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accounting staff millennials
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Find and acquire the best accounting talent

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1st Dec 2016
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A solid team of outstanding staff is essential if your practice is to function and grow, but despite this, the most common barrier hindering accounting firms is staff.

Recruitment is a costly and time-consuming process - when done right it can lead to exceptional gains in productivity, profit and growth. If done wrong, it will have the opposite effect.

The importance of finding the right additions to your team is only increasing as millennials start to dominate the profession, and accounting practices shift further into advisory work. All accountants are being required to step up a gear.

So with these challenges and considerations in mind, here are some strategies you can use to build the ultimate accounting team.

Hire for attitude, train for skill

The most important attributes to look for in any new candidate is a great attitude and a culture fit. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to existing skills, just don’t make this your sole focus. Whoever comes on board must believe what you believe.

Exactly what constitutes the “right attitude” for your firm will depend on your own culture. Try looking at your best-performing employees and define the personality traits they have, and how they approach challenging tasks. Identify the three most important components of your firm’s culture - things that you are not willing to compromise on.

You must always remember that it is a lot easier to upgrade someone’s skill set than change their attitude. With this in mind, your hire fail rate will drop and you will build a passionate and engaged team that will help your firm to grow.

Get the job ad right

Any job ad will get you resumes. But a great job ad will attract quality applications from worthy candidates, cutting down on administration time and saving your firm money.

As recruiting becomes more competitive in this profession, the power is shifting toward candidates. Some firms are struggling to compete for talent with the practices that are perceived as young and modern. So it’s more vital than ever that you get candidates excited about working for your firm.

Emphasise why people should want to work for you - not just perks, but growth opportunities and training they will receive. If you’re stuck, ask your current staff what they like most about working at your firm.

Many job ads lean too much on the technical aspects and applicant requirements. These are important to ensure you actually get qualified people applying, but you need to think about it from the point of view of who you want to attract. What will make the best accountants excited about working for you?

Become an expert on millennials

Millennials are the new breed of accountants, who in a few short years will become the largest generation in the workforce. Like it or not, they’re the future of your practice, so you want the best of them working for you.

Become an expert on this generation - how they think, what they want, their strengths and their weaknesses. There are five key workplace traits your firm should embrace if you want to attract the best millennial recruits - self-development and growth; flexibility; technology; impact and belonging; and innovation.

Explore these areas and look at any changes you can make that will encourage the very best millennial accountants to want to work for you.

Any accounting practice is only as good as its team, so don’t cut any corners and do what it takes to build the ultimate team that is right for you. If there is any single factor that will define your business, it is this.

Replies (2)

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By Ian McTernan CTA
02nd Dec 2016 12:12

Why would anyone place their own ad? This isn't software development.
If I was recruiting, the last thing I would to is place my own advert and be bombarded with a pile of junk cv's! Then waste valuable hours sifting through the dross...
Go to an agency, discuss, use professionals, get the best candidates and a professional advert drawn up and pay the agency fees.
Of course, I long ago took the decision to stay small and personal (after running a tax department) as I'd rather not deal with the many staffing issues that arise.
If you're thinking of expanding, think about what your life goals are and your work life balance, not just £££.

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By Ammie
02nd Dec 2016 12:26

Ian, you are spot on!!

Too many accountants miss what is really important and why we work in the first place. They get sucked in the merry go round and only a health or personal "blip" awakens them to reality.

Money causes as many problems as it solves.

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