Hiring Insights for Growing Accounting Teams

An effective accounting team is built from talented individuals. No matter how effective your training, and how supportive the work environment, the fact is that you’ll need to get the right people into the group in the first place if you want the team to really thrive. This is where accountancy and finance recruitment specialists can be so worthwhile – but you’ll also want to understand how to seek out the best employees without relying wholly on outside help.

Understanding current hiring trends

More than ever before, effective professionals in the world of accountancy tend to be digitally competent. It doesn’t matter how comfortable an individual is with numbers, and the law; if they aren’t able to deal with a computer, they’re unlikely to be able to make a telling contribution.

We should also note that the pace of digital change is accelerating. Recruiters are therefore looking not just for individuals who can thrive in the modern work environment, but those who might learn on the job, and cope with the challenges of the future.

Strategies to attract top finance talent

Certain perks and privileges can help you to bring in high-value individuals, without necessarily offering them greater remuneration. Would-be recruits might value the ability to work from home, or to choose their own hours. They might be looking for clarity when it comes to their responsibilities, and their ability to progress within the organisation. The reputation of the employer might also be persuasive, one way or the other.

Retaining high-performing teams

On the whole, it’s much easier and more effective to hold on to an existing member of your team than it is to hire someone entirely new. You can help an employee to feel valued by recognising their contribution publicly, and by being receptive to feedback. Ongoing training and mentorship programs might make a difference, too.

When ambitious, talented employees perceive that there’s no path forward for them in a given environment, they might decide to find a new one. In this situation, the team members who end up leaving will be the ones who would have offered the greatest value.

Future-proofing your finance team

We’ve already mentioned that the best new hires are the ones who have the ability to learn on the job and to adapt to whatever challenges the future might dispense. But it’s also important that you support your team when it comes to training. The future of accountancy is likely to be highly automated, and it’s vital that your business, and the people who work within it, are agile enough to adapt to new ways of working. These new methods, whether they come as a result of AI or regulatory change, might arrive quite suddenly.