Celebrating our brilliant people - Daniel Greenshields our Integrations Specialist

Introducing Daniel Greenshields our Integrations Specialist

When it came to looking for candidates for the Brilliant People series Daniel’s name was top of the list. A regular name on our activHeroes wall of gratitude, Daniel inspires and leads by example, consistently nominated for his displays of excellent customer experience and as a collaborate and brilliant teammate.

So, we thought it about time we met up with Daniel and tried to uncover the secret of his success…

From one of our unsung heroes of last year’s National Payroll Week, to a regular feature on our activHeroes community maybe you could start with explaining a little bit about your time with us and how you’ve made such an impact.

I’ve been fortunate to work in a number of roles across the business, starting in the EMEA Implementation team, working alongside the APAC, German and Australian teams as an International Payroll Specialist, and now as an Integrations Specialist in the Technical Implementation team.

The variety of work is definitely a selling point for me as I’ve always been attracted by the opportunity to work with different countries and systems to extend my knowledge and skillset. With the International Specialist role came the opportunity to do just that. Systems and legislation are at the heart of what we do and by understanding how they work I find it really helps when you’re working with customers. It’s about being able to deliver a fully rounded approach to customer service by understanding how things work and how improvements can be made.

Where did you start your career with us?

I joined activpayroll two years ago in August (2021), but I’ve been working in payroll for over eight years now in total. I started in 2015 as a trainee in UK payroll and have gradually moved towards global payroll and the implementation side of things.

What motivates you at work?

I like to be good at my job and always want to do my best. Over the years I’ve come to realise the more you understand how the systems and processes work the more you can help your customers and deliver a better service.

I also like the problem solving and analytical side of the roles I’ve worked in. There’s a level of satisfaction in finding a solution to an error or issue and you often find you pick up a better understanding of a topic as a result.

What’s the best thing about working in payroll?

On a day-to-day basis it’s the variety of work on offer and the chance to develop your skills and explore new opportunities. On a personal level I’ve gone from a trainee in UK payroll to working with global systems, and have had the chance to travel to Australia, Asia, and Europe throughout my roles, which I don’t think you would get to do in a lot of other careers. Payroll feels like quite a niche career path, but there are just so many opportunities to grow and develop both professionally and personally, and with more innovations on the way thanks to the developments in Tech there will be plenty more chances to build development skills as we work out how best to navigate it.

From a totally practical point, it feels like an industry which is one of the most robust – people will always need paid!

You were our Unsung hero last year and of your CSR work was cited as one of the reasons for that nomination. How did you hear about the charity Coffee for Craig that you and your team supported?

After graduating university, I moved to Manchester city centre, and at that time the levels of homelessness were on a level I’d never seen before. Seeing it day in day out, particularly prior to Covid when there was a terrible problem due to Spice, was eye-opening.

For me raising awareness and support for Coffee for Craig was an obvious move as whenever you heard people talk of the horrendous issues of homeless their name came up as offering a unique and impressive service. This seemed to be the case particularly when it comes to late night help as they were one of the few charities offering this type of support. It’s hard not to be impressed by the services they offer and when the team spoke about what type of CSR activity we wanted to carry out, we were agreed that they deserved our support.

Sum up your approach to working with and supporting your team

When working with others, whether colleagues or customers, responsiveness is key to building effective relationships. Providing people with a timely and considered response is the cornerstone of excellent customer experience. No matter how busy you are, it’s about always acknowledging and helping where you can – making a deliberate effort to support your team. In short... treat others like you want to be treated.

And one final question, we hear you are an Arsenal fan, yet you live in Manchester. How did that come about?

Although I grew up in Scotland, there always seemed to be more English football on TV than Scottish. I remember seeing Dennis Bergkamp on TV and thinking he was the best footballer I’d ever seen (still is!). I’d watch Arsenal games to watch him play and it grew from there.