“To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.” Doug Conant
For many employers, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenge of finding good employees. As accountants, we’ve heard this day-after-day from our clients.
Since travel is minimal, the unfortunate reality is that there is a reduced talent pool to choose from when hiring.
How do you then find the best people for your busy team? We’re not recruiters, but we’ve been in business for long enough to have some ideas. Here are our top five tips.
#1 Can you go digital?
Many of our clients are in a unique position in Queensland, where we have been able to work in our offices for most of the pandemic. However, the world has transformed, and it’s easier than ever to find and engage an applicant digitally. Your ideal employee may be capable and experienced working at home in a different state (or country). Some roles cannot be performed remotely, but if it’s possible, open your positions more broadly.
You should assess your workers’ compensation requirements for employees in different states.
#2 Consider the perks
Workplace perks don’t need to be extravagant, Google-esque rewards to get the best people to choose your business over a competitor.
Often, spelling out the simple perks, such as work-hour flexibility, parking access, or financial rewards in the job ad, will help build interest in your role. Wellness incentives are more popular than ever, but we recommend you design incentives to reflect your particular workplace values.
Relocation payments may also be appropriate and necessary, given the limited pool of people available.
#3 Build a strong brand and leverage it
Build a strong workplace brand that new employees will be thrilled to work at. Do your website, and social media presence reflect a business that people would want to work for?
A strong brand applies whether the role is for a white or blue-collar position. How do people talk about your business in your industry? It will always be harder to get the best people for your roles if it’s less than ideal.
Check if your business is on employee review sites, such as Glassdoor. Many applicants will go online to see if they can find any feedback about the workplace culture.
#4 Move Quickly!
If you are looking for great people, they generally aren’t available for long! Once you’ve started the hiring process, move through the following steps quickly and maintain communication with your ideal applicants throughout this time.
We’ve heard complaints from many clients, disappointed that their ideal candidate took another role because they didn’t hire them fast enough.
#5 Hire for potential, then train
Given the challenge of finding the perfect employee, consider hiring for the potential of the person, then train them to your needs. If they are ‘coachable’ and have other foundational traits that are appropriate for your workplace, you could benefit from hiring someone less qualified but easily taught.
There may also be opportunities or incentives to engage people as trainees or apprentices, which makes this trade-off more financially viable.
When it comes to hiring your future employees, we would love to see you implementing these tips. Let us know how you go!
At VBA we specialise in strategic tax advice, offering tax and financial reporting for individual income earners, family businesses, tradies and construction companies.
Victor Bimrose Accountancy Pty Ltd (ASIC No. 1259423) ABN 53 010 957 294 is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Merit Wealth Pty Ltd ABN 89 125 557 002, Australian Financial Services Licence Number 409361.
Mark Foxley-Conolly (ASIC No. 1259421) is a Limited Authorised Representative of Merit Wealth Pty Ltd ABN 89 125 557 002, Australian Financial Services Licence Number 409361
General Advice Warning: This information has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation or needs.If you have employees, you need to be across these important updates
