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18 October 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com FEATURE I n a R ober t Ha l f su r vey, ch ief fnancial ofcers agreed inadequate salary and benefts is the top reason employees quit. Separate research found that in just the past year one in four fnancial executives had lost a good employee to a company that paid more. W hen you keep your top talent satisfed with their salaries, clients are happier — and your frm is more productive and successful. Here are tips to consider regarding raises and employee retention. Regular salary review If you can't remember the last time y o u r e v i e w e d y o u r e m p l o y e e s ' compensation, it's been too long. You r s t a f f me m b e r s k now w h at they're worth and what the local job market is paying, and so should you. At least once a year, benchmark your frm's salaries and benefts against what ot her f i r ms a nd compa n ies — i .e., you r compet it ion for top performers — ofer. Fortunately, there are a number of helpful tools available. Te Salary Guide from Robert Half is an excel- lent resource, and you can use our Sa la r y Ca lc u lator to loca l ize t he s a l a r y r a n g e s . O t h e r v a l u a b l e research includes the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Out- look Handbook a nd repor ts f rom industry associations. If afer reviewing these tools you f i nd you r supersta rs' sa la r ies a re near the low end, raises are likely in order — and soon. Attractive raises P rof e s s ion a l s mov i n g f rom one company to another ofen receive signifcant salary jumps today. Rest assured, your employees know this, so you'll need to proactively reward them to entice them to stay on at your frm. Te situation is especially chal- l e n g i n g i n a c c o u n t i n g , w h e r e dema nd a nd ta lent shor tages a re combining to drive up compensa- t ion. Unemploy ment for accoun- tants and auditors remains below the n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e , w h i l e s a l a r y grow th is outpacing infation and cost-of-living adjustments. If you can't aford across-the-board raises, focus on your most talented and hardest-to-replace employees. Bump up their salaries until they're in the higher end of the spectrum. It's no longer enough to just be competi- tive with compensation. Alternatives to higher salaries W hether or not you can of fer top salaries, there are steps your frm can — and should — take to hang on to your brightest stars, including: • Show a commitment to internal progression. Recent research by Accountemps shows promotions are the number-one strategy for talent retention, a tactic used by 63 percent of executives surveyed. Your frm's succession planning probably already calls for developing and promoting the best talent, and employees will be enthusiast ic i f they know such opportunities are available. During annual reviews, include a discussion of in-house career paths. • Be proactive in assessing staff satisfaction. Te best way to fnd out whether your workers are happy is to ask them. For instance, tr y stay i nter v i ew s , w h i c h are l i ke e x i t interviews — but before an employee has resigned. You can also conduct sur veys (giv ing respondents the option to remain anonymous), as well as regular one-on-one check-ins. Let workers know you have an open-door p o l i c y a n d c a r e a b o u t t h e i r professional trajectory. • Use time as an employee perk . Flexible working is one of the most cost-efective ways of rewarding staf. By allowing people to telecommute, work fexible hours, earn additional paid time of or switch to a four-day workweek, you make it easier for them to balance their professional and personal commitments. Such latitude is always welcome and ofen still has a monetar y value for staff — by reducing childcare and transportation costs, for example. Tere is stif competition for tal- e nt e d a c c ou nt a nt s , w it h p u bl ic accou nt i ng f i r ms a nd busi nesses v ying for the same small pool of in- demand professionals. Don't take chances that your best auditors and tax accountants will stay when their wages are subpar. A re your accounting staf members satisfed with their salaries? You might think so, right up to the moment your most productive team members hand in resigna- tion leters. Paul McDonald is senior executive director with Robert Half, the world's frst and largest specialized stafng frm. Over the course of his 30-year career with the company, he has spoken extensively on employment and management issues based on his work with thousands of companies and job seekers. What Public Accounting Firms Need to Know About Updating Salaries and Giving Raises By Paul McDonald