pathways” eNewsletter).
“PayrollOrg seems to have cracked the code on creating a conference experience that members not only attend, but anticipate year after year,” Johnson wrote. “So, what is their secret? They carefully craft an event that addresses the unique needs of their members while creating an experience that feels both professional and personal.”
Of course, PayrollOrg has been working for more than 40 years to perfect this recipe for success that makes Payroll Congress the go-to event for payroll professionals and vendors worldwide. This translates to a culture of fun and inclusiveness, which, as Johnson pointed out, breeds camaraderie.
“PayrollOrg has discovered that loyalty isn’t built through professional content alone—it’s forged through shared experiences that create emotional connections to both the association and fellow members,” she said.
PayrollOrg members who attend Payroll Congress have often called the experience exhilarating.
In May 2023, Dawn Curtis, CPP, attended her first congress during the 41st Annual Payroll Congress in Denver, and came away with a “renewed love of payroll” (see the March 2024 PAYTECH issue).
Then, there are those PayrollOrg members who’ve attended Payroll Congress many times who want to share that experience with others.
In 2023, Levi Meeske, CPP, PayrollOrg’s Payroll Man of the Year, announced a program for PayrollOrg members who’d never attended Congress to win a free registration (see the August/September 2023 PAYTECH issue).
“Their [PayrollOrg] approach to fun is strategic, inclusive, and sophisticated,” said Johnson. “They believe that fun at work leads to a dynamic company culture, and a dynamic company culture boosts productivity. They work hard but they play hard too!”
Johnson shared the personal experience of her and her team participating in PayrollOrg’s Costume Contest, and the joy of winning first place for their innovative and nostalgic Tetris costume.
She noted, “This inclusion strategy extends to conference staff as well. Leadership, including Executive Director Dan Maddux, actively participate in the social aspects of the conference, making the organization feel accessible and relatable rather than distant and corporate.”
While Johnson accurately noted the obvious merriment and the friendships that the payroll profession creates, she also noticed the most significant reason of all that Payroll Congress is successful.
Quite simply, payroll is more like a family.
“By addressing the whole person rather than just the professional role, they’ve created an experience that members actively anticipate and consistently recommend to colleagues,” she said.
Bryan Kirk is the Senior Writer and Editor of Membership Publications for PayrollOrg.