Accounting professionals are in high demand as businesses look for new ways to provide value in the digital age. There is only one issue – a significant, persisting skills gap. Accountancy appears to be an excellent career choice for the current generation of commerce graduates. There is a high need for talented persons, numerous career opportunities, and a rising range of job opportunities.
However, as freshly trained accountants have discovered to their dismay in recent years, employment postings frequently do not match their acquired skillsets. Additionally, many highly qualified accountants are finding themselves unprepared to meet the evolving needs of accounting firms and their clients, particularly with the advent of big data, automation, and artificial intelligence.
As a result, accounting firms are having an increasingly difficult time recruiting qualified candidates for a range of roles.
So, here we are with 5 Best Practices for Closing the Skills Gap in Accounting Industry:
1. Providing In-House Training
Accounting Employers throughout the world have realized the multiple advantages of in-house training for both the company and its employees. Businesses can better meet the needs of their employees by offering customized training through in-house programmes.
Additional advantages include:
- When employees don’t have to travel to a training centre for the duration of the course, they save time and money.
- Real-life examples can be given to aid employees in applying what they’ve learned to the real world.
- In order to make the training experience more enjoyable and engaging for the participants, it is advisable to use interactive training with other team members.
- In-house training courses allow organisations to tailor their schedules to fit their needs, such as avoiding peak business hours.
- Various training courses can be customised to match the specific demands of a company.
2. Use Multiple Channels
When it comes to the hiring process, the old saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” rings true.
When you have a job opportunity, you should use a multichannel procurement strategy instead of depending solely on one method of recruiting people.
Multichannel posting involves searching for excellent candidates across multiple channels—job boards, social media networks and more—rather than just one.
Using a variety of sources to find the right candidate can have numerous advantages, such as increasing the number of qualified applicants for your open positions.
While also increasing the number of people that see your job posting, you can also shortlist candidates for future requirements and you won’t have to go through the same procedure again.
3. Search in Different Geographies and/or Demographic Segments
The days of physically being present in a certain location to offer one’s talent to an organisation are over.
Organizations are expanding their talent pools by employing individuals solely on the basis of their potential to make a difference. It has nothing to do with their identity or location.
The world has transformed into a new talent landscape. It expands the network even further and creates an infinite number of opportunities for recruiters to find and cultivate the ideal talent for their companies.
It enables passionate applicants to pursue their goals and become integral members of teams. Frequently developing highly accountable and motivated teams that are extremely productive.
4. Promote the Right Resource
Despite their simplicity and repetition, basic accounting operations are critical to the success of your business.
That said, if business owners and their top resources are unable to sacrifice their time on regular work, outsourcing accounting services is a sensible solution. This enables them to focus on critical issues and promoting the finest personnel while guaranteeing that all clerical tasks are accomplished adequately.
Outsourcing accounting not only reduces the likelihood of overlooking minor jobs, but also enables firms to devote greater consideration to the company’s right resources.
5. Writing Down Precise Job Descriptions
Job descriptions are the recruiting process’s foundation. They establish expectations for eligible applicants and educate prospective employees about the function and organization.
While drafting accurate and interesting job descriptions can be time consuming, investing the time and resources necessary to do so is definitely worth it.
Your job description is your opportunity to interact with prospective employees. And first impressions are critical.
Effective job descriptions are engaging and inclusive, evoking applications from the right people and assisting you in reducing your work.