A major challenge in the accounting industry today is attracting and retaining quality talent. This issue seems to be discussed everywhere: industry conferences, partner meetings, media outlets and college campuses.

In the October issue of Inside Public Accounting, the Annual Analysis of Firms revealed how this is the number one challenge faced by firms today. The IPA article stated, “Nearly one-third (31.3 percent) of all respondents cited recruiting and retention as a major challenge.” The number two challenge was Enhancing/Managing Growth and Profit” at a distant 10.6 percent.

Clearly this strikes a chord with many firms and it is not going away anytime soon. With the Baby Boomers getting ready to retire in the next few years, the shortage of talent will be more evident.

What can firms do now that will help ease the strain?

Firms need to begin to develop talent at all levels by:

• Creating a Training and Learning Culture
• Hiring a Learning Coordinator or outsourcing those duties
• Providing life balance to all team members
• Efficiency through technology

The best people want to be challenged and feel they are important enough to be given continual training.

Management must meet these desires by creating a culture of learning and training within their firms. All employees must understand the importance of their growth through new learning experiences.

In great firms, management leads by example. This includes areas of training such as new software, new tax laws, soft skills, sales and much more. Firms need to dig deep to determine which areas of training are most important and then allocate necessary resources.

Once team members start to buy-in to the idea that growth through learning is valued, they will seek out new challenges and learning opportunities within the firm. It is win-win for the firm and the team members.

Who will ensue that all team members are getting the right training and are growing professionally? Many firms designate a partner or a human resources staff member.

Boomer Consulting recommends hiring an adult learning professional for your firm. This person will be responsible for the acquisition, organization, follow through and development all aspects of the firm’s training and learning program. This person should not be a CPA, and should be experienced in teaching adults.

Many small firms combine the HR and training responsibilities. However, firms who employ a person dedicated to learning and training usually attain the biggest positive impact on overall team performance. The smallest firms might consider outsourcing this function to a larger firm that provides training services, for cost justification purposes.

Taking this function out of partners’ hands allows them to grow the firm through their strengths. Plus, as team members see the firm focuses on their improvement, they realize their value to the firm.

It is necessary in today’s competitive environment to be able to provide team members with life balance and to support it from the top down. Allow your team members to work realistic schedules with support and you will see happier more productive teams. It is one more piece of the overall puzzle that keeps teams strong and together.

“Young people don’t have the work ethic I did when I was coming up.” This is a common statement by many Baby Boomers in today’s accounting firms. This may be true in some instances, but it actually reflects the difference in thinking from one generation to the next. Today’s young employees desire to have more quality time with their families than they had with their parents. Seventy-hour-work weeks actually become counter-productive; and work performance and morale both suffer greatly.

Firms must be willing to keep up with the trends in technology. Great firms attract and retain quality talent by doing all the right training; however they separate themselves even more by being leaders in technology. Technology efficiencies allow teams to use their time better, leading to more productivity and improved performance. With the dearth of talent right now, firms need to become as efficient as possible to relieve the strains of the workload on their current teams.

The best people gravitate to firms that understand the importance of technology and will more likely stay with these firms. Going paperless, for example, is just one of the many trends firms are moving toward to be more efficient through technology.

In summary, the industry is facing a major shortage of quality talent. Training and technology should be the building blocks in any plan to develop the new crop of great people. Start immediately to develop talent in all areas of your firm and allow team members to grow into the assets your firm desires and needs. Great people will attract great people.

The firms that offer the best training and development programs and use technology to maximize efficiencies will find the shortage of talent a less critical issue.

About the Author
Eric Hunt is a marketing and sales representative for the consulting firm of Boomer Consulting, Inc. located in Manhattan, Kansas. A graduate of Kansas State University, Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with the emphasis in Marketing and International Business. At Boomer, his areas of focus are Boomer Technology Circles ™, client services and marketing.

Top