Payroll Technician Test

A payroll technician test helps employers determine whether candidates possess the required knowledge and skills to be an effective payroll technician.

  • What is a payroll technician test?

    A payroll technician test is formed of a series of multiple-choice questions. These questions enable employers to assess candidates for core competencies needed to be a successful payroll technician, such as attention to detail, prioritisation skills, problem-solving and work well under pressure.

    Many employers administer the test as part of the early stages of their recruitment process, helping them make cost-effective and better-hiring decisions. Candidates that score highly in the payroll technician test are more likely to demonstrate the skills needed to deal with payroll tasks, and contribute to the effectiveness of the payroll department.

Jump to a section on this page:

  1. What is a payroll technician test?
  2. Why should you use a payroll technician test for recruiting?
  3. How our test assesses payroll technician skills
  4. Payroll Technician Test FAQs

About the Payroll Technician Test

Payroll technicians provide administrative support to the smooth running of an organisation's payroll system. Daily responsibilities include processing employees' sick pay, holiday pay, or maternity allowances, checking employees' tax deductions, processing tax-related forms and helping employees with any general payroll queries.

The payroll technician test provides an assessment of a candidate's skills to determine whether they can effectively carry out such duties.

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  • Why should you use a payroll technician test for recruiting?

    Payroll technician roles often attract a large number of applicants, and selecting the best candidates from these applications can be difficult when using just resumes and interviews. The payroll technician test provides employers with an easy-to-administer way to shortlist candidates who excel in the traits and skills required.

    The daily tasks of a payroll technician are varied: dealing with numerical data, being organised, being able to communicate well and accurately with others when under pressure, are some of the aptitudes needed.

    The Picked payroll technician test assesses candidates against these competencies. Those who score highly on the test can be progressed to the next stage of the recruitment process; those that do not can be eliminated. Using the test in this way creates a streamlined and fair process saving resources time and ensuring you select the best candidates.

    There are several additional roles the payroll technician test is suitable for, such as:

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Picked Sample Report

View a sample report

Results for the Payroll Technician Test along with other assessments the candidate takes will be compiled to produce a candidate report. The report is automatically generated and available both online and as a downloadable pdf so they can be shared with other team members and employees alike.

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How our test assesses payroll technician skills

Candidates will need to answer a range of questions that measure industry-specific technical skills where applicable, soft skills (e.g. accountability), aptitude (e.g. numerical reasoning) and relevant personality dimensions (e.g. detail orientation). The results present a holistic view of how well suited each candidate is for the job at hand, using a data-driven approach.

The format varies by type of question, including multiple-choice for aptitude and technical skills, situational judgement for soft skills and agreement on a Likert scale for the personality dimensions. This approach ensures candidates are being assessed in an accurate and fair manner, and that results reflect the true underlying qualities of each candidate.

The characteristics, abilities and knowledge necessary to be a payroll technician were identified using the US Department of Labor's comprehensive O*NET database. O*NET is the leading source of occupational information that is constantly updated by collecting data from employees in specific job roles.

During the development process, test questions were rigorously analysed to maximise reliability and validity in line with industry best practices. They were created by our team of I/O psychologists and psychometricians – who collaborated with subject-matter-experts – and field-tested with a representative sample of job applicants who have varying experience, just like you might find in a talent pool.

Each test is reviewed by a panel of individuals representing diverse backgrounds to check for any sensitivity, fairness, face validity and accessibility issues. This ensures each candidate has a fair chance of demonstrating their true level of expertise.

Our payroll technician test is monitored to ensure it is up-to-date and optimised for performance.

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Validated

Predictor of job success

Picked provides evidence-based recommendations for tests to use for over 750 jobs. Our recommendation engine leverages data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

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    All our Payroll Technician tests are written by accredited psychologists and fully validated.

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    For all levels

    We offer Payroll Technician tests for all levels so you can assess all roles within your organisation.

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    Simple, easy-to-use candidate comparison reports mean you don’t need to be a psychologist to interpret them.

“We used Picked as part of our Finance Graduate Scheme recruitment and it was just what we needed – really simple to send candidates the link to complete and clear to see how they all compared. And great value for money!”
Christina, HR Director, Cancer Research, UK
Christina, HR Director, Cancer Research, UK
Payroll Technician Test expert

Written by a Payroll Technician Test expert

Our team of assessment experts is made up of I/O psychologists and psychometricians who are dedicated to making all of our tests as reliable, valid and fair as possible. They strictly adhere to best practices in the industry and stay on top of the latest innovations to ensure job candidates’ unique profiles of characteristics, abilities and knowledge are being measured accurately while minimising bias. They leverage decades of research and advanced predictive analytics to build assessments that link to outcomes that matter, such as job performance, turnover, engagement, culture fit and more.

“Personality profiling allowed us to perform lookalike modelling of our most successful employees and use this as a blueprint for new hires.”
Nick, HR Operations, Airbus, Spain
Nick, HR Operations, Airbus, Spain

Payroll Technician Test FAQs

When in the process should you use the payroll technician test?

The payroll technician is most effective when used in the early stages of the recruitment process. It helps you screen out candidates that don't demonstrate the core skills and abilities needed for the role, meaning you can spend time and resources on those candidates that are a better fit.

What other tests should you use to recruit a payroll technician test?

Payroll technicians need to demonstrate a high level of IT and computer literacy to be successful in their role. You might want to consider using a software skill test for Microsoft Office (Excel or Word, as well as working knowledge of relevant payroll systems such as Sage or Workday.

What is the cost for Picked's payroll technician test?

Picked operates on a monthly or annual subscription basis. We have plans to suit your hiring needs, which you can find here. If you need something a little more bespoke, get in touch with us to discuss a custom plan.

Can I get a free trial?

Yes, simply sign up (no credit card is required) and we'll give you unlimited access for seven days. Create as many jobs and test as many candidates as you want; you won't be charged a penny.

“Focusing on data reduced the subjective decision making from our hiring process and allowed us to reduce bias and make better hiring decisions.”
Izzie, Head of HR, iZettle, Sweden
Izzie, Head of HR, iZettle, Sweden

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