As technology transforms processes and jobs, accounting rules and standards only get more complex. No company today – big or small – can afford to ignore the importance of employing qualified finance and accounting staff who can help you navigate these complexities. In fact, many successful companies have realised that accountants are more than just bookkeepers – their expertise allows them to also serve as business partners, supporting stakeholders in strategic decision-making and planning processes as well as helping companies make sense of changing business environments.
This is also the reason why companies are competing for experienced accounting professionals who are not only good with numbers, but can also offer higher-order business thinking as well as data analysis capabilities.
However, it is not easy to identify and hire the right people for your business. Smaller companies don’t always have a HR team, since their recruitment and training needs may not be enough to justify a full-time resource. This means that when a hiring decision has to be made, the business leader or team lead starts thinking of job specifications and candidate capabilities, diverting their focus away from generating business or delivering a product. A smaller company may not even need a full-time accounting professional, but may just be looking for additional short-term staff during peak periods to deal with sudden spikes in workload.
Even within bigger companies, the recruitment process is time-consuming and expensive, and a wrong hire will drive up costs even more.
You can circumvent such issues by partnering with a specialist staffing agency that focuses on accountant recruitment.
Here are five reasons why partnering with a staffing agency could be the best move for your hiring needs:
1. Deep industry expertise ensures that employers and candidates are well matched
Specialist staffing firms are, well, specialists in their area. Those that work in the finance and accounting sector have deep expertise in and an in-depth understanding of talent needs in this area. Such agencies have a finger on the pulse of the sector as well, and understand job trends.
Additionally, given their focus, they also understand what kind of candidates perform well in specific roles, which qualifications and experience areas can be an asset to the company. In short, their knowledge makes them an effective bridge between the employer’s talent needs and the candidates’ skills, ensuring the best fit possible. A specialist firm also boosts your chances of getting it right the first time, automatically speeding up the hiring cycle and reducing costs.
Their insight into the job market also means that they can be much more than agencies you turn to only for accountant hiring and placement. They can also partner with you to understand resourcing over the long-term and help you plan strategically for it.
2. An understanding of on-the-job-realities helps assure the quality of every hire
Specialist firms that have been matching up employers and candidates for a long time know what it takes for employees to succeed in their roles. What makes for an exceptional candidate? Is it qualifications, experience or even attitude?
Even more importantly, they know what to avoid. This ensures the overall quality of every new hire, making them a close fit for the role on hand. Your new staff will hit the ground running and chances are that you will not need to invest much time and resources in initial training.
Even better – these firms can help you source specific talent who are expert in certain areas within the finance and accounting function.
Do you need a Junior Account Manager? Check.
A financial analyst? Sure.
A Global Tax Supervisor? They have that too.
Or maybe a Sales Specialist in Cryptocurrency or someone for Global Treasury Operations. Yes, and yes.
Focusing on a certain functional area allows specialist firms to understand the nitty-gritties of different roles and source the right talent for them.
3. Access to wide networks and candidate databases speed up the hiring process
Working with both employers who are searching for great talent and professionals who are searching for the right role makes staffing agencies a natural bridge between the two. Companies can gain access to their wide networks and a diverse range of candidates across functions, levels and capabilities. This makes the entire search process quicker – you do not have to peruse thousands of applications to narrow down your search to the handful of candidates who will be a match for your needs. Your partner firm has already done this for you.
4. Access to a contingent workforce and the flexibility to scale
Besides expertise, the biggest benefit that such firms offer is that of scalability.
You may have an influx of work as you near the financial year-end. Or maybe you have won a new project that needs additional resources for a fixed period of time. Or you could just need maternity cover. Will you push your current staff to work harder and longer and risk making them dissatisfied? Or will you hire a full-time resource who you may have no use for a few months down the line?
The answer is neither.
This is when you turn to your partner agency and allow them to step in and take care of your immediate resourcing needs. The staffing agency gives you access to a contingent workforce and the flexibility to ramp your resources up or down based on your immediate needs. By using their services to staff temporary or short-term positions, you can maximise resource efficiency and avoid the cost of hiring a full-time resource.
5. On the credit side of the ledger: time and money saved
Finally, all these benefits result in time and money saved across the board. Outsourcing your staffing needs to a specialist agency allows you to focus your resources on your core business and increases efficiency and productivity across the organisation. Simply put, deploy your resources at the front-end where they are actually needed for maximum business impact.
Successful businesses today understand that they would do better to focus on their core competencies and leave the essential business functions such as staffing to the specialists. This boosts productivity and keeps costs low. Additionally, they benefit from the specific expertise of these specialist agencies – working with them as business partners to plan strategically for their staffing needs.
To learn more about how you can partner with a trusted specialist staffing business for finance and accounting professionals, talk to us!