Tag: recruitment

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How to get your new starters up to speed faster

You’ve spent a great deal of time and energy in recruiting your perfect (you hope) employee but it will still take a while before they’re ‘up to speed’. Well, there are a few things that you can do to get them there faster. 

1.Onboarding. We use an onboarding checklist to make sure that new starters are welcomed on the first day with things like: 

  • Contract 
  • Confidentiality and ethics agreements 
  • Laptop and accessories 
  • Licences and log in details for all software 

If you’d like a copy of our full list just reply to this email 

2.Training. A lot of the software that we use, such as Xero and XeroTax, comes with training and certification so we have a list and links of what we need our new starter to complete in their first week/month 

3.Procedures manual. It’s a bit of a glorified word for our shared folder of procedures and checklists but everything is in one place to explain what and how we do things. Even qualified accountants from another firm don’t do things exactly the same way. 

4.Client information. Every client is different so we keep a few notes on each business so that a new client manager knows the basics. We update this each year as we complete the year end.  

Next week I’ll talk through how to handle toxic team members  

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How do you recruit the best team?

You may be expanding and creating a new role or it might be that somebody has left and you want to replace them.

  1. Start with the business needs. Even if you’re replacing an existing person it’s worth looking at what you will need in the future rather than what they were doing historically
  2. Write out the job description with essential and desirable skills.
  3. Look at your existing team. Is there anybody internally who can step up to that role? Internal promotions are a great motivator (but inviting new blood can keep the business fresh)
  4. How many hours do you need? There is a tendency to bundle everything into a full time role but, if you can be flexible, you will have a bigger candidate market. At Hudson Business Accountants and Advisers we had a very high calibre of staff which I put down to offering part time work which suited many parents, experienced semi-retired people, or those starting their own business.
  5. Where will they be based? The more flexibility you can give the more choice you will have. At Minerva Accountants we operate 100% remotely so we attract good people.
  6. Do you want to use a recruitment agency? A good recruiter can save you a lot of time but there are many that don’t seem to add any value in the process and you may be better off putting an advert in the local paper and/or Indeed.com or similar.
  7. Have a clear application process and a deadline.
  8. I like to sort CVs into interview, unsuitable, and maybe. How well do they match your job description? As we are a small team it is important to have people who fit in well but I also want diversity of thought rather than people who will always agree with me even when I’m wrong.
  9. I like to hold all my interviews on the same day as it is easier to remember candidates and to compare them. Prepare a list of questions in advance but start with some simple things to break the ice.
  10. I make notes immediately after the interview.
  11. When we had premises I would always ask my receptionist what she thought as it gave me a second opinion and a better idea of how the applicant would interact with team mates as well as with ‘the boss’.
  12. I try to make an offer on the same day as the interviews so that we can move the process on quickly
  13. Once they fortunate applicant has accepted the role I notify all those who haven’t been successful. It might take your time but it’s only good manners.
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What recruitment crisis? 

On the one hand I hear people (accountants and other businesses) complaining about the lack of suitable recruits, on the other hand I see my kids’ clever school leaver friends working hard in short term jobs because they can’t find apprenticeships to launch their careers. 

I don’t know about other industries but in accountancy we have created our own crisis. We have a shortage of qualified, experienced accountants today because firms cut back on their training budgets a few years ago.  

Personally, I like taking on trainees as I can train them to do things the way I think they should be done. No ‘bad’ habits to unlearn from previous workplaces. And they’re usually pretty tech savvy to cope with our modern processes. 

In a relatively short time, you’ll have a fabulous employee, an excellent return for your investment of time and money, AND you’ll have made a positive contribution to somebody’s life (all my previous trainees are now in management positions and some on the cusp of partnership). For us their full-time availability during college holidays balances the additional time off required by our part timers who require additional time off with family at this time. 

If you’re really struggling the apprentice minimum wage is peanuts but hopefully you can afford a little more. 

So here are just a couple you might like to have working for you in the Bristol/Somerset area. 

One talented photographer looking for something that uses their analytical skills.* Currently doing pub work. 

One interested in tech/business looking for cyber security or similar. Currently stacking shelves. 

*I’m currently looking for 21 new clients to cover one trainee salary. Happy to accept referrals for coaching and/or company accounts. If you can offer a suitable job before I can then there are plenty more school leavers for me to recruit (I just happen to know these two) 

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Recruiting the best

I like to recruit people who are better than me. But there is a shortage of accountants (and other STEM careers) at the moment.

Fortunately I also like to recruit non-accountants and to train them up. I particularly look for people with customer service experience who can look after our lovely clients while we use software to run things as efficiently as possible behind the scenes. This suits our tech savvy clients.

The downside of running a modern business is that we do things very differently to most traditional accountants so it is often easier to train somebody from scratch than to persuade them to unlearn bad habits acquired elsewhere.

I like to do careers talks or interview practice in local schools so that I get an early glimpse of the new talent about to hit the workplace. One of my trainees came to me for work experience as a 17 year old and is now a manager in another local accountancy firm. And I expect they’ll go further.

If you are looking for a general manager to free you up to develop your business you could try looking at retail managers. They have a broad range of skills and could soon learn about your particular business and sector.

When it comes to recruitment try thinking outside the box.

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Recruiting and retaining your team

There is a skills shortage in most industries at the moment, so it is more important than ever to look after your team. 

Ways that you can help your people to enjoy working with you 

  • Salary – this is an obvious one, but people rarely leave just for salary 
  • Flexible working – what hours would suit them? Do they really have to work full time office hours? 
  • Remote or hybrid working – where would they like to work? With modern technology do they have to travel to a single location to do their work?  
  • Workplace – if your team do come into a central workplace how can you make it nicer? 
  • Listen – do your team feel able to talk to you? Do you operate annual (or more frequent) appraisals? 
  • Training – this can be a great way to invest in your team to do their current job better or even to take on more responsibility 
  • Promotion – can you offer career progression for your team? It’s not always possible in small businesses but worth trying to expand their roles if possible 
  • Gifts – you can give your staff small gifts and experiences (but not cash or similar vouchers) for up to £50 six times per year and claim the tax on these. (Do check the full details of what you can and can’t provide) 
  • Entertaining – you can provide entertaining of up to £150pa as a business expense but any more than this and you pay tax on the full amount. 

Any other ways that you look after your team? 

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When a staff member leaves

If you’re fortunate to have a brilliant team it can be quite hard when a member of staff leaves. 

Assuming that they’re leaving for the right reasons and that you’ve already wished them well, what can you do for your own business?

Treat this as an opportunity to reorganise your own business. 

  • Don’t just recycle the original job ad but draw up the organisation chart that you need for the next three years based on necessary skills/tasks, not people.
  • Add in the names of your existing team and note any additional training needs they may have for additional skills etc. in their new/enhanced roles.
  • Draw up job descriptions for any gaps that can’t be filled by your existing team. This may mean that you now have two part time roles requiring completely different skillsets.

Recruiting isn’t always straightforward.

I’ve had a scenario when I was wasn’t able to recruit exactly the right replacement so what did we do?

We took on somebody with less experience who would grow into the role and dropped all of our D clients immediately to reduce the workload. (see ‘D is for Dross’ on how to do this D is for dross – Hudson Business Advice)

The new recruit flourished and far exceeded expectations. The salary saving almost offset the lost profit on clients who weren’t well suited to our practice. As our newbie gained experience we ended up with a streamlined business even better than before.

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