PayrollOrg’s annual Payroll Leaders Conference (PLC) is coming to the newly-opened Kimpton Santo San Antonio-Riverwalk, September 14–16, with four exceptional certificate programs and three general sessions that provide innovative leadership training for payroll professionals.
Attendees can earn up to 16 RCHs, 1.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), or 19 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits when attending this program. The conference, sponsored by Corpay Prepaid, will also announce the recipients of the 2026 Prism Awards.
Payroll leaders and professionals looking to grow their leadership and management skills should take advantage of the certificate programs and next-generation training PLC offers.
“The instructor not only showed you the best practices, but she provided appendices with usable starter kits,” said Samantha Raffield, CPP, who attended PLC in 2025 and represented Harris Health System—the 2025 Payroll Prism Award recipient for Overall Best Practices. “You can take what you’ve learned back to your organization and immediately put it to work.”
Attendees can choose from any of the following four certificate programs to enhance their payroll knowledge and skills:
1. Payroll System Selection and Implementation—This program will lead you through the steps organizations use to select the correct system or technology. You will learn the key steps of a successful system implementation, such as developing the project plan, installing the technology, analyzing the procedures and the system features, mapping the old systems data to the new system, testing and retesting, developing and creating training materials, and post-implementation system support.
2. Strategic Payroll Practices—Payroll leaders will gain new insightful perspectives on the complexities of payroll taxation topics, operational effectiveness, employee development, emerging technologies, and other issues when developing a successful strategy to guide their payroll departments. This certificate program will teach payroll leaders to manage IRS and SSA notices and audits, develop a vision and mission statement for their department, understand trends in payroll practices and technology, and more.
3. The Art and Science of Building Strong Vendor Alliances—Current or aspiring payroll leaders who are driven to elevate the strategic impact of payroll in their organization will gain practical insights and tools to confidently lead vendor selection, manage performance, and foster long-term partnerships. Attendees will learn to define clear strategic goals for vendor relations that align with organizational needs, evaluate the pros and cons of automation and outsourcing that focuses on payroll, how to assess and identify alternative solutions before committing to an external vendor, and how to apply key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to monitor vendor performance.
4. Managing Payroll Operations Across the Globe—Explore how people, processes, and technology interconnect as you lead a global payroll operation delivering timely payments and ensuring taxation and other compliance requirements are met. Attendees will learn to incorporate solid business strategies to lead a world-class global payroll operation, discuss the tools needed to create a robust compliance and control model, and identify continuous process improvements and business strategies to best manage vendor relationships.
PLC will kick off its Opening General Session September 14 with Keynote Speaker and PayrollOrg favorite Pegine. During her presentation, “Strategic Leadership: Leading and Thinking Strategically in the Middle of Chaos,” Pegine will equip leaders to think clearly, decide boldly, and lead strategically when everything seems to be spiraling out of control.
This session is designed for leaders who must deliver results while navigating pressure, complexity, and constant change, making it immediately actionable.
Pegine returns during PLC’s General Session for another dynamic keynote presentation, “Communicating with Command Presence: How Leaders Speak So Others Listen.” During this presentation, Pegine teaches leaders the art of effective, confident communication so their words inspire trust and action. As a result, leaders gain tools to communicate decisions clearly, align teams faster, and speak with authority that motivates action.
On September 15, Carolyn Hayden-Garner, Global Executive for Tesla, will deliver the keynote, “Leadership Under Pressure: The Invisible Systems That Determine Trust, Accuracy, and Accountability in Organizations,” during the Closing General Session. Hayden-Garner will teach leaders how to identify and strengthen the invisible frameworks that govern trust, accuracy, and accountability, especially when pressure is high.
“When leaders master the invisible systems that drive success, people don’t just trust the process; they trust the organization, its purpose, and its leadership,” says Hayden-Garner.
PayrollOrg’s Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force (SPLTF) will present the annual Payroll and Shared Services Prism Awards to the respective departments that have demonstrated improved business practices and overall best practices. The Payroll Prism Awards will be presented to innovative departments that have exhibited best practices in the following categories:
The Shared Services Prism Award is presented to the payroll department that has demonstrated excellence and effective leadership in shared services. Shared services is the consolidation of business operations that are used by multiple parts of the same organization, providing cost-effective, flexible, and reliable services.
The Prism Awards will be presented on September 15 during the luncheon. Learn more about the Prism Awards and the nomination process.
The Kimpton Santo San Antonio-Riverwalk, located at 431 S. Alamo Street, is offering attendees a special rate. Make your reservations online or call 855-546-7866 by August 20 to receive the discounted rate.
Register today and save your spot for PayrollOrg’s 2026 Payroll Leaders Conference.
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Bryan Kirk is the Senior Writer and Editor of Membership Publications for PayrollOrg.