Adapting Strategies for New Talent

Ask the Firms: Adapting Strategies for New Talent

By Haley MacDonell

There was record voluntary turnover in 2021, as employees left companies in search of new opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 47.4 million Americans voluntarily left their job during the previous year, with 4.3 million leaving in December 2021 alone. Like every industry, this trend affected the accounting profession. Organizations scramble to recruit and retain quality talent, a task made more difficult by a strained accounting pipeline.

BeachFleischman and Henry+Horne ranked in the top ten Best Firms for Young Accountants for 2021 according to Accounting Today. Both firms are proud of their corporate culture, recruitment strategies and results.

“We have worked hard and are still working every day to maintain and improve our culture,” explains Kristin Buser, director of team engagement at Henry+Horne. “Given the past two years, it has become even more imperative to listen and understand the constantly changing atmosphere we face. Public accounting is a guaranteed career with so many unique opportunities, but you have to listen and adapt in order to stay on top.”

Some organizations connect with new talent early through internship experiences that provide learning opportunities more meaningful than filing papers or going on coffee runs.

“We hope that the students can see what day-to-day life looks like as a tax accountant or an audit accountant, and then they can make a more informed decision about whether the career and the firm are interesting to them long term,” explains Cheryl Hutchins, a learning and organizational development specialist at BeachFleischman. “We love when our interns decide to stay with us full time after graduation.”

How have firms changed their strategy to recruit and retain new talent? Buser of Henry+Horne and Hutchins of BeachFleischman shared their own experience with the changing accounting career environment.

What has changed in your strategy to recruit and retain accountants/CPAs in the past two years?

BeachFleischman: We are seeing that there is more emphasis on flexibility. Accounting is no longer a one-size-fits-all industry. Employees in their early career have been seeking flexible work arrangements (remote work/in-office work/hybrid), schedules that better accommodate their needs and priorities, and more definitions of what success looks like in their career.

Henry+Horne: We adjusted just like everybody else did, and we are doing our best to keep that momentum going forward as that mental shift to flexible work happens in the recruiting world. Our strategy has remained the same: to find team members that would love working at Henry+Horne as much as we do. We want to make sure that they want to be here with us and grow their careers to help them be as successful as possible.

What have you noticed about early-career accountants’ interest in remote work?

BeachFleischman: If we’ve learned anything these past few years, it’s that everyone has strong feelings about remote work. Rather than requiring employees to work remotely or requiring employees to be in the office, BeachFleischman offers a variety of remote work options: completely remote, hybrid or completely in-office. Employees can pick the arrangement that best fits their work style and job duties.

Henry+Horne: We don’t have a large work-anywhere force, but we do offer flexible work accommodations. Recent graduates were subjected to a virtual learning environment during most of their college career. Our younger, fresh-out-of-college candidates crave more in-person collaboration, an atmosphere with more comradery, more culture. They missed out on that in their college years. So, we’re seeing a lot of our incoming team members wanting the flexibility, not wanting to be required to be in the office full time, but knowing that they’re able to have the option. They want to ask questions to the person sitting near them, not having to do it through a virtual format.

How does professional development play a role in retaining new talent?

BeachFleischman: Our employees are flush with opportunities to advance their technical skills, so developU (a professional development program) offers opportunities to develop their technical, leadership and soft skills. Mentoring can also be a part of professional development. Employees are temporarily assigned a mentor when they are hired, but they are encouraged to identify a long-term mentor who fits their personality and career trajectory. This helps to make sure that the relationship is as beneficial to the mentee as possible, because they have handpicked the mentor that will best help them to advance.

Henry+Horne: We offer many opportunities, and one example is through supporting an employee’s interest in becoming a CPA. Especially as an accounting professional looking to advance their career, the CPA designation is not going away. There’s certain work that only CPAs can do. In order to grow the industry, we need people with that knowledge. We help with paying for materials and reimburse them for tests. If they need to ask our team members to help them study or to host study groups, we encourage that. With bonuses and raises, we do what other firms do as well to show that we’re just as serious about it as our employees. We know it’s not an easy task, but we appreciate it and know they will too when it comes to their career. l