Private, Online Central Communications Network Debuts
You asked, we heard, and we listened. It’s here! A new, modern resource for members and subscribers of PayrollOrg—formerly the Global Payroll Management Institute (GPMI) and the American Payroll Association (APA)—to connect with each other from anywhere in the world.
PayrollOrg’s very own online engagement platform—The Payroll Community—was successfully launched in April to usher in a brand-new era of professional development, education, and networking opportunities for payroll professionals worldwide.
The Payroll Community makes it easy and convenient to network with other professionals. Users can connect anywhere, anytime, using the app, website, or even their email. With forums on specific payroll topics, members can join discussions with thousands of payroll peers from around the world.
The unveiling of The Payroll Community was announced simultaneously with the association’s rebranding efforts in March, bringing lots of discussion and nearly a year of planning to fruition.
“This new platform is an exciting new benefit for our members that serves as the harbinger of a new era of learning, networking, and professional development for our organization,” said PayrollOrg Executive Director Dan Maddux. “It has long been a goal of ours to create our own online community. The Payroll Community will serve our members, help us to grow our membership in the U.S. and globally, and help all of us become better at what we do.”
Post Questions, Get Answers
The Payroll Community also makes it easy to seek out experienced insight for your payroll questions because it is home to the newly modernized ListServ and Hotline Referral Service. If you have a payroll question, you can post it to the Open Forum and get notified when others respond. There’s even an option to ask anonymously or search previous questions that have already been answered. Members who post their questions will receive a notification through the website, or an email digest in either real time—each time someone posts—or receive a daily digest of conversations. Of course, members who do not wish to receive notifications and an email digest from the discussion thread can opt out.
For more complex or confidential issues, you can search the database of volunteers, known as “Ask the Expert” on The Payroll Community, with specific areas of expertise and connect one-on-one for deeper discussion.
The Payroll Community will also have dedicated groups for specific events and all our committees, providing a central sphere for a multitude of payroll social circles. Like in the Open Forum, posting questions or discussions can be done in any of the subcommunities for peer-to-peer conversations.
Other Features
Members who join The Payroll Community can expand their networking and access to knowledge with the platform’s myriad of features.
There will be an enhanced profile to allow for more career, education, and award details and social media links members might want to share with their peers. This is a great area for members to share their experience to make it easier for other to find and connect with them, while promoting their own personal brand.
You can “connect” with others in the community, send direct messages, and share documents. You can even earn badges and ribbons based on your activity in the community for things like completing your profile, posting in the Open Forum, or answering questions. The Payroll Community has many of the same features as other social media platforms, including an activity feed, a member profile progress bar, calendar of events, and quick links to relevant content. It also has an engagement leader board to show the most active community participants.
Altogether, The Payroll Community will empower each member to expand their sphere of influence by growing their connections, providing, and seeking answers to their toughest payroll questions both for U.S. and global payroll issues, and promoting their own brand.
How to Get Started
Getting started with The Payroll Community is easy and takes only a few minutes.
First, visit community.payroll.org to find the community online. If you’d prefer to connect on your phone, you can also download the app. Simply search for “Connected Community” in the app or Google Play store. Then, when prompted for the domain, type in that same URL (community.payroll.org).
From there, whether on the app on your web browser, log in using the same username and password you use to log in to either PayrollOrg’s or Global Payroll Management Institute’s websites. Once you’ve logged in and accepted the community guidelines, head over to your profile to ensure it has all the latest information. Add your areas of expertise, set a profile photo, and review your notification and privacy settings to ensure a smooth experience.
Next, build out your connections by searching the member directory. You can connect with colleagues and experts by heading to the Directories in the top navigation bar. Once you identify a person you’d like to connect with, tap the “Add as a Contact” button to send a contact request.
Lastly, head to the Open Forum and say hello! From the top right of your homepage, click the “create button” and then Discussion Thread, if you want to post a discussion post, or select “Q&A Thread” if you’d like to post a question. Select “Open Forum” from the “Post to Community” drop down and ensure the correct “open-ended” discussion or “question to be answered” is selected. From there type your subject and post content, select any relevant tags (if applicable), add any relevant file or other content, and select “Post.” For your first post, share a little about yourself and what you hope to get out of The Payroll Community.
“This community takes PayrollOrg from an organization where our members interact with us at a committee level or education level and makes the interaction with us a daily occurrence,” said Eileen Gaughran, PayrollOrg’s Chief Professional Development Officer. “The Payroll Community is next-level amazing. Our community platform is a very powerful tool for peer-to-peer networking, crowdsourcing, communication between our members, and more.”