SESAY / Payroll recruitment

Assessing Excel and Payroll System Skills Without Overvaluing Brand Names

Check whether candidates can validate data and explain results, as well as navigate software.

Published by SESAY · 11 November 2026

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Knowing where to click is useful. Understanding why a result is correct is essential. A candidate who has used your platform may still lack reconciliation skills; a candidate from another platform may have strong transferable capability.

A 20-minute spreadsheet exercise

Supply fictional employee, timesheet and payroll-output tables. Ask candidates to:

  • Match records by employee ID and identify missing or duplicate IDs.
  • Compare approved hours against imported hours.
  • Summarise gross pay by entity or department.
  • Highlight unexplained changes from the previous cycle.
  • Explain how they verified that no records were lost or counted twice.

Accept appropriate methods such as lookups, conditional sums, pivot tables or Power Query. Judge the result, checking process and clarity. Do not require a particular formula where another reliable method meets the need.

Explore system understanding

Ask how they validate an import, review a calculation, correct an input and preserve an audit trail. Ask which activities they can perform independently and which require an administrator or reviewer. For a migration role, explore mapping, parallel runs, exception resolution and sign-off.

Separate three kinds of gap

Gap Hiring implication
Unfamiliar screens in a new platform Often manageable with system training
Limited knowledge of your specific workforce rules Requires structured onboarding and review
Inability to reconcile or recognise an unexplained result Material concern for an independently responsible role

Record the support required and whether your team can realistically provide it. Do not turn an otherwise suitable hire into a predictable failure by understating the handover needed.

Next step: Talk to SESAY about assessing practical skills.

We assess their payroll capability.
You assess their culture fit.

Discuss the role, the skills you need and the evidence behind your shortlist.

Discuss your recruitment needs

Explore Payroll Recruitment Specialist →