august2022 - 23

THE MILLENNIAL ADVISOR
Are You Recruiting Like It's 1989?
GARRETT WAGNER, CPA
CEO/Founder, C3 Evolution Group
garrett.wagner@cpapracticeadvisor.com
These signs, like many accounting
job postings are stuck in the
past. Stop me if this sounds familiar.
Your recruiting efforts focus on compensation
and go into lengthy details
on benefits: 401(k) plan, health care,
paid time off, flexible schedule, and
competitive pay. For many this is the
same job posting that has been used
for going on 30 years and it was built
on the originally flawed assumption
that benefits and perks are what get
people to work for a company.
When it comes to people looking
for a job, research shows that
compensation and benefits are the
basics that will get them in the door,
but they are not deciding factors.
Rarely do you see a company with a
benefit package so truly remarkable
that people want to work for that
company.
This is not some new-age concept.
Starting in the early 1990s
research was showing that exciting
and meaningful work was the main
factor for employees in deciding
where to work. The results of those
early studies from the 1990s have
been further collaborated up to
today. Employees view compensation
and benefits as a given and
truly care about meaningful work
or purpose.
Think about this: 401(k) plans
were implemented in 1978 and today
are commonplace in even smaller
companies. The majority of those in
the full-time workforce have never
had a job that didn't offer a 401(k)
RECENTLY I WALKED into the lobby of a national coffee and donut chain and saw what
has become commonplace all across America, an extra-large sign about job openings. I
guess the national chain figured the larger the sign, the more people would apply. Alas,
this sign like many other physical signs and recruiting efforts by firms is focused on all
the wrong things and is not effective. These failed efforts simply add to the growing
problems of staffing shortages.
plan.
CLINGING TO THE PAST
Too often when companies recruit,
they fail to focus on what really matters
and instead focus on the givens,
just like the failed job posting by the
national coffee chain.
One personal experience I still
remember from my accounting firm
job interviews, as recently as 2010,
is that partners in the firm would
tell me a major benefit to working at
the firm is that I would have my own
computer or laptop. To me this was
always an odd statement. For me, a
millennial, I do not remember when I
first got my own computer. Contrast
this to the baby boomer generation,
many of them didn't get their own
first computer until they were in the
workforce and to them, having your
own computer is a major deal.
If you wish to actually attract,
retain, and engage top talent, it starts
with the first step of attracting and to
do that takes a new-brand approach.
FOLLOW THE SCIENCE
While nationwide staffing shortages
have become a recent headliner, for
us in the accounting profession,
this issue has been felt for years
and has no signs of going away. As
we discussed we need to shift our
focus when it comes to recruiting
and follow the science.
As leadership thought leader
Daniel Pink often says, today we
see a mismatch between what the
Are you interested
in doing something
rewarding?
Call 555-555-5555
research shows and common business
practices. We cling to the past
with the same negative outcome and
wonder why things don't change.
To attract people to your organization,
it all starts with exciting and
meaningful work. Focus on that in
your job posting and not the benefit
packages.
LOOKING DIFFERENT
As I was wrapping up this article, I
went out to breakfast on a Sunday
morning. There's nothing like a
good breakfast before a deadline
to get the ideas going. Again, I saw
another large job posting as I walked
into the restaurant, but this one was
completely different.
It simply said, " Are you interested
in doing something rewarding? " No
mention of benefits or 401(k) plan or
time off. They focused on getting your
attention. In doing some research at
AUGUST 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
23
breakfast, I found out the job posting
was for a local independently owned
retirement community. Their website
described a culture focused on people
doing rewarding and engaging work.
Perhaps the owner of the nursing
community is a fan of Daniel Pink or
maybe he just figured it out on his
own. Attracting top talent is about
appealing to the possible workforce
with the excitement of working for
the company.
As you shift
into your fall
efforts to recruit, you can follow the
same path as before with the same
unsatisfactory outcome, or you can
follow the research and focus your
recruitment efforts on what makes
your company rewarding, exciting,
and unique. The choice is yours! ■

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august2022

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