Recent AICPA® & CIMA® research has demonstrated that changes in work culture (remote and hybrid workplace, training and the like), technology requirements, lifestyle and generational expectations are the largest influencers of talent management. Standard benefits — such as salary, healthcare and pensions — are viewed as baseline expectations.
High attrition, retirement waves and a seemingly constant revolving workforce highlight the need for innovation in talent retention, recruitment and reskilling at all levels.
Agility in the finance function is paramount when it comes to talent management. Cross-functional training, upskilling, reskilling, training in nonfinancial areas, restructuring, partnering and addressing citizen requirements and strategic initiatives have affected governments heavily. What was once a key challenge appears at times to be an insurmountable mountain.
The pandemic brought about a wave of resignations as employees at all levels re-evaluated, challenged and changed lifestyles. Lifetime career accountants and finance professionals, along with employees in every other industry, left work environments to pursue passions, obtain a more balanced life, change careers and reorganise priorities. Organisations saw long-term, loyal, institutionally savvy employees resign, leaving large voids of knowledge of the entity, legacy systems and industry, with no one available to fill the gaps.
Passion is a key factor in retention and with five generations in the workplace, the expectations and drivers must coexist and differences must be addressed. Understanding what motivates each generation, as well as understanding their communication and work styles, drives retention.
Traditionalists (born 1925–1945) are motivated by respect, recognition and value. They prefer in-person discussions and in-hand documents vs. electronic communications.
Baby boomers (born 1946–1964) thrive on teamwork and doing the right thing. Their most efficient communication styles are phone calls, face-to-face or emails.
Generation X (born 1965–1980) find passion in diversity, work-life balance and a combination of personal and professional interests. Communication is similar to the Baby Boomers, because efficiency drives the method.
Millennials (born 1981–2000) seek responsibility, excellence in management and exciting work experiences/projects. They prefer to communicate via IMs, text and email.
Generation Z (born 2001–2020) is drawn to diversity, personalisation, individuality, creativity and have a strong desire to seek careers where they have challenging work that has a positive impact. In addition to IMs and text, social media rounds out their communication preferences.3
To add value and ensure that the needs of all stakeholders — employees, partners and government — are met, agility in the retention of talent is paramount.
_______________________________________________________3Adapted from Generational Differences in the Workplace
The traditional approach to hiring — sorting through resumes, scheduling interviews and ultimately filling a position — was disrupted during the pandemic. In recruiting talent, government entities must change not only what they are doing, but how they are doing it. The pandemic enabled a leveling to occur in all sectors of business, and the competition with public, private and not-for-profit entities for the best talent has tightened. Demands are increasing far beyond what is considered normal across all sectors for finance and accounting positions. During the pandemic, the effect of government-directed isolation and separation was often immediate in many countries — one day, employees were in the office and the next there was a mandate to work at home with no timeline for return. Governments in particular had to scramble to meet these requirements as an overwhelming majority of administrative employees worked 100% in office with often outdated hardware and software on antiquated systems. The necessity to maintain public information in a confidential, yet transparent manner was and is critical to this sector. The ability to transition to 100% remote was not without challenges. Frustration about lack of equipment at home, inability to connect to servers and cybersecurity compromises are but a few items that resulted in significant and often negative immediate impacts. For many, the additional stressors of home-schooling, tutoring, caregiving, babysitting, and fear of illness and death were understandably too much. Some chose to retire while others chose to quit, both resulting in exiting the workforce. Some, with the demands of child care and elder care upon them, could do no more and were forced to choose their families over their careers. And others — overwhelmed, frustrated and weary — just quit. The result is what we are experiencing today: More job openings than qualified applicants. Things had to change, have to change and continue to change.Initially, reactionary responses to vacancies were the method of operation. But quickly, many entities made small, immediate changes to the interview process. In an AICPA podcast titled ‘Finding the Best Talent Using Remote Interviews’, the immediate shift for one local government from in-person to remote interviews, complete with the identification of exemplary talent, identified challenges and innovative solutions to recruitment. A consideration in any interview process is getting to know someone and determining if the person is a fit for your organisation. Transitioning to online interviews broadened not only the number of candidates but also created efficiencies for all in the process. One benefit mentioned is the convenience factor.
‘It’s far more convenient and cost-effective for not only the employer but also the applicant to be able to do the interviewing remotely versus having to maybe fly somebody in, pay for hotels, having to make a whole day or maybe two days, an overnight trip out of an interview’, said C. Kruse, CPA, CGMA. ‘Being able to do that remotely has been a big convenience for both, I think, the employers and the applicants’.4
Kruse continued: There’s a lot of aspects from the in-person interview that you just can’t get over a remote platform, even just the initial introductions. … Eye contact is really strange when you’re trying to do an interview remotely. We do a lot of panel interviews, so there’s often a lot of people on the screen, and your camera may be at the top of the screen, so it can be a little bit distracting. The other thing you’re really missing out on is body language. You don’t see much body language when you’re only getting from the neck up in a virtual interview. … Applicants, when they’re in person, they can get a much better feel for your workplace culture, what your facilities are like, kind of being able to observe employees in the workplace. They kind of lose out on that when you have to attempt to feature that over the computer.
A focused effort on drawing the interviewee in by focusing on introductions initially instead of the immediate Q&A can be effective. The presence of skill sets remains critical, but drawing out an applicant’s workplace personality, as well as showcasing the government entity’s workplace culture with examples and anecdotes assists in deepening connections. ‘Everyone on the team is an applicant during the interview’ is a mindset that can enable success in the interview process.
'We've had probationary periods included in our job descriptions in the past. I have asked that they be removed when necessary. I was initially surprised that candidates that we’ve made offers to decide to decline because we had a one-year probationary period. Also, we've gone to new places and sources to find the staff…. [This includes] going back to some former employees, as well as current employees, and offering them a referral program. We have found this to be a very powerful recruiting tool.'
Amy West, CPA, CGMA, AHRC, New York, NY
______________________________________________________________________4 ‘Better remote job interviews and ERC updates’, Neil Amato, Journal of Accountancy podcast, 12 August 2021.
1. Stress the training and development perks. As Kruse pointed out, ‘My local government employers have supported the costs incurred for taking the CPA Exam — and the city of Des Moines continues to support my ongoing educational requirements to maintain my license as a CPA and my designation as a CGMA®’.
2. Show flexibility ‘One of the biggest things that we offer in state government is flexibility, both in terms of schedule and career path’, said John Kaschak, CPA, Deputy Secretary for Revenue for Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. ‘We now offer flexible scheduling, alternative work schedules, and teleworking as options to our staff’. You'll want to add that such advantages won't go away once the COVID-19 pandemic calms down, and people return to their offices.
3. Selling the benefits. It’s hard to believe most young job seekers don't know what a pension is — and yes, fiscal austerity has eaten into some pension plans. But if your government job offers one, explain what it is and how it differs from a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA. Government medical benefits are commonly a cut above as well, which will be a big plus for many.
4. Step in to educate. It’s easy to assume that college-educated finance job candidates will know more about government work than they do. Build relationships that will allow you to get into classrooms or meet student groups to tell them what your work is all about — and what it’s not about. ‘Unfortunately, many negative stereotypes paint government employees as being lazy, unmotivated, or uncaring’, Kaschak said. ‘My experience has been the complete opposite’.
5. Show the camaraderie. The through line in all government work is the presence of people who leave, or leave behind, higher-paying jobs to serve the community. That, in large part, infuses government finance with a workplace camaraderie unlike any you'll find elsewhere.
_______________________________________________________5 ‘Recruiting top finance talent in the public sector’, Lou Carlozo, Journal of Accountancy, 1 October 2020.
Training begins at onboarding for new hires and continues with opportunities for retained employees. Whether governments have their centres of excellence, subscribe to outsourcing some functions or internally manage all finance aspects, proper training that goes beyond tangible tasks is now a ‘must have’. Previously considered a specialty or outside the scope of finance, many skills have been assimilated to strengthen positions, bring success to organisations and promote public interest. The bottom line is that a very different set of capabilities is needed for the future than we have had in the past. And if we do not obtain these capabilities now, the public sector may fall behind.
The skill sets needed are competencies in leadership, analysis and culture. These are often difficult to identify during the interview process, and it is equally difficult to determine how to teach, train and learn. The global AICPA & CIMA Future of Finance research programme addresses these difficulties, as well as the top five skills identified for future finance leaders: The top five skills that CFOs agree are most important for future finance leaders … are the ability to understand and analyse financial data (34%); a strong understanding of financial best practices (27%); a strong understanding of risk management (25%); the ability to collaborate with colleagues from other functions (20%); and the ability to use new software or technology (19%).6
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 ‘Today’s Must-Have Skills for Future Finance & Accounting Professionals’, David Brightman, The Capital Report, 7 February 2022.
