The accounting profession is facing a resource issue — a human resource issue. With baby boomers reaching retirement age and fewer accounting graduates choosing to enter public accounting, the pool of talent available to CPA firms is shrinking at both ends.
That dynamic heightens the importance of the midcareer professionals at each firm, but two Hinge Research Institute studies suggest these accountants are unhappy in their current jobs and among the most likely professional service providers to be considering a job change. With the value of these employees at a premium, firms that want to retain them (and to attract those who are unhappy elsewhere) should be asking what’s driving the dissatisfaction in this group and how to improve retention of these key employees and attract new ones.
CPAs and the Great Resignation
As recently as February 2022, 6.1 million Americans quit their jobs in just one month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the highest number of resignations, over 20%, occurred among individuals between the ages of 30-45. Hinge surveyed over 280 professionals in mid-career, senior level and executive positions to produce Navigating the Mid-Career Talent Crisis—A Report for the Professional Services. Some of the answers in that report led to additional questions about the impact of firm culture on retention, which Hinge examined more closely in a second report, Culture Clash: The Employee Experience Problem and How to Fix It.
It’s not about the money
In the midcareer talent crisis study, over three-quarters of those surveyed stated they were leaving their jobs out of frustration with firm leadership. Almost as many, 72.4%, stated they were looking for a better company culture. By comparison fewer than half of those surveyed, only 44.8%, cited a desire for a higher salary.
Among those midcareer respondents who gave their company culture low ratings, 94% of them pointed to a lack of comfort sharing thoughts with leadership as a detractor from the current culture, and 90% felt they were not able to perform fulfilling and engaging work. Issues like transparency in leadership and a clear path to promotion also weighed heavily against the culture for those that were unhappy. Salary and vacation concerns were the least cited culture issue on the list.
Senior executives don’t recognize culture concerns
Perhaps one of the most telling pieces of data revealed in the two reports is the difference in ratings of firm culture between midcareer professionals and senior executives found in the culture clash study.
Only 10% of the senior executives surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with firm culture, while almost half the midcareer respondents had a negative reaction. The percentage of senior executives satisfied with current culture (44.8%) is almost as high as the percentage of midcareer professionals who are dissatisfied with it (48.1%). It’s easy to see how this issue could drive midcareer professionals to look elsewhere when the very thing that they view as a key negative in their current workplace is given a positive rating by the senior leadership.
Culture improvements don’t have to be expensive
The culture clash report takes a closer look at the factors cited most frequently by those who are satisfied with their employer’s current culture. At the top of the list, employees are happy they can see a clear path to promotion, and their leaders are transparent about management of the firm. Happy employees also cited adequate training as a positive component of a healthy firm culture. The first two of these components can be implemented with relatively little cost, and improved training can certainly pay dividends in better performance as well as employee job satisfaction.
Other specific activities that can improve company culture include in-person work-related social events; diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and mental health days. This list again points up the difference in views between senior executives and midcareer professionals.
More than a third of the midcareer professionals surveyed listed mental health days as a way to improve company culture, while fewer than 10% of the senior executives thought they would help. Midcareer employees also place a higher cultural value on DEI programs, employee shoutouts and feedback portals than their counterparts among the senior executives.
Smaller firms got better results
One factor that seemed to help with company culture concerns was the size of the business. Employees at companies with fewer than 50 full-time employees were more than twice as likely to be satisfied with company culture (35.1%) than those at companies with more than 500 FTEs.
That may seem counterintuitive when pay and benefits are likely to be better at the larger companies, but it actually dovetails nicely with results elsewhere in the survey that indicate employees are more satisfied when they have clearer channels to managers and senior executives. Also, it’s an important concern to remember at a time when so many firms are growing through acquisition and combination. Sudden changes in size and management structure can have a significant impact on employee satisfaction, especially among the midcareer group.
Winning over the midcareer employees
The studies show that midcareer professionals are some of the most likely employees to be considering a job change, but they also show that steps to make a firm more attractive don’t have to be expensive. Once senior executives and leadership understand the issues, they can take steps to improve communication and increase transparency in ways that make the culture more attractive to those considering an exit.
