money lures one in five staffers to new job.
newly released survey data show that almost 20 percent of cpa firms’ junior staff, those with three years of experience or less, plan to leave their current firm by the end of 2010 and another 20 percent are looking to leave by the end of next year.
according to jess scheer, editor of cpa partner report published by ioma, “the implications are jaw-dropping.”
a new ioma study, which compares consulting firms in general to accounting firms in particular, shows that 23% of mid-level cpa talent say they could be persuaded to jump ship with better compensation.
and 23% say they’d do it for less than a 25% raise.
scheer sees five burning issues:
1. while attrition may still be highest among junior staff, employees at all levels are growing frustrated with their current firm and are increasingly open to new opportunities elsewhere.
2. the staggering numbers might be understating the actual spike in voluntary attrition because it only measures those that thought they’d find employment elsewhere. the actual number of those who would be interested in seeking employment elsewhere is far higher. firms that serve clients in faster growing geographic or industry markets could be the first to see a wave of departures.
3. because employees tend to mentally check out from a job long before they physically do, a passive job search by half of a firm’s staff should raise blaring alarms. the immediate fear is that intellectual disengagement from client work has already begun. clients’ needs are now competing for your staff’s attention, along with resume updates, job board searches, etc.
4. unlike during the downturn, when layoffs helped weed out under-performers, voluntary attrition is likely to zap you of your top performers—those that would be most attractive to other employers and those you can least afford to lose as you struggle with a slow recovery.
5. these survey headlines aren’t being lost on executive recruiters. you should expect your staff to start receiving an uptick in cold calls. just because you’re not yet in a hiring mode doesn’t mean that industry recruiters are slow to pull the trigger. those with financial experience are in hot demand.
