How to stand out from the crowd in a busy market. What is finance & accounting talent looking for in their next role?
Finding finance and accounting talent can sometimes feel like navigating a minefield. We find ourselves in one of the most competitive ‘wars for talent’, and candidates have more prerequisites than ever in their search for Bristol finance jobs. But don’t worry, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here are some of our top hiring hacks for attracting finance and accounting talent…
Define your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Company values should be more than company jargon that gets banded about, or phrases in a nice font on the wall. Your values sit at the very foundation of your company’s identity, leading to the formation of your mission and culture. Ultimately, your values define who you are and what you stand for – they are the reason why someone would want to work for you, and they are the reason why long-standing employees stay. Taking the time to define and describe your values, mission and culture will pay dividends when it comes to finding candidates who truly ‘fit’.
Build the Brief
Once you have a clear understanding and definition of who you are, you will be better positioned to understand who you’re looking for in a candidate. Equipped with the premise of the ‘perfect’ candidate in mind, you will be able to assess whether such a person exists! This is where flexibility comes into play because no candidate will ever be able to tick every single box on your list – instead, you need to narrow down what is ‘essential’ and what is ‘desirable’ and assess accordingly. Having a more flexible and broad brief ultimately widens the net, and opens you up to candidates you may otherwise have missed. Alongside creating your essentials and desirables, take the time to benchmark the salary you have in mind as well as the benefits you plan to offer – is the budget available, and is it realistic?
Know your Audience
You’ve widened the net but is the talent pool deep enough? Taking the time to map your audience on LinkedIn is one way to determine where your target market exists, as well as identify which media channels are most appropriate to reach them there. Understanding their needs and wants will enable you to cater your language and messaging to be concise, relevant, and most importantly – memorable to them.
Create a Compelling Campaign
Putting your EVP to use in the design of your campaign is a surefire way to stand out to the talent searching through all the Bristol finance jobs out there. Having a 2D job advert does not stand out or cut it anymore – the attention of today’s young talent will better be captured with creative videos and more dynamic campaigns that are targeted to their interests and values. This is another opportunity to lean on your network for referrals which you can guarantee are authentic and relevant. A word of caution on this point is to remain intentional with the agency you are using – a multi-agency race can affect quality and damage your ‘brand’; rather choose one agency that best fits with your values and trust them to successfully send out a message that is true to your identity as a company.
Plan your Process
You need to make sure the whole process is no longer than 2 weeks from the first interview to the offer, and you can plan this by working out when you want the candidate to start, and then work backwards, factoring in notice periods too. If you make sure to block out interview slots in all stakeholders’ diaries from the beginning, you can avoid delays – ensuring you move at pace in this market is vital; the risk of losing good candidates to other opportunities will become a reality otherwise.
Candidate Experience
Part of planning the process is ensuring the candidate’s experience is prioritised – the longer the process, the lower the candidate’s interest. Gen Z who are entering the workplace are accustomed to communication being instantaneous, and so you need to ensure that you meet that need by providing transparent and timely feedback wherever possible. Meeting this need and fulfilling their expectation of quick and honest feedback will ensure the candidate – even the unsuccessful one – feels valued at every point in the process.
Interview Technique
How you ‘sell’ yourself and your company during the interview stage is so important. Keeping things informal at the start, and then authentic as you progress will create trust and rapport. You are on sale as much as the candidate is, so never lose sight of that fact. Planning an opportunity to meet the team as part of the interview process, is a great way for someone to get a holistic feel for the culture, and assess whether they truly feel they ‘fit’ and their values align.
Offer Management
Low-balling rarely works these days, especially in this market and with the new talent that is coming through. Now is the time to be crystal clear on expectations and be prepared for counteroffers to come at you. You need to put your best foot forward when making an offer, and not be afraid to consider what other offers may be on the table. Authenticity and remaining consistent with your values and subsequent expectations will ensure you stand out from the other offers – while the new generation does have pay at the top of their priorities, just as important to them is whether that pay is coming from a company that understands them and their values. Demonstrating how much you meet those needs is important at all stages – even after acceptance. Make sure to stay close to them once they’ve accepted too – take them for lunch, meet the team, keep in touch; all these things are small gestures, but they speak volumes.
Onboarding
Gen Z was practically born with smartphones in their hands – they don’t know anything else! So, make sure that their tech and tools are ready from day one for them to do their job. If they are faced with equipment which can’t perform its basic function, they will see red flags straight away. As well as ensuring all tech and tools are ready, you would do well to ensure a training schedule is ready for them to see too. It’s not enough to simply write up a training schedule though – it needs to be followed through! Defining goals, expectations and the stops along the way to achieving them will ensure new starters feel confident and safe throughout the onboarding process. Buddying-up new starters with a more experienced colleague will also make them feel welcome and like they are part of the team right from the start.
Retention
Going back to the beginning when you defined your EVP – what is it that keeps your long-standing employees wanting to work for you? Ensuring your values remain front and centre always will keep you on track and your new starters engaged. Having regular catch-ups in the form of 121s will help you to understand their goals and aspirations, as well as identify areas in need of development. Fostering an inclusive culture that offers flexibility will see employees feeling valued, seen, and celebrated. Creating a safe space for people to have a voice, and then listening and responding accordingly will further demonstrate how much you support and value every one of your employees.
Here at Core 3, thanks to our relationships (and our data), we know exactly where to find the right talent. Our method to find your next hire not only aids your search for candidates, but we take a holistic approach that helps you build your team, brand and business too. For us it’s about the relationship, not the transaction.
