The Great Accounting Exodus – Part 3: Solving the Accounting Hiring Crisis - Attract and Retain Top Talent
Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog series outlined the dire hiring and retention challenges facing the accounting profession. Hundreds of thousands of accountants have fled the profession, thanks to long hours, lagging compensation, career stigma, and more.
Many firm leaders may resign themselves to simply weathering the great talent storm. But savvy firms will be proactive in evolving to meet the needs of today’s accounting professionals. As the whitepaper “The Accounting Hiring Crisis” details, there are intentional steps your firm can take to both attract and retain quality employees:
Increase Compensation
It’s Economics 101 – when supply is short, value goes up. Firms simply must be willing to increase salaries and benefits if they want to compete for the limited accounting talent pool. By cutting costs and streamlining operations, it becomes more feasible to raise compensation to market rates. For example, SmartVault eliminates wasteful paper documentation and manual processes, allowing you to cut expenses. This frees up budget to offer higher compensation for hiring and retention of top talent.
Prioritize Work-Life Balance
Long condemned as a liberal buzzword, work-life balance isn’t just a perk anymore – it’s an outright demand from both younger and older generations. Firms need to rethink their time off policies, go remote-first, and show they genuinely respect employees’ lives outside of work.
Offer a Sense of Purpose
Paychecks alone aren’t enough for driven professionals anymore. They want careers imbued with greater meaning and the opportunity to make a positive impact. Clearly defining your firm’s “why” and culture will go a long way.
Take Menial Tasks Off Their Plates
Nobody wants to spend their first few years as an accountant doing grunt data entry that can be automated. Firms should leverage technologies to remove tedious administrative tasks that drain motivation and cause burnout.
Modernize and Digitize
Adopting cloud-based software platforms like SmartVault signals to job candidates that your firm is forward-thinking and innovative. Digitizing processes and going paperless shows you understand the importance of efficiency, security, and flexibility in today’s business world.
Steps to Future-Proof Your Firm’s Staffing
The talent landscape has permanently shifted, and accounting firms that fail to adapt risk being left behind. Those that get ahead of the crisis by rethinking their talent acquisition and retention strategies will find themselves with a crucial competitive advantage.
Ready to future-proof your firm’s staffing? Download the full “Accounting Hiring Crisis” whitepaper now to start your transformation.
Firms that invest in SmartVault find themselves with a crucial advantage for hiring and retention in today’s hyper-competitive talent marketplace. And by increasing efficiency and productivity, you can do more with your existing employees. Schedule a demo with us to learn more.
