five strategies for retention.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
how long will your cpa firm or finance department be a going concern if a quarter of your accounting professionals walk out?
you shouldn’t just worry about that; you should be downright scared.
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devastating losses of staff and a dearth of job candidates have reached crippling proportions, according to a study from the institute of management accountants and personnel placement firm robert half, “talent retention in the u.s. accounting and finance profession.”
the findings are terrifying
if the following findings happened at your firm, what would be the impact?
- 24 percent of accounting and finance professionals plan to leave their employers in the next 12 months.
- 17 percent plan to do so within six months.
- 18 percent of professionals over 55 plan to leave the profession within a year, mainly because of retirement.
- 8 percent of young professionals, ages 18-38, plan to leave the profession within a year.
- 39 percent of young professionals have switched jobs in the past 24 months.
the existential trick
those, of course, are national averages. they would unfold more heavily at some firms, less at others.
the existential trick is to be a firm that’s less impacted.
the study picked up some interesting data on policies that affect employee satisfaction.
the hybrid work environment seems to be more appealing than either fully remote or fully onsite work.
- while 29 percent of remote workers and 25 percent of onsite workers plan to quit within a year, only 21 percent of hybrid workers plan to do so.
- while 16 percent of remote workers and 13 percent of onsite workers plan to leave the profession, only 7 percent of those with hybrid situations feel so compelled.
what they really want, it seems, is work flexibility. among those planning to quit within six months,
- 33 percent say it’s a lack of flexibility in where to work.
- 25 percent say it’s a lack of flexibility in how to work.
- 38 percent say it’s a lack of flexibility in when to work.
burnout
a robert half recruiter explains the problem with remote work, noting, “i do think that employees who are fully remote face some degree of burnout as they have less opportunity for in-person interaction. for example, people who are working in public accounting work long hours, and if they are working from their home office, it’s very hard, especially when their roommates or family members want to do things after hours. that’s when you see employees burn out and disengage.”
but that’s not all. asked about work satisfaction, respondents indicated dissatisfaction with supervisors as a top reason for leaving their employer or abandoning the whole profession.
among those leaving within half a year,
- 29 percent are unsatisfied with the work they’re asked to do.
- 30 percent are dissatisfied with their co-workers.
- 54 percent are not satisfied with their supervisor.
the dissatisfaction with work and co-workers is a little lower for those ditching the whole profession, with only 35 percent blaming a supervisor.
a sense of belonging
another key reason for leaving is either not having a sense of belonging or not feeling valued, respected or supported.
- among those leaving within 12 months, 43 percent had no sense of belonging, and 46 percent did not feel valued or respected.
- the numbers were similar for those leaving within six months.
- for those leaving the profession, the percentages were 33 and 36 percent.
- for those not leaving, the percentages were only 10 and 12 percent.
the study concludes that all these scary numbers can help firms devise five general strategies for retaining staff.
- offer better compensation packages: communicate with employees and offer monetary and non-monetary comp. ask them what they really want.
- foster a supportive and inclusive organizational culture: communicate through dialogue, employee forums, leadership by example; strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion.
- respect and recognize employees: value opinions and ideas, empower employees to make decisions, establish expectations and recognize performance.
- provide career growth opportunities: establish clear advancement programs, implement training programs, invest in tools, recognize and reward achievements.
- provide flexibility and work-life balance: offer flexible hours, allow remote/hybrid work, develop programs for physical and mental health, monitor workloads, respect personal needs.
retaining and nurturing current employees is a lot more cost-effective than seeking replacements during staff shortages. indeed, it may be the only way for cpa firms to survive the next few years.