Talent is your firm’s greatest asset but can also be its biggest risk. In a highly competitive recruitment market, SMPs often struggle to attract the talent they need. The Big Four dominate the university recruitment market, while SMPs have a lower profile and less to spend.

Even so, SMPs have much to offer anyone looking for an exciting and varied career in accountancy, including the opportunity to work closely with entrepreneurial businesses, greater responsibility from an early stage, and a more informal work environment.  Working for an SMP can be varied and satisfying – so how can SMPs get this message across to prospective recruits? 

The panel set out a range of advice for smaller firms, including effective ways of highlighting your practice as an attractive place to work, and strategies that encourage retention. 

Invest in your employer brand

A strong employer brand is essential in such a competitive recruitment environment. In fact, the employer brand and client brand should be seen as equally important, because what makes a firm attractive to clients will also make it attractive to talent, and vice versa.   

A strong employer brand sets a firm apart from its competitors. The core elements include:

• An open and transparent culture
• Opportunities for its people to learn and develop their skills and experience
• Ambitions for growth, which suggest that there are good opportunities for career progression
• An engaging story of where the firm has come from, what it stands for, and where it wants to go
• Commitment to ESG – because younger generations in particular want to work for an organisation whose values they can respect.

An obvious place to start telling this story is the corporate website, which should showcase the firm’s personality as much as its technical prowess.

Recruitment tips

Differentiating from competitors means showing that the firm has a clear personality and is an engaging place to work – but more work will need to be done to place the firm in the eyeline of good candidates. 

Firms no longer need to rely on recruitment consultants for their talent needs – there are many options available in the hyperconnected world that can be effective for a fraction of the cost, such as:

• Social media. Firms with a strong social media profile tend to receive direct approaches from people who want to work with them. Active and engaging accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn and other channels – focusing on team activities and charity challenges, for example – can showcase the firm as a great place to work 
• Referral schemes, which offer a bonus for introducing someone who is subsequently hired by the firm. This can have an added benefit because like tends to attract like; someone introduced by a staff member is more likely to fit into the firm’s culture.
• Strong relationships with staff, even if they leave. Word of mouth is powerful – if someone was unhappy, they will tell others (or worse, post their views on social media), while former employees can be great advocates. 

Development and training

Opportunities for learning and development are an essential recruitment and retention tool for accountancy firms. Without the big budgets of large firms, SMPs have historically been at a disadvantage – until the internet opened a door to a huge resource of cost-effective (and often free) learning opportunities, from TED Talks to MOOCs. 

SMPs can enhance their development and training still further with these tips:

• Create a structure around training. A well-defined development and leadership programmes will help to communicate its value and benefits. This might mean, for example, that employees must actively apply for a programme, and that it has a clear timeline and defined outputs. 
• Remember that one size does not fit all. Not everyone wants to progress quickly along a career ladder but that does not make them less valuable to the firm. Training and development should be tailored to the individual, their circumstances and needs. 
• Add variety. Not everyone learns in the same way. While classroom learning will always be important for some topics, a wide variety of learning techniques, from flexible online modules to gamification, are readily available. Create an attractive mix of structured and unstructured learning opportunities that will suit everyone.
• Encourage honest feedback. The annual appraisal process can create resentment and is not always helpful. There are software options available as an alternative, such as Clear View, that encourage regular and open communication between managers and teams.

Finally, look after your people

The panel has extensive experience of recruitment in firms of all sizes but there was one message that was consistently raised – the importance of looking after your people. Happy people create an engaging workplace where others will want to work. Make sure your people feel listened to, and able to talk without feeling judged. Recognise their achievements. And understand what they need.