Our payroll team has grown again. Elle Howden joins Ascend as Senior Payroll Professional and Lauren Rowe as Payroll Professional, with the pair starting within days of each other.
Here’s a bit more about them, how they found their way into payroll and what they’ll be doing for our clients.
Meet Elle Howden, Senior Payroll Professional
Elle brings around 7 years of payroll experience, most of them spent in a busy managed payroll bureau.
From fashion to payroll
Many people fall into payroll as a profession, but Elle’s route was particularly unusual as she studied fashion at university, so payroll wasn’t even on her radar. It was a suggestion from a friend for a graduate role in a payroll bureau that got Elle thinking.
“I was the complete opposite of a numbers person. I honestly didn’t think I’d be any good at it, but it just clicked.”
It clicked so well that she stayed for five and a half years, working on the corporate team with a mix of clients across hotels, hospitality and healthcare.
Back where the challenge is
Elle then spent time with two accountancy practices, where the payrolls were smaller and it didn’t take long to realise she missed the variety a managed payroll environment gave her.
Joining Ascend puts her back where she wants to be. “Payroll challenges me every day. Now I’m back in a place where I’m always learning something new every day.”
What Elle enjoys most is building relationships with new clients and providing the vital support they need. “It’s about making the client’s job easier.”
Meet Lauren Rowe, Payroll Professional
Lauren joins with almost 3 years in payroll and a CV that covers just about every corner of the back office. Finance, treasury, customs and imports, admin for car sales. You name it, she’s probably done it.
Payroll by chance, payroll pro by choice
Like plenty of people in the profession, Lauren didn’t set out to work in payroll, and much of her payroll experience has been in education, one of the trickiest sectors going. Teachers’ pensions and the LGPS are “a minefield” on their own, she says, before you add term-time contracts and support staff into the mix. That know-how will come in handy as she works with our school clients.
More than pressing a button
Lauren likes a challenge, which is lucky, because payroll is full of them. “A lot of people think payroll is just pressing a button and sending it in. It’s really not. It’s keeping up with legislation and managing your time to hit every deadline. And every payroll that gets approved is a little accomplishment.”
Ask Lauren what makes a good payroll professional, and she’ll tell you it’s someone you can rely on. She’s a big believer in being clear, consistent and honest with clients, especially when something doesn’t look right. That’s why she’d rather pick up the phone than fire off another email. “It can get messy when everyone turns to email. That’s where wires get crossed. It’s so much nicer when you can talk to the person at the other end. We’re both trying to get a job done, so we help each other out.”
Why Ascend
Lauren’s last role was fully remote, and she missed working alongside colleagues, where she could easily ask questions and absorb the knowledge and experience of her teammates.
We’ve invested in an office-based team because payroll is better when the people doing it can learn from each other, share the tricky stuff and pick up the phone to clients. Elle and Lauren are the latest proof of that.
“Elle and Lauren are the kind of payroll professionals we built Ascend for. Neither of them planned a career in payroll, and both have stayed because they love the challenge of getting it right. Elle brings years of bureau experience across hospitality and healthcare, and Lauren’s education background will be a real asset for our Ascedn.Education clients.
Most of all, they understand that payroll is about people. They pick up the phone, they’re honest when something doesn’t look right, and they want to make our clients’ lives easier. That’s the service we promise, and I’m delighted to have them on board.”
Stewart Waddell, CEO, Ascend Payroll
