Sylvia Mutter

Head of payroll operations. Reporting to the Vice President of Total Rewards and HR Services.

• Managing the payroll function for Canadian, US and expatriate payrolls.
• Leading a team of ten full-time employees in the administration of Canadian and US payrolls, system configurations, and client support services.
• Paying 12, 000 employees across North America.
• Responsible for setting up and maintaining robust payroll processes and procedures ensuring practices meet business requirements and adhere to company policies, collective agreements, regulatory compliance.
• Spearheading weekly team meetings, communicating short and long term action plans and round table discussions.
• Act as Payroll Lead on all company projects, initiatives, mergers & acquisitions.
• Maintain communication and strong work relationships with internal partners; HR, Finance, Corp.Tax, IT, Legal, Procurement, Audit, Communications.
• Vendor management, owning relationship and measuring performance on delivery and maintenance of business solutions.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Recognized for the transformation of the payroll function at CAE

• Centralized payroll activities from multiple sites across North America to one center of excellence at headquarters in Montreal.
• Created a structured team with various job profiles, roles and responsibilities, segregation of duties.
• Achieved operational excellence by streamlining processes and implementing best practices.
• Improved team performance by providing comprehensive training and fostering a collaborative work environment.
• Mentored staff members for skill development and career progression within the organization.
• Provided strong leadership to enhance team productivity and morale.
• Conducted performance evaluations, compensations and hiring to maintain appropriate staffing requirements.
• Evaluated employee performance and conveyed constructive feedback to improve skills.
• Defined clear targets and objectives and communicated to other team members.
• Established performance goals for employees and provided feedback on methods for reaching those milestones.

Managed large-scale projects and introduced new systems, tools, and processes to achieve challenging objectives.

• Decommissioned multiple payroll platforms and implemented Workday for Canada and US in-house payroll processing.
• Implemented ADP-AVS for US money movement, US tax filings and other post pay services.
• Implemented a case management application to service employees and provide knowledge articles as a two-tiered help-desk.
• Partnered with IT in implementing Workforce Software as a global timesheet solution for staff and union employees in various locations.
• Implemented innovative solutions to overcome challenges, leading to enhanced productivity levels.
• Increased customer satisfaction with timely project deliveries and seamless communication.
• Reduced costs, optimized resource allocation, and improved efficiency in managing projects.
• Led cross-functional teams to achieve project milestones and deliver high-quality results.
• Spearheaded change management efforts for seamless adoption of new systems or processes among employees.
• Collaborated closely with peers from other departments to drive organizational success jointly as one cohesive unit.
• Balanced competing priorities efficiently while maintaining focus on critical tasks requiring immediate attention.
• Demonstrated exceptional adaptability in navigating complex situations or rapidly changing environments with ease.
• Consistently met or exceeded annual performance targets set by senior leadership.

TEAM MANAGMENT

• Build operations from the ground up, structured and managed two distinct and diverse Global Payroll Service teams in Montreal and India, made up of various reporting levels that included managers, senior consultants, consultants and technicians.
• Provided direction to a team of Client Service Coordinators in Montreal and India, servicing client mobility programs and internal engagement tax teams.
• Responsible for leading, coaching and developing team members to achieve a high level of performance.
• Led the functional design, implementation, and deployment of a web-based system for data compilation and reporting. Resulting in increased level of productivity, the team was noticeably agile and efficient in producing a larger number of output on a daily basis. System automation allowed for a decrease in data errors and manual intervention.
• Increased cost recovery on mandates through efficient work methods, qualified workforce, escalation and resolution processes, software automations.

CLIENT SERVICES

• In collaboration with GES leadership, launched and maintained lead position in global compensation management services by developing the practice as a center of excellence.
• Managed process re-engineering and improvement initiatives through workshops, facilitation, interviews, tasks, and workflow analysis. Researched and documented the current state of business practices identifying gaps and facilitiating the setup of the target state based on best practices and sound operating procedures. Identified and analysed options and made recommendations for business process enhancements. Setup and executed test plans to ensure all procedures work according to pre-determined goals.
• In charge of the practices largest client mandates servicing national and international stakeholders and business teams, resulting in millions of dollars of cost savings for the clients.
• Achieved client satisfaction and account retention by meeting set goals of engagement and meeting commitments, focusing on quality of the output, meeting deadlines, and consistent progress reporting.

Head of payroll projects. Reported to the Director of Payroll and Total Rewards.

Responsible for conducting various project initiatives.

Collaborated with various business leads and contractors on the closure of the US payroll office in Atlanta and setup the payroll function at headquarters, in Montreal, centralizing all payroll activities for North America.

• Acted as subject-matter-expert on Canadian and US payroll, supporting the team in all aspects of payroll administration.
• Provided leadership and tactical guidance for process improvements and end-to-end payroll.
• Responsible for documenting end-to-end payroll processes and procedures, setup Q & A for employee queries, maintained SOX narratives.
• Created year-end production plans and timelines and managed activities during the year end period.

Conducted activities for three Canadian payroll office closures;

• Repatriated equipment, documentation and data storage
• Produced year-end reporting and issued income tax slips
• Facilitated and resolved outstanding issues, clearing backlogs
• Closed payroll accounts, issued payments to government agencies and third party providers

Oversaw business operations of a major company acquisition

• Managed operations remotely ensuring adherence to the transition service agreement. Collaborated with the Payroll and IT team in Seattle.
• Acted as business lead on the repatriation of the SAP platform for Time and Attendance.

Conducted implementations for payoll, time & attendance, HR modules, compensation and benefits on Ceridian's Insync system

• Facilitated meetings with sponsors and stakeholders
• Responsible for project planning and progress tracking
• Collaborated with internal cross-functional teams at each stage of the project to ensure project was on track and address any issues that needed attention
• Conducted business analysis and data gathering
• Designed and mapped solution(s)
• Configured the system as per requirements
• Conducted unit testing, parallel runs and cutover to production
• Prepared documentation for the client
• Trained the client on the new system
• Transitioned the client to our customer service delivery

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Project led the first Managed Payroll Administration service for a large client
• Conducted the first formal FIT analysis for a major project in the Quebec business unit
• Led a national HR project for the redesign of internal tools and processes
• Led a national implementation team from 5 locations on a platform conversion project
• Enhanced client satisfaction by consistently delivering high-quality projects within budget and on schedule.
• Mentored junior team members, fostering professional growth and increasing overall team efficiency.
• Reduced project completion timeframes through strategic resource allocation and efficient task delegation.