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Across industries we’re seeing a fierce competition to attract and retain talent. But some are battling more than others… The accounting industry has seen large scale turnover with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants finding that 44% of surveyed accountants expected to move to their next role in a 12-month timeframe.
Any business will know how hard it is keeping up the same level production when you’re down an employee, but have you ever done the math? It comes out to roughly 30% of that employee’s salary to replace them. That covers the vacancy, recruiting, interviews, training and learning the ropes of the business.
That’s a harsh reality to comes to grips with. It also leaves you having to solve a unique problem: How do I retain staff despite the wider trends of job mobility in the industry?
As employers you have a few levers to pull — salary (which can come with its own stresses), culture and work processes. This varies by business — maybe you only need to pull one, maybe you need to clamour for all three. If you’re undecided, one you’ll never regret investing in is your processes.
Recoup the turnover cost
A huge reason the accounting industry is being hit by turnover and a shortage of talent is that it’s a difficult line of work to be in, with many accountants feeling the effects of burnout. Because of this, retaining staff can come down to taking work off their plate and making the busy seasons more manageable. ,
Help them avoid burnout by automating time-consuming admin work which would otherwise take up the limited time they have in the day.
This includes:
- Manually filing documents and emails
- Drawn out review and approval processes
- Delays in gathering digital signatures
- Data inconsistencies between apps
See how you can match the efficiencies of the pros in our short quiz!
Removing these burdens opens up more time to focus on pressing work. It also comes with the added benefit of plugging a leak in the short term by making existing staff more efficient!
Protecting your staff’s joy
Having more efficient processes in place not only makes the stressful seasons more manageable, it also comes with the benefit of letting employees do work which challenges them. This opens the window for professional development which is a sure-fire way to retain talent.
So, where to begin ? Instead of looking outwardly to the market you may want to revisit your internal processes. Perhaps there are some inefficiencies which are frustrating staff at the moment. Taking the time to address these issues will make for a better place to work allowing you to improve staff retention and attract talent in the long term.
By Tyler Cruse, Suitefiles
Suitefiles will be exhibiting at Accountex London on the 10-11 May 2023 on stand 1272.
You can register for a free ticket here.
