5 Reasons Companies Lose Top Finance and Accounting Talent

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With top talent driving a disproportionate amount of your bottom line it’s imperative to keep them on board. And yet while companies invest time and energy attracting and landing the best people, they don’t always have a structured approach to retaining them. Here are 5 reasons that companies lose top finance and accounting talent.

Reason #1: No Voice in the Process
When management doesn’t listen to employee concerns the result can be a lack of buy-in and overall disenchantment with the organization. Couple that with treating employees as a unit, rather than as individuals, and you have a recipe for retention disaster.

Solution: Schedule regular one-on-one meetings to source individual feedback.

Reason #2: Bureaucracy Trumps Innovation
Top talent have many traits in common, one of which is a commitment to continuous improvement often in the form of innovation. If red tape consistently gets in the way of constructive change, and this can happen in large organizations, top performers can get frustrated and look for a company that is more receptive to their ideas.

Solution: Read this article to learn about how Google shed bureaucracy to solve its talent problem.

Reason #3: No Opportunities to Grow and Lead
Your best and brightest want an opportunity to grow their skill set. They also need to understand their path to career advancement. Millennials, in particular, need a chance to lead and an awareness of how they’ll move up the corporate ladder. Remember, money is not always the biggest motivator.

Solution: Make sure to engage talent and outline a clear career path. Discuss what they are passionate about and give them opportunities to explore that. Establish a formal mentoring program. 

Read: For more information on how to build tomorrow’s finance leaders, read this blog.

Reason #4: Poor Feedback Process
Providing ongoing, constructive feedback is critical to retaining top accounting and finance talent, as is a manager’s willingness to receive feedback. In addition, a poor employee performance review process can undermine the relationship between a manager and top talent.

Solution: Give and receive feedback in a mutually respectful and transparent way. Develop and implement a performance review process that collaboratively involves both parties.

Reason #5: Ineffective Communication of the Organization’s Vision
It’s not just important that leadership communicate the organization’s vision. What’s more critical is that top talent understand how their contributions achieve the big picture. It’s a source of inspiration.

Solution: During one-on-one meetings connect each employee’s responsibilities to the overarching goals of the company. Celebrate successes and provide recognition when appropriate.

Key Takeaways
Many of the challenges that lead to the loss of top accounting and finance talent have, at their root, poor leadership. Ensure that managers communicate the organization’s vision and connect each individual’s duties to its achievement. Lay out a clear path for career advancement and provide opportunities for high performers to lead and grow their skill set. Provide ongoing, constructive feedback and be receptive to new ideas. Ultimately, you need to keep top talent interested and engaged, or they’ll go elsewhere.

Your Next Step
No one should walk the job search or hiring road alone. At Clarity Recruitment we help others realize their success through a process that marries proprietary technology with unwavering commitment. Contact us today to take control of your career, or to partner with us to hire well.

Clarity Recruitment, connecting exceptional people with remarkable companies.

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