There is a level of stagnation in accounting organisations at the moment. While demand for accounting and finance skills rose exponentially between February and May 2016 (by 9.4% according to CV-Library’s own data), applications actually decreased by 6.7%, highlighting the growing problem of skills shortages in this key sector. For many firms, this can be damaging to business productivity and employee morale. Below, I explain how to overcome this:
Implement robust recruitment strategies
As the talent shortage in the finance and accounting market increases, employers who accelerate the hiring process put themselves ahead of the competition. There is a hoard of great candidates out there, so ensuring you have a robust recruitment strategy in place will keep you from missing out. Allocating time to vet candidates properly, with thorough interview and reference checks is key and will help you see whether they are the right fit. After all, the key to the success of any business is the ability to hire the right people and retain them: from intern’s right through to the senior management team.
Reassess the skills you need
Refreshing job specs is always a good idea, especially as many firms still use outdated job descriptions as a basis for finding great talent. Providing a clear summary of the skills you need, which includes both the technical and personal attributes, will help to sift out the most suitable talent. It might be that there’s a great candidate waiting who is currently working in a completely different sector altogether but has transferable skills that are required for the role. A good description will also provide candidates with an understanding of your performance expectations.
Think about succession planning
While the recession led many firms to focus on recruiting individuals who could pick up tasks quickly, many businesses are seeing the benefits of thinking more strategically about the hires they make. In particular, companies of all sizes are looking to recruit candidates who have future potential in the business, not just a fit for the here and now. This is particularly important with the ageing workforce in the accounting sector, who will look to retire over the coming years.
Invest in training
With the ability to step into mid and senior-level management roles, prioritising the development of entry-level talent has quickly become a go-to solution to fill gaps in firms. Alongside this, creating mentor programmes, which sees younger workers take on the knowledge of their older counterparts, can be extremely beneficial. Though the financial investment in training is often at the bottom of the agenda for most organisations, it is extremely important if these businesses want to remain competitive going forward.
Whatever you do, tackling the skills shortage sooner rather than later is the best option. We currently have 420,157 accountancy candidates on our database, so there is talent out there. See more here: www.cv-library.co.uk.
