how to beat the staffing crisis: join the survey. get the answers.
by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the accounting industry may be on the verge of a seismic shift. the results of a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey of job satisfaction and personnel retention indicates a mounting tsunami of personnel migration in the near future, possibly on the heels of the busy season.
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the survey, conducted in conjunction with practice management consultant kristen rampe suggests that barely half—just 52 percent—of respondents intend to definitely stay with their firms for the next six to 12 months. they describe their jobs as perfect for them right now.
swell. that leaves 48 percent open to opportunities. granted, 29.2 percent aren’t actively looking for a new place to work, but they admit they’re open to persuasion. a surreptitious phone call from a headhunter just might do the trick.
another 10.7 percent say they may change jobs. even if they aren’t quite yet sending out their resumes, their eyes are open, and the right firm just might snatch them away.
and 8 percent say they want out. they’re looking. odds are, they’ll be walking out and working somewhere else before the year is out.
but that 8 percent is deceptive. it represents 8 percent of all respondents. if we excluded from the total count all those people who would not, by definition, look for a new job—sole proprietors, firm owners, senior partners, people on the verge of retirement—we’d end up with a much higher percentage. these pillars of the industry make up a disproportionately large proportion of 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 followers. so, depending on the firm, the turnover rate may reduce a practice’s talent by a fifth or a quarter.
the siren call of salary is certainly out there. the 2017 salary guide issued by randstad professionals shows that salaries are rising, the talent pool is shrinking, and, according to randstad president jodi chavez, big-city firms are trying to lure small-town cpas to come join them. second-tier cities, from mobile to minneapolis to des moines, are having to pay more to keep professionals close to home.
the lure of higher salaries. a talent pool smaller than the job market. cpas itching for change. it’s all adding up to a big and imminent shift.
if you’re a cpa looking for a job, you can expect good offers. and if you’re a cpa firm, you’d better be prepared to a) see personnel resign, b) search for new personnel, and c) out-offer the competition.
or downsize.
one respondent, in general management, has been with her firm for over 20 years, but she puts herself in the “definitely looking” category. her reasons no doubt ring a bell with many stressed-out cpas.
“working an average of 65 hours a week during tax season is too much,” she says. “one week i worked 78 hours. i have young children who don’t understand why they don’t see me because they are asleep when i leave and when i get home. i have no time for myself either, including just taking a walk to keep my physical well being intact. my work progress is actually less because i am so tired.”
but another cpa reflected a common thought: that he likes his job and his firm and therefore isn’t likely to jump ship.
“i see my career ending at my current firm,” the satisfied cpa says. “they have followed through on promises made so far, and we have a great opportunity to grow our current practice as fast as we want.”
so the general conclusion of the survey is that a large number of anchor staff are going to stay put, but a disturbing number of firms are going to find themselves with a lot of empty desks. in that the loss of just a few people can be disastrous, it won’t take much of a migration to leave a firm in disarray.
one response to “survey results: firms face staff turnover tsunami”
tom halecky
i am not seeing the issues that this article refers to. i think that staffing levels are healthy, and the turnover rates are at all time lows. additionally people are working longer, so i do not expect to see mass retirements either.