Professionals quit their jobs in tight labour market
More professionals than ever are leaving their jobs and new data show one in four changed their jobs over the year to February 2023 including many accountants, whose skills are in short supply.
While some accounting firms are lifting salaries to attract and retain talent, many are facing tougher competition to keep the employees they already have.
Data released late last month by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals the quit rate was the highest for professional workers, 24% of whom changed their jobs in the year to February 2023, up from 22% over the prior year. More broadly, the national turnover or ‘quit’ rate stood at a 10-year high of 9.5% over the year to 28 February 2023, as one in 10 workers took advantage of a strong jobs market and moved employers.
This trend of relatively high staff turnover is being led by younger adults, who are generally more likely to move jobs than older workers, with 14.9% of people aged 15 to 24 years changing employers over the year to February 2023. This compares to 11.2% of 25- to 44-year-olds who changed their employment, still higher than the national rate of 9.5%. The annual retrenchment rate was just 1.4%, the lowest annual rate on record (since 1972), the ABS said.
The national turnover rate could reach over 10% in coming months as more and more professional employees, including accountants, look for higher-paid work if they feel they are underappreciated or underpaid by their current employer. The jobs market is still strong, and employees are using their bargaining power to move to new jobs with higher salaries or more attractive work conditions. The unemployment rate sat at just 3.6% in May 2023, despite some economists predicting the bottom would fall out of the jobs market this year. Clearly, that hasn’t happened, and nor is it likely to happen with such a shortage of professional workers and skilled labourers in Australia.
Staff retention strategies are key
Accounting firms may need to do more to retain their staff in 2023 to create a culture that encourages people to stay in their job workplaces and avoid the high cost of staff turnover. The process of hiring and training new employees requires significant time, effort, and resources.
Staff retention strategies are important. While smaller accounting firms can’t always match the salaries being offered by bigger practices, there are other ways to keep staff on your books and to keep them satisfied. Offering a supportive work culture is very important and that may include listening to and engaging with your staff more. This may be easier for smaller firms who can often create personal connections with staff more easily than larger firms.
Other important strategies may include offering learning and development opportunities. This is a key area where many employers need to improve. Employers should offer training and development opportunities to ensure accountants acquires the necessary skills to do their job and keep up with new professional developments. LinkedIn research shows that 94% of employees said they would stay at a company longer if they were offered more learning opportunities. Investing in staff can have real payback for employers.
Diversity too is important. If your workplace only rewards a person of a particular type, but excludes others, staff that don’t feel included may walk away. Flexible work arrangements are also important, especially for women. While that doesn't necessarily mean allowing employees to WFH full time, employers should allow their employees to WFH at least part of the time because they have become accustomed to it and realise the benefits. Workers who feel their employers offer enough flexible options are 2.6 times more likely to report being happy in their jobs and 2.1 times more likely to recommend working for the company, according to LinkedIn. So, the goodwill works both ways.
If you don’t keep your accounting staff satisfied and motivated, you’re going to find it tough to hang on to them. Frequent turnover disrupts the continuity of a business’s operations. Each time an accountant leaves, there is a gap in the workforce that needs to be filled, resulting in decreased productivity until a replacement is found and fully trained. Investing in your key resource, your people, can avoid a lot of pain and financial cost later.
Kris Grant, chief executive, APSL
