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Get ahead of the ‘great resignation’

Chair's Message

Katie Gabriel, CPA | September 2021 Footnote

Editor's note: Updated August 30, 2021

Headlines everywhere are prognosticating this perfect storm in the talent market, labeling it the great resignation.

The pandemic has created an opportunity for people to reflect on their lives in a more meaningful way than many may have in some time, and, by extension, it’s created the space to consider some big life changes. Among those are changing career direction, moving out of state or relocating within state and embarking on a new lifestyle, such as selling all your possessions and moving into an RV to see the country. In short, some are following their passions more than paychecks.

There is also pent-up demand from people who chose not to make job changes with the uncertainty of the job market during the pandemic; there are many who left the workforce all together to serve in a caretaking role during the pandemic. There are also people who do not like the return-to-office plan from their respective companies and are looking for opportunities that better fit their desire for flexibility.

Layer in a strong market with increased M&A activity, an increased global volume of IPOs and companies making large investments in enterprisewide project initiatives, and the demand for strong accounting and finance talent feels like it is at an all-time high. There are also signs of a baby surge resulting in talent shortages during the various parental leaves, and many organizations are becoming more competitive in offering more robust benefits for parental leave.

Many have felt stretched too thin with the increase workload that the pandemic created. Firms and companies can’t hire quickly enough. There is competition for talent on a national basis with more remote-work options. What are we to do? There is no magic solution, and surely you cannot protect your organization from having turnover. Some turnover is indeed healthy. Here are some thoughts:
  • Take great care of your employees. It’s far easier to retain someone than to bring someone in new. Most people leave their boss, not their company. Make sure that you’re investing in your managers and training them to be strong managers beyond having the technical skills to perform at that level.
  • Listen to your employees — really listen. When they are brave enough to step up and share feedback and suggestions for improvement, take that to heart, implement what you can and give them credit.
  • Find a way to offer flexibility. Your competition will if you don’t.
  • Step in and help when people are showing signs of burnout. Most understand there are peaks to the hours worked in our profession, but many are not interested in working a sustained 60-plus-hour workweek year-round. As people turnover, the workload only increases; leverage consultants and consider having an additional headcount for a utility player to cover the extra workload to backfill for those tied to special projects or covering leaves. Take a look at your priorities and focus on the essentials, scaling back on the less critical areas where possible.
  • Don’t wait until the exit interview to get feedback. Open the dialog, understand the career goals of your staff, help advocate and advance their careers. Listen for themes of feedback from your staff and make necessary changes.
  • Keep the relationship strong when it is time for an employee to go. Sometimes, people return in a different role in the future or refer other people into your organization.
Recruiting is a topic for another day. It’s a good time to be a CPA!

Sincerely,
Katie Gabriel, CPA

Chair, MNCPA board of directors
boardchair@mncpa.org