Recruiting New Hires: What You Need to Know

CPA firms often say their staff is just as important as their clients. A challenge that firms face in walking this talk is the unique personality traits of today’s entry-level staff.  To help us understand today’s young people, our Chicago roundtable convened a panel discussion with luminaries from two of Chicago’s leading universities: Jessica Gagle, Director, Career Management Center, DePaul University and Ami Rubango, Associate Director, Business Career Services, Loyola University. These accomplished VIPs spend almost all their time with college students and they taught us well!

Here are the highlights.

RECRUITS ARE CHECKING OUT THE FIRMS

In the past, college seniors signed up to interview with any firm that had an opening. No more. Students are doing a much better job checking out prospective employers. They are big researchers with their computers and phones. Working for a growth-oriented firm is very important to them. So firms, make sure your website has curb appeal.

RECRUITS WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEIR CAREER PATH MIGHT LOOK LIKE

Students are asking more questions of firms regarding their likely career path. What are the different positions along the path? How does one qualify for promotions? What is the typical salary of people at these various levels? Firms need to be prepared with responses that excite recruits.

INTERNSHIPS.

Many of you know this, but both panelists emphasized the importance of internships. They said 80-90% of their students get jobs directly from their internships. Firms need to make sure their internship are impactful programs where the students do the actual work they will be assigned if they are hired. The better internships feature lots of job shadowing.

FEEDBACK

Fewer aspects of staff management have been more problematic in the history of employee supervision than providing performance feedback. The staff may not openly demand it, but firms should know they crave performance feedback and mentoring. The better firms are providing constant feedback, job by job.

Our book, CPA Firm Staff:  Managing Your #1 Asset, includes major contributions from two experts in managing CPA firm staff: Jennifer Wilson and Jeremy Wortman. The book addresses ►talent management ►retention ►flexibility ►importance of the boss ►mentoring ►leadership development ►advancement ►performance feedback ►recruiting and other issues. 

Purchase your copy today!

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

This is fascinating. Older people (we’ll leave it up to you to define what “older” means) feel that today’s young people are “different,” usually in a negative way, making it difficult to understand how they think and what motivates them. All of this is fueled by incessant research, articles and speeches pointing out these differences. Yet, when you ask young people what they think of older people, they don’t have much to say and they’re just fine with how older people act. When our members asked the two panelists what turns off young people from a generational perspective, they didn’t have much to offer.

THE LACK OF SOCIAL CONTACT WHEN WE ALL WORK REMOTELY

For ten years, we have researched the following question to young CPA firm staff:  “What is your favorite thing about working at your firm.” The hands-down winner, year after year, is “working with the people at the firm.” Obviously, this takes on a very different look and feel, and is more limited when so many people are working remotely. Our panelists told us that firms have been addressing this with 5-15 minute “coffee break sessions” at which staff spend time with other staff at the firm.  This is especially helpful to new staff.

STRESS.

Students are experiencing a heightened level of stress, evidenced by increased use of their universities’ health services. Working apart from people, the stress of Zoom vs. in-person meetings, worry over the virus, worry about their jobs, having more idle time on their hands and sleep issues are the causes of the stress.

INCREASED NUMBER OF STUDENTS SELECTING A MINOR.

Increased time on the students’ hands is driving this change. They also have an interest in enhancing their qualifications and knowledge to further their careers. As part of your interviewing process, ask recruits what else they are studying beyond accounting to learn more about them as a person and unique ways they could benefit your firm.

As you invest in recruiting initiatives, consider the perspective of those you’d like to join your team and make sure the job, internship, branding and firm culture you’re offering are all attractive. This will make getting new team members who are a good fit for your firm onboard easier and more successful in the long run.