As the Talent Crunch Continues, Image is Everything

Source: The CPA Journal

Despite high unemployment rates, accounting firm jobs continue to be among the most difficult to fill. According to this article, two key factors in attracting and retaining highly skilled staff are a firm's image and prospective employees' first impressions. First impressions can begin long before an official interview and continue once an employee is on the job. The authors offer several tips for managing first impressions:

• Identify and train staff who will be involved in recruiting. It's critical for them to understand the message you want to deliver and the types of recruits you're looking for. Train them on how to conduct interviews and ways to avoid bad impressions.
• Prepare for a new employee's first day on the job. Have his or her workspace ready, complete with a fully loaded laptop as well as login and e-mail protocols. Have the person's mentor or another firm representative contact him or her in advance with information about parking, dress codes, meal arrangements, etc.
• Preplan a new employee's assignments for the first few weeks or months. This can take time, but it has a big impact on job satisfaction.
• Present a clear career path. Younger CPAs want to plan where they'll be in five or 10 years.
• Offer a fair work-life balance. Many young CPAs are willing to trade rapid advancement for more family time and reduced travel and personal pressure.

Managing first impressions is one component of the "onboarding" process for new employees. For more information, you can download consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton's publication "Getting on Board: A Model for Integrating and Engaging New Employees" by clicking here.

For the complete article, click here and select "Attracting and Retaining Talent: The Importance of First Impressions" in the April 2010 issue.

From The CPA Journal, A Publication of the New York State Society of CPAs, April 2010.