CPA Practice Advisor - 16

A YEAR IN THE LIFE: PAYROLL

ACCOUNTANT

CHILLING REASONS
Why Employees Leave

By Jodi Chavez

GHOSTS AND GOBLINS may spook you this Halloween,
but what's far scarier for your business is the current

talent shortage haunting the accounting industry. Still more
frightful is the fact that employees today are more willing than
ever before to seek opportunities elsewhere when their needs
aren't being met. And in today's competitive labor market, skilled
workers are bound to have options. Fortunately, you don't have
to sit there shivering alone in the dark. Randstad has five factors
to consider when refreshing your retention strategy, so you
won't be haunted by the ghosts of recently departed employees.
GHASTLY SALARIES
According to Randstad's study (https://
randstad.us/2p2cLjK), 44 percent of U.S.
workers leave their existing employers
because they feel they are undercompensated, and 82 percent expect pay
raises each year to stay. Have you
assessed your pay rate against the competition? If not, the magic potion may be
to check out Randstad's online salary
guide (https://randstad.us/2oe8jyb) and
see how you stack up. Offering fair and
competitive salaries will help you retain
best-in-class talent.

SHRUNKEN HEADS

A Year in the Life of a
PAYROLL Accountant
is sponsored by

More than half of all employees say their
jobs don't offer enough career growth
opportunities. So don't try to shrink
your employees' heads; instead, make
sure every role includes a clear career
development path. Lay a foundation to
prepare your employees for the next
stages in their careers by providing
training opportunities to help them get
there. It's also imperative to regularly
check-in with your employees, and
take proactive steps to address their
concerns, before it's too late. Or else,
your unchallenged employees could flee
into the night.

OCTOBER 2019 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

HORRID WORK-LIFE
BALANCE
Thirty percent of employees say that
issues related to work-life balance
could cause them to leave their current
employers. In fact, 62 percent of workers
say they would take jobs elsewhere -
even jobs they didn't love - if it meant
having greater flexibility. But companies
can act strategically today to prevent
that. For example, new technologies and
software that runs in the cloud should
enable accountants and other professionals to work remotely at least some
of the time. So try to create a schedule
that not only allows your business to
achieve its goals but also gives your staff
the freedom to work from home every
now and then.

DREADFUL BENEFITS
Almost all employees (94%) want their
employers to offer benefits that have a
meaningful impact on their quality of
life - for instance, benefits to help them
pay off student loan debt or support more
flexible work arrangements. When it
comes to benefits and perks, of course,
there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Age,
income level, gender and other factors all
play a role in determining the benefits

that matter to employees. Investing in
perks and benefits that your employees
want and need can help significantly
alleviate challenges related to employee
retention.

VILLAINOUS BOSSES
Almost a third of employees believe their
organizations have poor leadership in
place, and 60 percent are considering
leaving their current jobs because they
don't like their direct supervisors. Does
this sound like your company? If so,
management must heed the warning.
Poor leadership reflects a deeper need for
coaching and training - the absence of
which often results in high turnover. As
the saying goes, "people leave managers,
not companies." So you should work with
your human resources team to identify
the challenges facing management and
staff, and consider providing weekly
training and coaching based on the
feedback.
If your company is haunted by a
retention problem, use these five strategies to improve retention rates - and
avoid grisly setbacks. The ghostly
departure of any employee casts a curse
of unproductivity and knowledge loss for
any organization with high turnover.
Plus, when recruiting, hiring and training
costs are factored in, it's clear just how
frightful turnover is to your bottom-line.
At the end of the day, Halloween is really
no different than the rest of the year:
Running a successful firm doesn't require
potions and spells, but you do need to
prioritize employee satisfaction. ■
Jodi Chavez is Group President, Randstad Accounting and Finance, Professionals, Life Sciences & Tatum. With
more than 22 years' experience in the
staffing industry, Jodi oversees the field organization and provides direction for Randstad's
life sciences, finance and accounting, human
resources, sales and marketing and legal staffing capabilities. www.Randstad.com/US

https://randstad.us/2p2cLjK https://randstad.us/2p2cLjK https://www.randstad.us/2oe8jyb http://www.Randstad.com/US http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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