SHORTAGE OF TALENTAbundance of advice

Overcoming the talent shortage in accounting & finance

HIGH DEMANDLowsupply

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YOU NEED TO QUICKLY ATTRACT & HIRE THE BEST CANDIDATES WHO WILL BECOME LOYAL, PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, YOU ALSO NEED THE KNOWLEDGE & THE RESOURCES TO REACH THEM — BEFORE YOUR COMPETITION DOES.

THERE ARE FINALLY SIGNS THAT THE ECONOMY IS HEATING UP. U.S. EMPLOYMENT IS AT A NEARLY SIX-YEAR HIGH, ACCORDING TO THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS1.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPPED TO 5.6% IN DECEMBER 2014, THE LOWEST IT HAS BEEN SINCE JUNE 2008. PLUS, 63% OF RESPONDENTS TO LINKEDIN’S 2015 GLOBAL RECRUITING TRENDS SURVEY2 SAID THEY EXPECTED HIRING VOLUMES TO RISE, & 46% ANTICIPATED AN INCREASE IN HIRING BUDGETS.

ADDITIONALLY, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR PROFESSIONALS WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IS EVEN LOWER AT 2.8%. IN FACT, INDEED.COM RECENTLY RANKED ACCOUNTANTS & AUDITORS AS NUMBER 10 ON ITS LIST OF TOP 10 JOBS IN DEMAND FOR 2015.

WHILE THERE ARE MORE COLLEGE STUDENTS ENROLLING IN ACCOUNTING PROGRAMS EVERY YEAR (PER THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CPAS3), FINDING EXPERIENCED & QUALIFIED TALENT WITH THE RIGHT SOFT SKILLS IS STILL A DAUNTING TASK.

IN THIS CANDIDATE-DRIVEN JOB MARKET, IT’S DIFFICULT TO FIND & HIRE TOP ACCOUNTING & FINANCE TALENT, BUT IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

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In a CareerBuilder survey5, 77% of employers considered soft skills just as important as hard skills.

The top 10 soft skills companies said they look for when hiring are:

1 STRONG WORK ETHIC 73%

2 BEING DEPENDABLE 73%

3 POSITIVE ATTITUDE 72%

4 SELF-MOTIVATION 66%

5 BEING TEAM-ORIENTED 60%

6 BEING ORGANIZED 57%

7 WORKING WELL UNDER PRESSURE 57%

8 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION 56%

9 FLEXIBILITY 51%

10 CONFIDENCE 46%

Hard to find

SOFT SKILLS

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In Adecco’s 2013 “State of the Economy and Employment” survey4, 92% of senior executives in the U.S. said there is a serious lack of essential work skills in the country’s workforce today. As a result, 45% said they feel that they were missing out on growth opportunities, while 34% said they felt that product development is suffering, and 30% thought that company profits were being hurt.

In the fall of 2014, as part of the Competency Crisis initiative, the American Productivity & Quality Center and the Institute of Management Accountants surveyed professionals working in the finance and HR/ recruitment functions on the

state of entry-level management accounting and finance talent. The survey found that the following competencies have the largest gaps:

• Leadership

• Planning, budgeting and forecasting

• Strategic thinking and execution

• Cost management

• Internal financial reporting/ performance management

• Change management

INCREASED REGULATION LEADS TO INCREASED REQUIREMENTS In addition, more regulatory demands have created additional work for

accountants and auditors, Richard Chambers, President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, told Compliance Week in November 2014. Chamber said he sees the crunch in specific areas like Charlotte, Chicago and New York City (because of the emphasis there on financial services).

For internal audit, “tight staffing arises not only because of the shortage of accounting talent but also because of changes in the demands on internal audit that require specific operational or industry experience,” Chambers said. That change in demand is driving companies to broaden their search.

Successfully competing in this tight labor market requires positioning yourself as an employer of choice — one that offers the best candi-dates the best opportunities and benefits. It also requires a well-thought out search strategy.

Through social media, you have extensive information about some job candidates, but those candidates may also have extensive information about you. On websites such as Glassdoor, candidates can gather information not just about the salary you offer, but about your culture and about your current employees’ opinions of your company. That makes it vital to protect your reputation as an employer, and make sure that the message and the brand you really want to convey reaches job candidates.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A TALENT BRAND? “Talent brand is what talent thinks, feels, and shares about your com-pany as a place to work,” according to Eda Gultekin in “What’s the Value of Your Employment Brand?”6 Gultekin mentions that a powerful talent brand can reduce cost per hire by over 50%, and can lower employee turnover by 28%.

Your company website is a critical part of your brand. A large percentage of people checking out your company site are job hunting, so you want to make your best impression. The same goes with your social media sites and any content that you develop.

What else does it take for you to establish a strong brand that allows you to compete successfully for the most talented accounting and finance professionals in today’s market?

Not surprisingly, according to the Towers Watson7 Global Workforce Study “Attracting and Retaining Finance Workers” salary is one of the top three things these candi-dates consider when job hunting. Obviously, you need to have a good handle on the salary ranges for the positions you plan to fill. Sources of such information include The 2015 Accounting Principals Salary Guide.

According to the study, candidates expect “pay commensurate with their performance — and a boss willing and able to make performance distinctions.” They are looking for you to show that you have a clear com-mitment to rewarding productivity and excellence.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SKILLS

MAKE YOUR COMPANY THE BRAND OF CHOICE

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Salary isn’t all the best and the brightest consider when they’re job hunting. In its study, Towers Watson addresses “The Big Three: Salary, Security, Advancement.”

Finance professionals put slightly more emphasis on career advance-ment than security, according to the study. “In an environment where few organizations can promise any kind of security — and where many are often constrained on the pay side as well — crafting an employee value proposition that emphasizes career growth and planning can provide a competitive edge in recruiting.”

A strong professional development program “can be an especially valuable lever for organizations struggling with the financial implications of rising health care and legacy benefit plan costs, and looking for ways to more efficiently manage their total rewards spend,” the study added.

The focus on career growth may also “reflect the reality that oppor-tunities do exist for candidates in finance with the right skills, in contrast to what’s happening in

a number of other disciplines today. And the availability of attractive career options may well lessen to some extent the general concerns about longer-term job security that have consistently emerged in employee surveys in the last few years.”

In fact, career advancement is so important to finance workers that 68% of the Towers Watson respon-dents said they were willing to relocate to advance their careers. Their willingness to relocate allows you to cast a wider geographic net in recruiting talent and expands your pool of qualified candidates.

Finance professionals place learning and skill development fourth on their list of attraction drivers, according to Towers Watson. “They recognize the importance of expanding their skills and knowledge to get ahead, and they expect some level of support from their employer.”

Therefore, to be an employer of choice, make sure you offer well-defined and well-communicated career paths and opportunities for growth. Also make sure you have managers who can coach employ-

ees and support their professional development.

Another Towers Watson study found that when health and retirement benefits programs meet employees’ needs, “employers enjoy a significant competitive advantage in attracting and retaining employees… there is a clear link between better benefits and a company’s ability to attract and retain employees.”

According to Towers Watson’s 2013/2014 “Global Benefit Attitudes” survey “health care benefits have traditionally carried more weight than retirement benefits in terms of attraction and retention, but in this year’s survey, the gap has almost completely closed.”

When it comes to what job candi-dates want, clearly one size does not fit all.

Generational differences exist and must be addressed, according to PwC’s “Next Gen: A Global Generational” study8.

“Invest time, resources and energy to listen and stay connected with your people. Understand the generational — and in some cases,

GO BEYOND SALARY

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geographic — differences that are at play and manage employees on a personal and local level so that their own individual needs are met,” the study states. “Create innovative ways to keep employees engaged and perform at their best.”

For example, according to the study, Millennials (people born in the 1980s and 1990s) are more likely to leave jobs if their needs for support, appreciation and flexibility are not met, while older workers are more likely to leave if they feel they are not being paid competitively, or due to a perceived lack of development opportunities.

To attract the best Millennial candi-dates, the PwC study recommends:

• Fully leveraging technology. “Accelerate the integration of technology into the workplace, enabling workers to harness technology in ways that give them more flexibility and increase efficiency. To Millennials this is an absolute must — they expect to have access to the best tools for collaboration and execution.”

• Increasing transparency about compensation, rewards and career decisions. “Take the mystery out of compensation decisions, and provide greater transparency to employees regarding their career devel-opment. Create a meaningful rewards structure that regularly acknowledges both large and small contributions made by employees.”

• Building a sense of community. “Emphasize teamwork, appre-ciation and support from super-visors, and give employees honest, real-time feedback, face-to-face.”

If you are a global company, PwC recommended introducing or accelerating your global mobility program, because a higher percent-age of Millennials (compared to previous generations) view the opportunity to work overseas as part of their desired career path.

OFFER FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS Both younger and older workers appreciate companies that offer flexible work arrangements.

The NextGen study found that 15% of male Millennials and 21% of female Millennials would give up some of their pay and slow the pace of promotion in their careers in exchange for working fewer hours.

And, according to the 2015 Society for Human Resource Management “Preparing for an Aging Workforce” survey9, the following policies are “very effective” recruitment and retention strategies for older workers:

• Offering flexible scheduling, such as alternative work schedules or telework.

• Offering reduced hours or part-time positions.

• Hiring retired employees as consultants or temporary workers.

When you adopt policies that promote greater work-life balance, you can position yourself as an employer of choice for the best workers across various demographics.

What is top talent worth?

Find out with our 2019 Salary Guide for Accounting & Finance Professionals.accountingprincipals.com/employers/employer-resources/entries/salary-guide/

WHERE TO LOOK FOR TALENT

ONCE YOU’VE MADE SURE YOUR COMPANY LOOKS ITS BEST, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT LOOKING FOR THE BEST TALENT?

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Start by updating the job description for the position you want to fill —from the salary to benefits to nec-essary hard and soft skills. Provide candidates with a glimpse into what they’ll do on a daily basis, as well as how their role will contribute to the company’s success. Let your colleagues read the description before you broadcast it.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Look for top candidates in associa-tions like these:

• The American Accounting Association

• American Institute of CPAs

• The Professional Accounting Society of America

• The Association for Financial Professionals

• The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)

SEARCHING THE INTERNET In 2013, 53% of recruitment activity involved the Internet, according to Adecco’s “Social Recruiting: A Global Study.10”

The most efficient social media platforms for recruiting, according to Adecco, are LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn itself, in its “2015 Global Recruiting Trends11” report, found that social professional networks are the fastest growing source of quality hires globally, increasing 73% over the past four years.

The LinkedIn report also stated that job boards produce the highest quantity of hires: “This is likely due to the sheer ease of applying to jobs online. However, quantity doesn’t always equal quality.”

Businesses that don’t adapt their strategies to accommodate mobile users will not only be behind the times — they’ll be edged out by competitors that do, according to “Smartphone, Dumb Recruiting: Why Mobile is a Must12” a survey by Jobvite.

According to the survey, 43% of job seekers have used their mobile device in their job search. Job seekers age 18-29 are slightly leaning toward Android devices (54%) over iPhones (43%), and those age 30-39 are more likely to use an iPad.

USING EMPLOYEE REFERRAL PROGRAMS Employee referrals continue to be popular. For most companies in the U.S., employee referrals range from 20% to 40% of their hires in any given year, according to CareerXroads13. And an August 2014 Social Recruiting Survey by Jobvite14 reported that the best hires came from referrals, internal transfers, direct sourcing and intern-to-hire.

Employee referrals account for 45% of non entry-level placements at Ernst & Young, up from 28% in 2010. The company’s goal is 50%, according to an article in The New York Times15.

“Our analysis shows referred hires perform better, stay longer and are quicker to integrate into our teams,” Larry Nash, Director of Experienced and Executive Recruiting for Ernst & Young, told The New York Times.

In its survey “The Aging Workforce Recruitment and Retention16,” the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) asked organi-zations whether the increasing

age of their workforce had prompted changes in their recruiting practices. Of those who said “yes,” the most commonly reported recruiting method to directly target older workers was employee referrals (33%).

The drawback to the employee referral program is that it can limit diversity, because new hires may resemble current employees in age, gender and ethnicity. Consider these professional associations as a way to broaden your scope:

• Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance

• National Association of Black Accountants

• ALPFA, Inc., the successor to the American Association of Hispanic Certified Public Accountants

USING A RECRUITING COMPANY TO ENGAGE PASSIVE CANDIDATES A passive candidate is a currently employed professional who is not actively seeking a new job. Often, they are too comfortable at their job or too busy to explore new opportunities. Sometimes they just need a subtle — or not so subtle — reminder that they’re in high demand in the labor market.

This is where a recruiter can help. Recruiters have large networks of passive candidates. Perhaps, at some point, these candidates used the recruiting company or felt compelled to send their resume. Recruiters are experts at reaching and engaging them. This can lead to conversations, interviews and — potentially — new talent in your office.

PURSUE TALENT FROM ALL ANGLES

ATTRACTING, HIRING, DEVELOPING & RETAINING THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER ACCOUNTING & FINANCE PROFESSIONALS REQUIRES A WELL-THOUGHT-OUT STRATEGY.

You need to brand yourself as an employer of choice, not only with competitive salaries and benefits, but also with a workforce culture that allows for flexibility and encourages career growth. You also need to know where to look for the best candidates and how to use the right mix of social media and old-fashioned sourcing tools to reach and engage them.

Your ability to do all of this effectively — especially during a talent shortage — will help you establish a competitive edge and ultimately produce bottom-line results. To learn more about overcoming the challenges of the talent shortage, please contact your local Accounting Principals branch office today.

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SECURE TOP TALENTBoost your bottom line

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Sources

1 http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

2 https://snap.licdn.com/microsites/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_US/c/pdfs/recruiting-trends-global-linkedin-2015.pdf

3 http://www.aicpa.org/career/womenintheprofession/downloadabledocuments/trends-report.pdf

4 http://www.slideshare.net/AdeccoUSA/adecco-state-of-the-economy-survey-media-deck-final

5 http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=4/10/2014&id=pr817&ed=12/31/2014

6 http://lnkd.in/valueofEB

7 https://www.towerswatson.com

8 http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/hr-management-services/pdf/pwc-nextgen-study-2013.pdf

9 http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/14-0765 Executive Briefing Aging Workforce v4.pdf

10 http://www.adecco.com/en-US/Industry-Insights/Documents/social-recruiting/adecco-global-social-recruiting-survey-global-report.pdf

11 https://snap.licdn.com/microsites/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_US/c/pdfs/recruiting-trends-global-linkedin-2015.pdf

12 http://web.jobvite.com/rs/jobvite/images/Smartphone-DumbRecruiting-eBook.pdf

13 http://www.careerxroads.com/index.asp

14 http://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_Survey2014.pdf

15 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/business/employers-increasingly-rely-on-internal-referrals-in-hiring.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

16 http://www.slideshare.net/SHRMRESEARCH/2014-older-workerssurveyoverallresultsdraftpart2recruitment-and-retention111314?ref= http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/shrm-older-workers-recruitment-and-retention.aspx