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How to avoid staff poaching

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12th Nov 2015
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Poachers made an unwelcome appearance on Any Answers recently, and once the pain of betrayal had subsided, the outbreak provided a chance for members to consider what they could do to retain staff. We asked Practice Excellence winner Sharon Pocock for her thoughts on how practitioners can fend off the headhunters.  

After losing a member of his team to a local firm, AccountingWEB member Bean Boy turned to Any Answers to vent his frustration.

“Obviously, we are just going into very busy period, so I’m completely stuck,” Bean Boy said of the defection. “I’m so upset, because they are not just any local firm. They are one who we give work to, and as such I think the way they have behaved is completely unprofessional.”

Instead of offering consolation, AccountingWEB member Scriptic challenged Bean Boy to find out why his ex-employee decided to defect. “Our staff (or clients for that matter) are only ever that for as long as they wish to work with you. It’s up to you to make sure that’s what they want to continue to do,” Scriptic wrote.

Sandnickel was another who offered little in the way of sympathy: “You don’t own your staff and they have a mind of their own. They will only be ‘poached’ if they want to be.”

The Bankstream Accountants Confidence Index in September highlighted how firms were struggling to plan ahead for the tax season workflow peak, and this incident confirms that the war for talent is intensifying. For those unable to find the right people or solutions to deal with their peak workloads, the only alternative is to work longer hours - which is a sure-fire way to diminish the loyalty of long-suffering staff members.

If not kept in check, the annual skills crunch can turn into a vicious cycle that makes a firm less and less attractive as a place to work. 

Positive practice

We approached Practice Excellence growth award winner Sharon Pocock for her advice on how to counteract the poaching threat. She offered some practical suggestions along the lines suggested by Scrptic and Sandnickel: create a positive working environment and career prospects for your staff and they will stick with you.

One of the secrets of Kinder Pocock’s growth strategy is that she involves her whole team in brainstorming about ways to improve their processes and client service. Pocock continued with this theme when dealing with AccountingWEB’s questions by asking staff for their thoughts on the topic.

Kinder Pocock’s senior manager, who has been working for the firm for just over a year, listed the following attractions: 

  • Friendly and supportive atmosphere
  • Flexibility when necessary
  • Great team feeling as well as being able to use own initiative
  • Forward thinking company NOT like a stereotypical ‘stuffy’ accountant
  • Constantly looking for ways to improve systems
  • Recognition for hard work
  • Rewarding and always feeling a sense of achievement.

Pocock has built a sense of community within her team. “I do make sure everyone is included and supported.  I try to give staff treats when I can - even if it’s just nice biscuits, or nice birthday presents,” she said.

Pocock understands that workers want recognition of a job well done. By rewarding her staff for achieving their goals, she makes sure that feel appreciated: “In January I bought in lunch every Friday, and we had a target all month to finish all our tax returns and go out for lunch on the last Friday - which we did!” Pocock said.   

Developing your staff is another way to limit poaching. “I also have a policy of taking on apprentices and moulding them,” Pocock said.

Taking on apprentices was something that we saw among 20% of entrants to this year’s Practice Excellence Awards, and Kinder Pocock was one of the firms pursuing this avenue. “We currently have an AAT4 who has just won the Best Progress Award at our tech college’s annual apprenticeship awards, and we have just taken on another 16-year-old business admin apprentice and work with the college to nurture and support her,” she said.

Apprentices who get their start and progress up the ranks of the firm are more likely to understand its processes and values than people brought in from outside.

There are a number of reasons why an employee may leave. The departing employee in our Any Answers poaching thread wanted to work closer to home. However you decide to treat your workforce, it is important never to take your staff for granted. And if you are one of those head hunting another firm’s emerging talent instead of cultivating your own, remember that the impact of their transition wouldn’t be immediate: they may well take some time to adjust to their new surroundings and perform at the levels you expect from them.

Empowering your workforce

The Any Answers post coincided with a recent PwC report discussing how it motivates its workforce. The survey was prompted by discovery that by 2016 80% of PwC staff will be “millennials” - people born between 1980 and 1995.

Bob Moritz, PwC chairman and senior partner, reaffirmed the firm’s proactive stance towards this generation of workers. “If you engage your next-generation millennials, you’ll get more production,” he said.

PwC focused on four key areas - many of which overlap with what Kinder Pocock has been doing:

  • Create a flexible environment “Many millennials are unconvinced that excessive work demands are worth the sacrifices to their personal life – and if they come into an organisation and find they’re not getting the full life they want, they will look elsewhere,” PwC said.  
  • Fully leverage technology PwC has harnessed millennial workers’ enthusiasm for social media by involving them in social media “bootcamps” across its global network: “We recognise that each employee is a walking, talking brand advocate of our firm.”
  • Rewards Millennials don’t look at career progress is the same way as older generations; they would rather focus on doing a job that they enjoy. This change of attitude forced PwC to reassess how it praise and recognise their employees. This has led to more real-time appreciation, and appraising face-to-face rather than filling out performance feedback forms. 
  • Build a sense of community Millennials place more importance on being part of a team. PwC has a higher retention and higher performance when its people were engaged in social responsibility programmes. The survey found that those who participated in one corporate social activity had an average tenure of 7.4 years compared to 6.3 years for those who didn’t participate.  

There are reasons why your employees leave. Rather than being left in the lurch during the busy self-assessment season, perhaps you should emulate PwC and devote a bit of time to assess your own working environment and whether it meets the needs of the people you would like to attract and retain within your firm.

What do you do to make sure you keep your team happy and motivated? Will you be implementing any of PwC’s or Sharon Pocock’s suggestions?

Replies (2)

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By cheekychappy
12th Nov 2015 21:57

The example you use of Bean Boy isn't poaching.

The staff member was looking, the other firm was looking and were brought together by a recruitment agency.

A small world, maybe. But it wasn't poaching.

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By Anthony123
17th Nov 2015 09:35

How you treat your staff

I agree with many of the points above but do be wary of the "buying treats" tactic. Unless this is underpinned by total respect for your staff and a true recognition of what teamwork means it can just become patronising. And some staff might just prefer a small cash bonus over meals, alcohol or chocolate biscuits.

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