Attracting and retaining young talent is key for businesses that wish to continue to grow. This is particularly true for the finance sector. Young finance professionals are seeking companies that can demonstrate they value their talent and want to help them develop their careers further.
Innovative businesses are embracing young talent by seeking out new development, training and progressive opportunities for them.
Since the pandemic, flexible working patterns have been developed by businesses. Due to this, employees have higher expectations of their workplaces. One of these expectations is the need to feel as though the company values them and wants to help them develop their career. Gen Z employees in particular are seeking career progression opportunities from their workplace.
For accounting firms to be successful in retaining young talent, they need to give their employees an opportunity to grow with the business and meet individual career goals.
The best firms will include their talent’s goals during a supportive progressive career development process within the company. This helps their staff to feel valued whilst contributing to the success of the finance company and developing their career on top of this.
There are a few ways in which accounting firms can provide career-progressive opportunities for their employees. What is important is that whatever method of career growth the accounting firm chooses for the employee, needs to be communicated clearly so that the employee is aware of what they need to do to help their career thrive and to meet their goals.
Management engagement is critical for the success of retaining young finance talent. A company where clear career growth paths are outlined as well as development opportunities will work best when management is engaged. The most successful accounting firms can demonstrate that their management communicates clearly and works well with team members to reach their goals.
Management at accounting firms need to provide support to their employees and listen to any challenges they are faced with during their career progression. Without this support, employees may struggle as they feel out of their depth.
One aspect that many finance professionals tend to struggle with is the people management side of their role. This tends to happen because technically proficient employees do not also carry the soft skills needed for people management. This is why it is important for accounting firms to offer support and coaching to guide their employees along the people management side of things.
Final Thoughts
Providing a coaching-based workplace environment is a critical aspect of allowing clear career development paths for young talent in finance. To attract and retain young and talented finance professionals, businesses need to implement a culture of working toward career goals, support, coaching, and defined progression.
If you’re seeking expert guidance on attracting and retaining a young and emerging workforce, don’t hesitate to reach out!