About this episode

Brian discusses the importance of payroll as a strategic function with payroll leaders John Bernatovicz and Tammy Gillenwater.

In Episode 204 of It’s About Payroll, Brian welcomes two powerhouse voices in payroll leadership: John Bernatovicz, founder of Willory, author, keynote speaker, podcast host, and HR/payroll leader, and Tammy Gillenwater, CPP, senior consultant at Willory, speaker, and advocate for the payroll profession. Together, John and Tammy discuss their upcoming book, Payroll Like a Boss, scheduled for release on April 28, 2026, during Global Payroll Week. The conversation explores how payroll professionals often feel invisible, why payroll must be seen as a strategic business function, and how leaders can develop payroll teams beyond gross-to-net processing and tax compliance. Tammy shares her journey of “falling into payroll” and later realizing it was a true career, while John explains how the “Like a Boss” concept grew from HR leadership into a payroll movement. Listeners will gain encouragement, practical perspective, and a renewed understanding of payroll’s role in business strategy, workforce planning, compliance, technology, and organizational impact.

People in this episode

Host: Brian

Guests: John Bernatovicz, Tammy Gillenwater

Topics covered

• payroll leadership
• strategic business function
• payroll profession
• workforce planning
• compliance
• organizational impact

Keywords

• payroll
• business strategy
• HR leadership
• compliance
• technology
• payroll teams
• gross-to-net processing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Willory

Books & works: Payroll Like a Boss

More episodes of It's About Payroll

• Payroll: The Past, Present & Future · June 1, 2026 · 46 min
• What Every Payroll Leader Must Know About Global Payments · May 28, 2026 · 48 min
• Season 16 in Review · May 18, 2026 · 50 min
• Why Are So Many Payroll Pros Open to Work? · March 30, 2026 · 36 min
• All Roads Lead to Payroll: 201 Episodes and a Book Later · March 23, 2026 · 47 min
• Episode 200 Just Changed the Future of Payroll! · March 17, 2026 · 47 min

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