How to Recruit and Keep Top Talent in Finance and Accounting
By Pete “the Job Guy” Langlois, Staffing Industry Executive and Partner, Ascendo Resources, Accounting & Finance
Let’s face facts—we all need to work for a living and we all have jobs. We all want to be more effective and productive in our jobs and hard work is the cornerstone for any professional success—there are no shortcuts or magic pills. But the jobs market has changed drastically in the last few years and hiring managers, recruiters, and corporate leaders in accounting and finance must make adjustments in order to compete for those hires. The hard truth is, skilled, loyal employees are harder to attract and these days they expect way more in exchange for their hard work. The industry calls it “the war for talent” and I’m here to help those trying to fill valuable seats at their firm lay out a plan of attack. But first bit about me.
I was a gifted student who chose popularity over being scholarly and made some bad decisions. I barely made it through my senior year of high school and needed to get out of my town, so I joined the Navy, which brought me to Jacksonville, Florida. My journey trying out all manner of jobs has taught me a lot about working for all types of people with all levels of talent. But like most people, all I really wanted out of my profession was to feel good about what I do at the end of the day. That all came together for me when I found my calling as a professional recruiter.
Today, I help people in two ways. First, I find jobs for people who may be at a vulnerable spot in their lives—they need a job as they find themselves in a search at no fault of their own. I also help people who are employed advance their careers by finding them what may very well be their dream job. Second, I help hiring managers by supplying talented accounting and finance professionals. These are talented folks who simply cannot be found without my help because they are likely not on the job market.
Some people that I assist in their job search just want to work temporarily as an accounting manager, bookkeeper, or perhaps an accounts receivable clerk, and some are looking for high-level C-suite positions like chief financial officer (CFO) or vice president or director of finance. I help them all within the specialty of accounting and finance.
To help as many people as I can, I listen carefully to what people and companies are looking for, and pay close attention to the jobs market, the accounting and finance industry, and both the national and local economy. Most importantly, I dedicate myself to making sure my own company culture keeps my employees happy, involved, and productive.
Here are three ways my own approach has brought me success on the battlefield of today’s competitive job market, but first let’s cover what I consider the bare necessities.
Basic Tactical Gear for Recruiting in 2023
After people worked from home for several months during Covid, they realized there's much more to life than working 10 hours a day and commuting 45 minutes each way. Now that it’s time to go back to work, they really don't want to, so many have resigned and are taking their time rejoining the market and rethinking what it would take for them to return to the grind, if at all.
That means companies need to take an honest look at candidates’ must-haves to make sure they’re keeping up with trending priorities of the workforce. Right now, the three big things interviewees are looking for commonly involves:
- Compensation. After all, money comes in pretty handy when you’re trying to “live your best life.” It’s not unusual for top candidates to have a few offers on the table, so it’s more important than ever to offer competitive salaries and bonuses and be ready and willing to negotiate.
- Benefits. These days the traditional benefits model has expanded from the bare minimum—health, dental, vision, and 401K—to a wide variety of other “a la carte” options like wholistic healthcare (mental health, nutrition, acupuncture, etc.), pet insurance, dog-friendly offices, company-provided meals and fully stocked office pantries, flexible work schedules, unlimited ride sharing expenses, etc.
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Company Culture. Culture is now a top priority because work-life balance has gone from being an aspirational concept to an absolute necessity. The rise of unlimited PTO is a direct result of this and we’re seeing more companies putting those values they list on their website into real action.
At Ascendo, we give back to our community and we make sure it’s woven into the fiber of what we do. Not only do we give generously financially, but we take part in so many local charity events as a group and that has become an important element of our culture. At the end of the day people want to feel good, know they’re appreciated, and feel like they’re making a difference.
Now that we’ve covered the basic offerings companies should rethink in this competitive climate, let’s move onto three advanced tactics hiring managers, human resources, and operations execs can do to make their company and its open positions more attractive and—dare I say, irresistible?—to prospects.
Show the troops you have a plan
When I first started working in the Navy and in business, employees expected to get promoted automatically based on tenure. If you worked at a company long enough, you’d move up the ladder, and so people stayed.Sure, loyalty is great and turnover can be expensive, but thank goodness promotion based on time at the company has all but been eliminated in today’s working environment. Instead, now it’s the responsibility of employers to attract and retain top talent and in this market, they better bring their A game. The most substantive way to do that is through true leadership. Leaders who take the time and effort to motivate and inspire their employees, hold them accountable, and lead by example through their own actions are the clear standouts in today’s job market.
For example, today’s scrappy startups don’t always have time to establish employee evaluations and structured professional development, but those processes go a long way in showing a path to moving up in the company. When the job market is booming and it’s difficult to fill vacant roles, companies with leaders that deliver a clear path to advancement for their employees attract the best and brightest and keep that talent for years instead of months.
So when writing job descriptions and when interviewing candidates, shine a light on what makes your leadership team special, show them the methodology behind your review process, and map out their potential path to advancement.
If this sounds a bit obscure, I promise you’ll find specific examples in your exit interviews—take a closer look at those. After all, when you’re under fire from all sides you want a team behind you that has emotional buy-in to your company, that starts with leaders who have their back.
Earn your expert stripes
Even though it seems like I shoot from the hip as a professional recruiter, I spend a lot of time on research upfront before I make the initial call to job prospects or potential corporate clients—a lot of time. In fact, I never make cold calls; every call is warm and I don't insult my clients by just dialing for dollars. I recommend the same to my colleagues and other hiring managers who are trying to fill roles in accounting and finance.
Because it’s my job to be the employment expert in accounting and finance, I scour employment data in the region and in the industry and make it my business to educate clients and prospects during the hiring process. For example, when filling a sales role in Florida, it’s helpful to have a few relevant facts in your arsenal:
- The top 2% of all income earners are in sales
- Florida ranks #3 on a list of states with the highest employment level in sales
- Florida ranks #1 on a list of states with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in sales
Inviting prospects into the interview process is the equivalent of trying to make a sale and those first interactions really matter, so it’s important to do your homework on the relevant job market and economic conditions and incorporate that information into your pitch. Even though you may not work with them directly after they interview, your extra work and expert knowledge may be the deciding factor that causes a prospect to choose your company, so do your homework.
Become a foxhole marketer
It’s not just the great resignation that has created the war for talent, it’s a rebounding economy as well. In fact, ADP’s employment report for June 2023 reveals just under 497,000 jobs were added to US payrolls in one month alone, which is more than double most estimates.
As I mentioned above, hiring managers need to know how to sell their open positions, but they also need to market what they’re selling. Most job descriptions in accounting and finance all sound the same and say nothing compelling enough to get anyone’s attention. Because job posting methodologies like online job boards and ads are outdated and boring, hiring managers are yelling into the wind unless they learn a different approach and that often means content creation and marketing.
In a world where the average adult attention span is 8.25 seconds, every organization needs to create their own sizzle and actually put effort into marketing that special something. That could be the culture, a great benefits package, the hybrid work-from-home schedule, free parking, anything that could entice someone to step off another job. When there’s nothing compelling or attractive about a company or job, hiring managers need to work with company leaders, HR, and marketing to figure out how to stand out from the crowd. Then shout it from the rooftops on the website, social media, on regional billboards, or anywhere else that makes sense for the intended audience.
This is exactly why I created the radio show and podcast Hard Work-ah with Pete the Job Guy and created videos about how we work at Ascendo. It works! If you use your imagination and have fun while you’re doing it, your candidates will get the message.
It’s rough out there, folks, but we’re all in this workforce together. I encourage hiring managers and HR professionals trying to navigate this tough climate to see this time as a great opportunity to change work as we know it and create a whole new world where people love what they do.
I am privileged to help people find the next step in their career on a temporary or permanent basis and help grow organizations—and the economy—by connecting them to all types of finance and accounting professionals. And while there’s no quick fix to these challenges, I guarantee the hard work that goes into solving them will earn us a hero’s welcome and get what we all want—to feel good at the end of the day.
As a leading authority in the staffing industry, it is the mission of Pete “the Job Guy” Langlois to provide answers for all workforce-related questions and give informative advice and educational insight on the latest employment trends in the industry to candidates and partners. He strives to create meaningful professional relationships and fill the gap between hard-working, qualified candidates, and bold, venturous companies. Connect with Pete on LinkedIn.