How to Build Better Relationships Among Your Staff

Encouraging positive relationships among your staff is important. The more comfortable they feel working together, the more confidently they will brainstorm, develop new ideas, and voice their opinions. Open communication develops trust, respect, self-awareness, and inclusion. Developing this foundation helps your staff members more effectively create, innovate, and embrace change. It also promotes employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Implement these tips to encourage connectivity among your team.

Train on Emotional Intelligence

Talk with your staff about the ability to recognize their own emotions to better understand what they are communicating. The development of this skill helps your staff members become more adept at identifying the emotions of their coworkers. This lets your staff more effectively fill their own needs and the needs of others.

Encourage Mindful Listening

Teach your staff to listen more than they talk. This helps them focus on what is being said and how they can effectively contribute to the conversation. Also, encourage your staff to ask follow-up questions about an issue. They can uncover more information and be better prepared to overcome an obstacle. Plus, remind your staff to show empathy when helping others. Working in a supportive environment helps with problem-solving.

Promote Boundaries

Remind your staff not to let relationship-building interfere with productivity. Although they need to provide enough time to talk with coworkers, they also need to finish their work on time. This means that social interactions should take place during break times.

Ask Questions

Ask your staff members questions about their personal life. Show that you want to learn more about who they are. Share information about your own life as well. Also, find common ground that you can build on. These topics may become the subjects of future conversations. Set an example for your staff members to follow with each other.

Express Appreciation

Let your staff know how much you appreciate their efforts and results. For instance, point out one specific action each staff member took each day to contribute to the organization. Mention what the results were and how the action benefitted the company. This encourages your staff to interact in the same manner with their teammates. Such actions promote a supportive team culture.

Looking for Accounting & Finance Staff?

The stronger the relationships among your staff members, the more collaborative your team is. This increases engagement, productivity, and retention. It also improves job satisfaction, employee morale, and your bottom line.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can provide the collaborative professionals you need to fill your team’s needs. Learn more today.

Talent Acquisition Trends for 2022

It’s the most unusual talent acquisition time in many years. Let’s all face the reality – recruiting has gotten weird. Hiring surges. Reductions in force. Salary Increases. Ghosting. Candidate expectations. You name it; it’s happening.

Jobvite’s survey of over 800 recruiters illustrates the challenges recruiters are attempting to overcome:

  • 59% of recruiters said their organizations have experienced increased turnover since the onset of the pandemic in 2020
  • 49% of workers reported that job seekers are inquiring about the company’s DE&I initiatives, an increase in 16 percentage points from 2020
  • Recruiters shared that medical/dental coverage (51%), 401(k) (49%), and work from home flexibility (44%) have all been effective benefits in attracting new candidates
  • 73% of recruiters are seeing candidates ask about negotiating higher salaries. This is up 20% from 2020.

Last month we released our semi-annual salary survey. If you haven’t requested it yet, here is how you can receive a copy of the report.


Email us today at FinancialSalarySurvey@caseyresources.com, and we will be happy to share this with you. In the “YOUR MESSAGE” section, please enter “2022 Accounting & Finance Salary Survey”.

 

Jobvite also took a pulse on the toll this strange talent acquisition landscape has taken on recruiters:

  • 65% of recruiters reported that their stress levels have increased since the onset of the pandemic, pressured to fill roles quickly with qualified talent that is in short supply and being wooed by many other companies.
  • Current hurdles in recruiting include a lack of qualified candidates (47%), employer competition (40%), and requirements for in-office work (33%).

“Things have been changing so quickly, and we’re finding that recruiters are becoming more adaptable to labor market trends,” said Kerry Gilliam, vice president of marketing at Jobvite.

“Recruiters are short-staffed themselves, and yet they are having to hire more than before amid a shortage of talent.”

But where there’s great challenge, she said, there’s also great opportunity: “Hiring teams are using more external workers, looking at different sourcing channels and rethinking requirements for roles. If companies can invest in their hiring teams and rethink their employee value proposition, it is a great opportunity.”

Recruiter Mantra for 2022? Continuing to Adapt.

Roy Maurer, SHRM Online Manager/Editor, Talent Acquisition, shared his thoughts “Talent acquisition professionals continue to face recruiting and hiring challenges in the second year of an unprecedented labor market characterized by record-level turnover and job openings, increased stress, and significantly changed candidate expectations.” Maurer concurs with Jobvite’s survey conclusion: agility will be key to being successful. In his article, Maurer offers additional information from Jobvite’s report.

Jobvite states that around 78% of recruiters reported that their priorities have shifted over the past year to:

  • Improving quality of hire (48%)
  • Improving time-to-hire (28%)
  • Increasing retention rate (26%)
  • Growing talent pipeline (25%)
  • Updating recruiting technology (21%)
  • Improving diversity (18%)

What’s a Recruiter to Do? What are the trends in talent acquisition besides more money and more meaningful perks?

At Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, we scoured numerous articles on recruiting and found these five trends mentioned repeatedly:

  • Proactive recruiting: rather than wait for job openings, continually look for active and passive candidates who meet job requirements.
  • Upskilling and reskilling: invest more time on giving employees professional development opportunities for continued learning.
  • Candidate Experience: first impressions are key to keeping candidates engaged. Followed by…
  • Employer Branding and Employee Experience: The experiences don’t end once you’ve hired a candidate. Employees want to know that they are working for a great company and feel valued for their contributions. Increase your focus on DE&I.
  • Recruiting analytics and AI/Recruiting Automation

Final Thoughts

Everyone is fishing from the same pond. Your improved recruiting strategies can make all the difference in hiring someone or getting ghosted by them. We have experienced staffing experts, many with decades of experience, at the ready to assist you with your recruiting needs. We’re passionate about finding talent. We’re here to help you make the most of this disruption with the best suite of recruiting strategies for your company. Contact us today.

What Candidates Are Looking for When Job Hunting in the New Year

Job seekers are expecting a lot from employers in the coming year. You need to begin preparations now, so you offer what candidates are looking for. If not, they will turn to your competition for jobs instead.

Make sure you offer these key things for job seekers in 2022.

Diversity and Inclusion

Job seekers want to work for companies that prioritize hiring and honoring people with different backgrounds and abilities. It is important that candidates see themselves represented within an organization before they decide to apply. They also want to know that their unique talents and strengths will be celebrated and rewarded. If this is not the case, applicants will look elsewhere to find a workplace that values feeling like an important part of the team.

Transparency

Candidates want to see that management and leadership make business decisions in line with the company mission. Applicants want to understand why a company is hiring for a new role, expanding to a new location, or acquiring another business. Because job seekers desire to work for an organization whose vision and values are similar to theirs, candidates want to understand the direction the company is going in. Transparency builds trust, which contributes to high performance. If applicants feel they are not being given enough information about an organization, they will look elsewhere for employment.

A Top Candidate Experience

Job seekers expect ongoing communication throughout the recruitment process. They need to know that their application was received, where they are at in the process, and what the next steps are. Applicants also appreciate guidelines as to what to expect and when they should hear from you by. Otherwise, your star applicants are likely to apply with companies that provide a better candidate experience.

Opportunities for Advancement

Applicants want the ability to move up within an organization. Because career growth is so important, candidates need to work with managers who support their upward mobility. This includes offering training, coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments, cross-training, and other ways to add to skill sets. If you do not clarify career paths within your organization, job seekers will apply with other companies.

Begin Planning Your Accounting and Finance Staffing Needs

Job seekers place a high value on issues like transparency and diversity, and inclusion. They also want a top candidate experience and opportunities for advancement. Providing what applicants desire can mean the difference between hiring the best talent or settling for less.

When planning for your upcoming accounting and finance staffing needs, be sure to include Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. We have vetted professionals ready to help your business move forward in 2022.

2022 Accounting and Finance Salary Survey Available!

Resignation departures are on the rise. Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, a survey of more than 30,000 workers, found 41 percent are considering quitting their jobs; the number jumps to 54 percent when Generation Z is considered alone. Gallup reports 48 percent of employees are actively searching for new opportunities. Persio reports that 38 percent of job seekers planned to make that change between now and early 2022. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ August 2021 survey found 88 percent of executives said their company is experiencing higher turnover than normal. While the power sits clearly with employees, employers can also see the “great” in this resignation trend.

Fortune Magazine published a Deloitte study in October 2021 and found that among Fortune 1000 companies, 73 percent of CEOs anticipate the work shortage will disrupt their businesses over the next 12 months, 57 percent believe attracting talent is among their company’s biggest challenges, and 35 percent have already expanded benefits to bolster employee retention. Derek Thompson, a staff writer with The Atlantic, commented, “Supply chains are breaking down because of a hydra of bottlenecks. Running a company requires people and parts.” Turnover is expensive, and the above data isn’t encouraging, which means that employers need to address the challenges sooner rather than later.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources has compiled its January 2022 salary data for the fields of accounting and finance. Recruitment and retention is on the minds of all employers and having the most up-to-date information is vital! With compensation trends changing on a monthly basis, both sides can benefit from having this information during job negotiations.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can help financial professionals understand what salary expectations should be. We have compiled our salary survey list with updated facts and figures, including job descriptions for accounting and finance positions for the Chicago metropolitan area.

Email us today at FinancialSalarySurvey@caseyresources.com, and we will be happy to share this with you. In the “YOUR MESSAGE” section, please enter “2022 Accounting & Finance Salary Survey”.

The Importance of Flexible Scheduling and How to Make It Work for Your Business

Companies that offer flexible schedules help accommodate their employees’ different lifestyles. This is becoming increasingly important as a method to attract quality accounting and finance candidates. Because more job seekers want control over their work-life integration, your team should be able to set their own work hours. Fortunately, implementation can be accomplished in a few steps.

Discover some benefits of offering a flexible schedule and how to implement it for your accounting and finance team.

Increased Work-Life Integration

Your team members appreciate being able to schedule their work around their personal lives. They can participate in their children’s school activities, run errands, and take care of household responsibilities while fitting in their work. This helps reduce stress and the potential for burnout.

Enhanced Engagement

Employees who work flexible hours remain engaged longer in their work. They feel highly respected and empowered by their manager. As a result, the staff tends to miss fewer days of work, stay focused longer, and accomplish more each day.

Greater Productivity

The ability to set their work hours lets your team members get more done each day. They can work during the times they are most focused and productive. Your employees’ energy levels and concentration levels should be high, allowing more tasks to get finished.

Stronger Employee Retention

Because employees prefer greater control over their time, they appreciate having a flexible schedule. This increases the likelihood of staying with their employer long-term. The longer you keep your staff, the lower your recruitment, onboarding, and training costs.

Additional Top Talent

Offering a flexible schedule encourages the best job seekers to want to work for you. Because many candidates find this perk even more attractive than salary and benefits, you may be able to save money in these areas. You also could attract more applicants than your competitors who do not offer flexible work hours.

Fill Your Team’s Needs

Ask your staff what their interest and needs are for working flexible hours. Find out whether they can effectively function as a team and what would have to happen to make it work. Make sure that your employees would be available when needed for meetings, client discussions, and other responsibilities.

Create a Policy

Develop written rules about flexible scheduling requirements. This may involve having to be at the office or available by phone during certain times. Include how communication with staff will occur when they are not in the office. Make sure the policy is detailed, clear, and non-discriminatory.

Need Top Accounting & Finance Talent?

Implementing a flexible schedule for your accounting and finance team provides many benefits. Productivity, engagement, and work-life integration should increase. This can attract the best candidates and lead to greater employee retention.

When you need to add the best talent to your team, reach out to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. We have the candidates you need to fulfill your business goals.