and seven ways to overcome staffing issues.
by hitendra patil
the talent crisis in the accounting profession has been relentless, and it now seems that the staffing issues are moving up the ladder.
the preliminary results of the inaugural accountants professional satisfaction survey show nearly two in five directors and senior managers at accounting firms report dissatisfaction. only one in four seniors are highly satisfied. on the other hand, one in three managers are dissatisfied at their firms, and only 17 percent are highly satisfied.
seth fineberg, founder of consultancy accountants forward, shared the initial results of the survey with the attendees of the second annual bridging the gap conference, held last week in chicago.
“folks in the middle seem to be a little more shaky about staying,” says fineberg.
- four in five partners say they are highly satisfied.
- but only one in two staff are highly satisfied, and
- one in four are highly dissatisfied.
what does it mean for your firm?
are you wondering which levels of people will leave your firm? “middle levels” is what the results of an ongoing survey suggest. so, depending on your firm size, these results can mean something different for your firm. if you are a smaller firm, the mid-level is probably you – the founders and partners. if you are a mid-sized firm (25 to 99 employees), the middle level is quite a lot, and you’d want to focus on that middle level more now.
why?
it may be the firm itself that’s causing this problem.
- one possible cause might be feeling that their firms don’t care about them. for instance, only one in three respondents says their firm supported them when dealing with difficult clients.
- only a few say they are comfortable asking for help in personal matters:
- one in three like long-term illnesses or disability,
- one in five for mental health and
- only one in seven for burnout
this implies that most people at your firm who are uncomfortable asking for help will not ask for help when they need it and just leave the firm at the first opportunity.
- only one in three respondents say their colleagues know about their passions and interests outside of work. is your firm fostering and encouraging a culture that focuses on work alone? if so, it is time for a change.
these were the contributors to accountants’ feelings of disengagement. what about factors that do not seem to cause people to leave?
long hours? not a culprit?
- two in five respondents working more than 60 hours a week during the busy season reported being highly satisfied with their careers.
- two in three people who worked more than 50 hours a week were highly satisfied.
burnout is not always about hours worked. this confirms one of my research findings—as long as the role and work profile fit the individual’s passions and motivators, people don’t worry much about many other factors.
what can you do now?
from my experience working exclusively with cpa and accounting firms, it’s clear that firms are taking several measures to overcome these challenges. thriving firms are doing something differently.
for instance:
- they recognize and reorganize workload patterns to ensure staff is not overwhelmed.
- they embrace and respond to shifts in staff’s hierarchical needs–work-life balance, early mentoring, and providing more meaningful work.
- they are implementing more automation, integration, and new technology to reduce the “mundane.”
- they focus on niches so that there are not too many different types of industries to serve, making staff experts in the chosen few. at the same time, they are cutting down non-niche clients.
- they are selective when it comes to taking new clients.
- they leverage more effective pricing strategies to reduce the chances of taking on misfit clients and reduce problem clients.
- three in four firms are considering remote staffing, outsourcing, and offshoring.