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This May, CloudPay was lucky enough to attend and exhibit at the Payroll Congress 2024 Trade Show, hosted by PayrollOrg at Nashville, Tennessee. Every year, thousands of payroll professionals from across the globe arrive for workshops, expert speakers, a huge industry expo showcasing the latest payroll technologies, and networking opportunities.
The event was a vibrant hub of networking and collaboration bringing the payroll industry together. It’s always good to meet people from throughout the industry and talk about contemporary payroll trends and transformation projects.
The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center was stunning, boasting three separate greenhouse gardens, a beautiful maze of pathways to guide you through the visual experience, and countless common areas to get some food and socialize.
We came away from the event with so many great memories, but the following reflections stood out in particular:
Companies are keen to make improvements to their payroll processes
We had all sorts of interactions with attendees, across the three days. There were questions on everything from reporting and vendor consolidation to integration with HCMs. One of the best things about in-person events is the opportunity to connect and have time to chat in person. We had great conversations with existing customers, as well as potential new clients and prospects. We’re looking forward to expanding these conversations and helping them optimize their internal payroll processes.
It was great to catch up with some of our key partners, including Workday, OSV, TopBloc, Ebury, and TransferMate. We also shared valuable experiences with fellow providers and industry professionals, not least Nick Day, host of The Payroll Podcast.
The workshops run by the IRS/ICC (Internal Revenue Service/Social Security Administration) and NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) stood out as particularly interesting as many of the conversations went beyond the presenter’s main agenda. It was great to have the opportunity for deeper discussions with the agencies involved in payroll regulations.
Global payroll is well and truly on the rise
With the recent merger of APA and GPMI combining to create PayrollOrg, this year’s event was both similar to and different from the APA Congress events of the past. There was clearly an increase in global suppliers and attendees, and more international sessions than before. The shift in focus from local (US) payroll to global payroll was tangible, while remaining an exciting work in progress.
The topic was well represented and catered for across the workshops. From the challenges of global year-end reporting to navigating cultural differences across a global workforce, it was great to see the global perspective occupying such a central seat this year. We can’t wait to see it expand further next time.
Payroll practitioners are a sociable bunch
Amidst all of this bustling activity, we also had the pleasure of meeting new and old friends at various spots on and off the resort. The convivial atmosphere of Payroll Congress led to meaningful connections and a fruitful exchange of ideas, reminding us, once again, of the collaborative spirit of this industry.
Many attendees threw themselves into the Nashville spirit by taking part in the Workday Scavenger Hunt. This entailed finding all of the branded pillars, strategically placed next to Workday Partners booths and signing in there, collecting pins in the process. Successful hunters earned themselves Workday cowboy hats and could be seen donning these around the venue.
Best of all was our event in partnership with OneSource Virtual. On the first evening, we hosted a get-together at the Pinewood Social, giving us the chance to meet some of our customers, prospects and even their family and friends in an even more informal setting. Those in attendance got to enjoy Happy Hour, hors d’oeuvres and swag bags.
Our tigers proved a roaring success
This year we gave people the chance to adopt a Payroll Tiger. As part of our pledge to bring Our World back to life, we gave away hundreds of tiger soft toys, and for each one that was adopted, we subsequently donated to the WWF. If you were one of the adopters, don’t forget to register your payroll pal to increase our contribution!
If you see us exhibiting at another event this year, we could be giving away a different payroll pal. Come over and say “Hi” to see which furry friend we’ll be hanging out with.
We also had the opportunity to gather valuable feedback with our Global Payroll Challenges Survey. A huge thank you to everyone who offered their time to participate!
It was a wonderful event overall, and we can’t wait to see how the narrative continues to evolve at future events CloudPay are attending across the US and beyond. We’ll be traveling all over the world connecting with new partners, long term friends and anyone excited about the modern pay experience. We’ll be at the Global Payroll Awards in Greece this June and Workday Rising in Las Vegas this September. If we don’t meet you at an event before next year’s Payroll Congress, see you in Orlando for the 2025 chapter!