How to attract accounting professionals in a high demand market

As businesses attempt to recover and grow following the difficulties of the pandemic, there is more demand than ever for top-quality accounting professionals who can provide valuable analysis and insight.

This high-demand market makes it difficult, but not impossible, for organisations to attract accountancy talent. There are important factors to consider that enable businesses to obtain the services of the professionals they are seeking.

Understanding salary and benefit offers

It’s a fact that the market dictates the salary and benefit offers an organisation needs to make in order to acquire the services of top talent. At this time, when demand is outstripping supply, more generous salaries, and other benefits, are a given.

This means that organisations have to understand the market position and ensure they are competitive when it comes to the salary packages they offer.

It can be difficult for organisations to manage the situation internally if new recruits are provided with better salaries than current members of the accounting team. So, plans need to be put in place to deal with this issue should it arise. At the end of the day, the business needs to ensure that it has fair pay policies in place.

Providing a good work-life balance

During the pandemic, the requirement to work from home where possible has shown us how positive a good work-life balance is. As a result, many accounting professionals are looking for opportunities to continue remote working and work flexible hours.

Organisations should consider this and, where possible, build flexible working into the roles they advertise. The advertisements should not simply refer to “flexible working” but instead should be explicit in what this means, such as the ability to work from home with equipment provided.

Marketing the role and the organisation

There are times when the realities of the role are not the barrier to recruitment and marketing is the problem. It’s not sufficient to simply copy the content of previous job advertisements. Organisations have to provide specific details of why their business and this role are better options than other opportunities.

Many organisations find that working with professional recruiters makes this task easier. They do not have to invest valuable time and effort into the recruitment process, instead leaving the work to experts who understand the market and the talent pool. Taking this route also provides access to networks of accounting professionals who have the skills and experience required to undertake the duties of a specific role.

Organisations should not be under any illusion that recruiting top accounting professionals is a simple task. Currently, there is a high demand market that makes finding the right person complicated.

However, taking time to develop appropriate salary packages, provide a good work-life balance, and deliver exceptional job marketing makes it more likely that businesses will find the accounting professional who is the best fit for the role and the organisation overall.

If you are an accountancy professional looking for your next role, register with us. If you are on looking to hire an accountancy professional, get in touch.