20 Days to a Better Firm: Top tips for recruiting and retention

November 11, 2022 9:00 AM

One of the key trends that has emerged over the course of the 15 years that Accounting Today has published its Best Firms to Work For lists is the fact that there is no one single thing that makes a workplace of choice. Rather, it's a combination of a host of employee benefits, HR policies, culture elements, managerial attitudes and more.

Where once a firm might have stood out for having a strong focus on work-life balance, or for paying above-average compensation, or for developing their staff into highly regarded experts, now they have to do all of that — and much more. A look across the 2022 Best Firms to Work For shows that they are firing on all cylinders when it comes to making themselves attractive to staff, drawing on a wide range of tactics and strategies that look much the same from firm to firm.

With that in mind, for the final day in our 20 Days to a Better Firm series, we've put them all in one place, so you can see at a glance what it takes to be a Best Firm to Work For.

Day 1: Know the table stakes

Being unique is important, but so is covering the basics. The top workplaces all pay very competitive salaries, for instance, and place a strong emphasis on work-life balance. Most have "Dress for Your Day" policies and offer staff plenty of opportunities to get together outside of work for lunches, dinners, fun outings and group activities.

And they all offer an enormous amount of food to their employees, from snacks right on up to full and regular meals.

See Day 1.

Day 2: Recognize them

2022 Best Firms - De La Hoz Perez & Barbeito

Money is great, but praise is pretty powerful, too, and the Best Firms create lots of opportunities for managers and partners to recognize — and often reward — those who go above and beyond. What's more, they also give employees a chance to call out their colleagues, to highlight the contributions that managers often don't see.

See Day 2.

Day 3: Don't be annoying

Often, being a top workplace is as much about what you don't do as what you do. Stop requiring business attire all the time, and trust staff to dress appropriately. Get rid of jerk clients. Come up with more reasonable busy-season work expectations. If it's annoying to staff and you don't absolutely have to do it, stop.

See Day 3.

Day 4: Go hybrid

Accounting firms across the country went virtual in March and April of 2020, and many of their employees liked it. As the pandemic wanes, many firm leaders want to recall everyone to the office — but that's going to irk a significant portion of their staff. Better to give staff the option to work where they want — in the office, at home or some mix of the two — rather than trying to force someone into an environment they don't like, particularly when they have lots of options to go somewhere else.

See Day 4.

Day 5: Help with the CPA exam

2022 Best Firms - GMS Surgent CPAs & Advisors

The number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam is nowhere near high enough, and one of the biggest reasons for that is that young accountants are getting encouraged by their firms to take the test. The Best Firms make a regular practice of helping young staff out with the costs of exam preparation and test fees, and arranging their schedules so they have time to study.

See Day 5.

Day 6: Look after their wellbeing

Wellness initiatives are common at the Best Firms to Work For, and the benefits are multiple: Fewer sick days, happier employees, and, sometimes, lower health insurance costs. Step challenges, in-office flu shots, rewarding the attainment of health goals, giving staff money to spend on wellness-related purchases, and bringing in speakers or educational resources for healthy eating and the like are just some of the ways firms are looking after their employees.

See Day 6.

Day 7: Focus on mental health

Between tax season, constant client demands and a never-ending stream of deadlines, accounting is a stressful enough occupation as it is. Throw in the pressures of the COVID pandemic, and it's no surprise that the Best Firms are looking for ways to help employees destress and avoid burnout. Providing medication apps and courses, offering stress reduction education, giving staff stigma-free access to mental health professionals, and making sure that they have the time to decompress — and that they take it — are all critical in maintaining employees' mental health.

See Day 7.

Day 8: Recognize long-time employees

2022 Best Firms - Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund

Given that one of firms' biggest staff-related challenges is retention, it only makes sense to honor and celebrate staff members who've been with a firm for a long time. Many of the Best Firms give out gifts at particularly important anniversaries, or hold celebratory lunches. And more and more of them are going even further, offering sabbaticals — several weeks of time off, most commonly after a person has been at a firm for five years, that allow long-tenured staff an uninterrupted break to relax, reflect, recharge or whatever they want.

See Day 8.

Day 9: Support community service

To their great credit, accounting firms have always given back to their communities in various ways. The Best Firms are putting a new spin on that by helping staff members give back in their own ways — both by matching donations, and by giving out PTO days for volunteering.

See Day 9.

Day 10: Give them more money

Competitive salaries are critical, but the Best Firms also find plenty of other ways to get money into employees' pockets, from profit-sharing and incentives for bringing in new clients, to bonuses for referring new employees, and more complicated structured incentive plans built around individual performance. No one ever turns down extra money, and the prospect of more is a powerful engagement tool.

See Day 10.

Day 11: Time is money, too

2022 Best Firms - Fair Anderson Langerman

If time is money, then another way to give staff more money is to give them more time off, and the Best Firms pursue this in a number of ways. Some do it by simply increasing the PTO days they offer, or adding more firmwide holidays to the list. Others make a point of closing the whole firm — often on Fridays during the summer, or in the week between Christmas and New Year's — so employees get the time off without worrying that their managers may think they're slacking. And a growing number have gone the route of giving staff unlimited PTO, so they can take as much time as they like, as long as they get their work done.

See Day 11.

Day 12: Clothe them

Free clothes — always with the firm logo prominently displayed — are a common perk at the Best Firms. Some expand it to the point that they have whole stores dedicated to firm merch, and give staff budgets to buy what they like.

See Day 12.

Day 13: Get them moving

As part of the focus on wellness in general, many firms put an emphasis on physical activities. Some sponsor firm teams in softball, soccer, kickball and the like, while others offer workout spaces in their offices. Anything that gets heart rates up is good for anyone living the sedentary life of the modern accountant.

See Day 13.

Day 14: Expand your idea of benefits

Most people's ideas of employee benefits don't go much further than the standard health, dental and life insurance, and maybe some kind of retirement plan. But the top workplaces in the profession are expanding the idea of benefits, adding things like expanded parental leave — a very popular bennie among the Best Firms this year — and pet insurance. But that's not all: Some will pick up and deliver your dry cleaning, arrange to have your car washed and even help you save money on real estate deals.

See Day 14.

Day 15: Empower them

2022 Best Firms -- Mahoney, Ulbrich, Christiansen, Russ

With more options available to them than ever before, young accountants are less and less willing to keep their heads down and pay their dues before they get a say in how things are done. And the Best Firms are acknowledging that, first off by seeking input on important decisions from all levels of staff. But they go beyond that, including them on committees and decision-making groups with actual power and a chance to make a difference.

See Day 15.

Day 16: Mentor and coach them

For a long while, the simple structure of accounting firms and their up-or-out career path obviated the need for young accountants to make much in the way of career decisions. But with the number of career paths available to them proliferating, the newer generations need guidance, and the Best Firms to Work for are giving them coaches and mentors to help them figure out where they want to go, and what they need to do to get there.

See Day 16.

Day 17: Keep them learning

A depth of educational and training programs is a key hallmark of the top workplaces in accounting. Besides internal training on everything from technical topics to business development, communication skills and management, they also offer access to outside learning programs — often around leadership.

See Day 17.

Day 18: Keep them in the loop

Chances to bring a firm together are common — the post-tax-season party, the summer outing, the holiday party and so on. But those are primarily about fun and creating bonds, while some of the Best Firms are making a point of bringing their staff together to discuss their current state and to plan their future, in "State of the Firm" meetings and the like. And a number of them have even expanded the traditional idea of the partner retreat to include everyone on staff, so they can all reflect on where the firm has been and have input on where it's going.

See Day 18.

Day 19: Try something new

Since so many firms are reading from the same playbook when it comes to attracting and keeping staff engaged, standing out requires innovation and the willingness to explore new ideas. Past innovations have included handing out Fitbits, bringing in puppies and kittens during tax season, stand-up desks and more; among the new ideas from the 2022 Best Firms are giving staff access the professional services that the firm offers, having everyone on staff start the day with 15 minutes of reading, and upending the employee review process.

See Day 19.