How Human Skills Are Reshaping Hiring Priorities

Human skills are reshaping hiring priorities. Many companies are transitioning from competency-based hiring to skills-based hiring for more effective results.

Adopting a skills-based approach to hiring lets companies capitalize on the potential of their workforce and external candidate pools for greater operational efficiencies. This approach provides opportunities for nontraditional employees to work for the organizations and helps optimize team and organizational performance.

Adopting a Skills-Based Approach to Hiring

Most CEOs say there is a global skills shortage but not a people shortage. As a result, many companies are switching from a competency-based model to a skills-based approach to hiring.

Implementing a skills-based approach to hiring lets an organization capitalize on the potential of its workforce and external candidate pools to support operational efficiencies. This approach is significantly more effective than a competency-based hiring model.

Breaking Down Skills-Based Hiring

Skills-based hiring breaks down job duties, responsibilities, and tasks into a set of skills and capabilities. Then, HR professionals use AI-based technology to match skills to roles, training sessions, and opportunities. These activities expand external talent pools and increase organizational capacity through hiring.

Differences Between Skills-Based Hiring and Competency-Based Hiring

Traditional competency models rely on static skills databases, disconnected systems, and inefficient interfaces. Therefore, companies manually make hiring decisions based on anecdotes and assumptions. As a result, leaders typically focus on candidate education and work experience to make hiring decisions. These factors leave out current and potential employees with untapped potential.

In contrast, a skills-based model relies on data and insights to make hiring decisions. As a result, current and potential employees increase their career opportunities, and companies elevate their operational capacity.

For instance, candidates without access to colleges and universities might complete technical boot camps or certification programs. If these candidates apply to companies with a competency-based hiring model, they likely will be removed from the application process because they do not have college degrees. Conversely, if these candidates apply to companies with a skills-based hiring model, they can be accurately and equitably matched to roles based on their capabilities. Therefore, hiring based on skills opens doors for nontraditional employees and eliminates barriers to entry.

Business Case for a Skills-Based Approach to Hiring

Using a skills-based hiring model provides employees with personalized career plans and information about required skill development for learning and growth. This model also shows managers which skills their teams lack. Then, managers can determine whether to provide relevant training to upskill or reskill their employees or to hire external talent.

Would You Like Help with Skills-Based Hiring?

Adopting a skills-based approach to hiring lets you capitalize on the potential of your workforce and external candidate pools to support operational efficiencies. This approach opens doors for nontraditional employees and eliminates barriers to entry.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can provide you with skilled accounting and finance candidates to help you reach your company goals. Contact us to learn more today.

Four Tips for Managing a Hybrid Work Model

Managing a hybrid work model can be challenging. Because every organization has different needs, their approaches to managing hybrid employees differ.

Having guidelines for managing a hybrid work model lets leaders know what to expect and suggested steps to take. These ideas can help.

Choose among these four tips for managing a hybrid work model.

1. Emphasize Outcomes Rather Than Output

Define success in terms of seeing specific changes within your organization and stakeholder behavior rather than how your work is proceeding. Focusing on outcomes rather than output helps your team reach the desired change with the smallest amount of initial and ongoing work.

Emphasizing outcomes rather than outputs provides many results:

  • Your definition of success is more meaningful. For instance, if you prioritize increasing your team’s number of new and renewing clients, you can tie your team’s efforts to something valuable for your organization and customers.
  • You are encouraged to learn through feedback. For instance, you can establish a metric you want to attain, decide which action should drive the desired results, take the action, and measure the results.
  • You gain flexibility. Focusing on outcomes means your main definition of scope is reaching the target value of your outcome-based metric. Therefore, you must act within the budget and timeframe to reach the intended outcome.

2. Be Deliberate About Team Interactions

A hybrid work model requires purposeful interactions between leaders and their teams when working remotely. More frequent interactions help build stronger work relationships.

For instance, leaders should allow remote employees time between virtual meetings for casual conversations as they would have if working at the office. Also, leaders should have check-in times throughout the day to monitor the well-being of their remote employees and offer support when needed.

3. Strategize Teamwork

Leaders should evaluate which tasks and projects require individual work and which require teamwork. For instance, projects with standardized metrics and routine tasks are typically suited for individual work. Conversely, creative tasks typically require team interaction.

4.  Prioritize Autonomy and Alignment

Managing a hybrid work model requires leaders to encourage autonomy and alignment within their teams. These leaders also must support their teams’ diverse ideas, thoughts, and viewpoints to improve the organization.

For instance, employees at all levels should be involved in making decisions that align with the culture. Encouraging open communication throughout the decision-making process supports innovation and company growth.

Do You Need to Add to Your Hybrid Accounting and Finance Team?

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can provide you with experienced accounting and finance professionals to help your hybrid team reach company goals. Find out more today.

4 Updates You Can Make to Job Descriptions to Gain More Applicants

Your job descriptions provide managers with clear guidelines for hiring, developing, and managing employees. The descriptions also clarify the job expectations for employees and support compensation, performance standards, and development decisions.

Your job descriptions are an important part of your job postings. They let candidates know the duties and responsibilities of a role and the requirements to be successful in the position.

Because your job descriptions serve multiple purposes, they need to be current. The following are four ways to can make sure the information is updated.

Implement these four tips to update your job descriptions to increase your applicant pools.

1. Position Summary

Summarize the main job duties and responsibilities.

  • Make the role attractive to job seekers.
  • Share information about your department.
  • Include who the employee reports to and whether any employees report to them as well.

2. Minimum and Preferred Qualifications

Clarify the qualifications that candidates must have to apply for the role. Include the qualifications that make candidates even more attractive to the hiring manager. Focus on the major end results of the role.

  • The minimum requirements are a shorter list of your objective criteria.
    • Include the minimum education and experience required for success.
  • The preferred qualifications are nice to have if applying for the position. A candidate without the preferred qualifications still may be hired.
    • These qualifications are on a longer list of more subjective criteria that can be discussed in more detail during an interview.
    • Examples of preferred qualifications include soft skills such as communication, attention to detail, and organization.
    • The preferred qualifications set candidates apart from those with the bare minimum qualifications.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

Include the main job functions in order of importance.

  • Be as specific as possible about the job duties and responsibilities.
  • Explain whether the employee makes recommendations to a decision-maker or makes the actual decisions.
  • Use clear action words and specific adjectives for each task. For example, “Create Excel sheets from raw data, including pivot tables and formulas such as if/then. Perform data entry to update, sort, analyze, and summarize in reports for leadership.”

4. Physical Requirements

Clarify whether there are any physical requirements to complete the work. Include whether accommodations can be made for candidates who need them.

Want Help Hiring Accounting and Finance Professionals?

Sharing clear, updated information in your job descriptions lets candidates know what would be expected of them in the role. Clarification of the position summary, minimum and preferred requirements, duties and responsibilities, and physical requirements help candidates decide whether to apply for a position. This narrows down your options when deciding who to contact for an interview.

If you need help with crafting your job descriptions or recruiting candidates that best meet the hiring qualifications, contact the experienced recruiters at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Reach out to discuss your needs 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.

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.

Retaining the Right Talent

“How can I help you be successful?”  When the only differentiator in your organization typically is your talent, these words carry significant meaning when such a small percentage of the workforce feels inspired to do their jobs every day.  Many more feel coerced or actually fear the organization.

Finding out what inspires your employees, and connecting their roles within the organization to their purpose and motivation will help you retain your top talent.  Below is one of Gallup’s 12 question employee engagement questionnaires to help in taking the initial steps of determining employee engagement.

The Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement Questionnaire

  1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?
  2. Do you have the materials and equipment to do your work right?
  3. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
  4. In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
  5. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
  6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
  7. At work, do your opinions seem to count?
  8. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
  9. Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
  10. Do you have a best friend at work?
  11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
  12. In the last year, have you had opportunities to learn and grow?

Source: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0510fox3.aspx

Gallup, Inc.  https://q12.gallup.com