Why Partnering with an Accounting Staffing Agency Boosts Hiring Efficiency

Are you having trouble staffing your accounting roles? If so, you are not alone. A persistent labor shortage, coupled with the unique requirements of most accounting positions, can make hiring for these jobs a real challenge. When you partner with an accounting staffing agency, though, you can boost your hiring efficiency and fill these roles more quickly.

The Challenges of Hiring for Accounting Roles

Hiring for accounting positions has several unique challenges due to the specific nature of these roles. These include:

• Time-Consuming Process: When you conduct your own hiring, you’ll have to go through a series of steps. Writing and placing job ads, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and managing onboarding all take time and effort. If you don’t have a large HR staff, competing priorities can make the process even longer and more drawn-out.
• High Demand for Skilled Accountants: The job market overall is incredibly competitive. Financial professionals such as accountants are in particularly high demand. You’ll need to find ways to stand out from your competition in order to attract and retain top talent.
• Specialized Skills Needed: Some positions can offer on-the-job training, but financial careers aren’t among them. Accounting roles require specialized skills and expertise in niche areas such as taxes, auditing, and financial reporting. Financial professionals also need a deep understanding of the relevant laws and regulations and, in many cases, one or more degrees and/or certifications.

How an Accounting Staffing Agency Streamlines the Hiring Process

Accounting staffing services have policies and procedures in place to vastly streamline the hiring process. Examples include:

• Pre-Screened Candidates: With a strong understanding of the accounting industry, we know exactly what each type of role requires from a successful candidate. We also take the time to sit down with you and learn about your organization, which allows us to find the right cultural fit. We thoroughly screen and vet all of our candidates, presenting you with high-quality candidates who are ready to go on Day One.
• Access to a Larger Talent Pool: Do you need to fill a highly specialized role? Not only do we maintain an updated roster of top talent, but we also have deep roots in the local community. We know how to source and recruit candidates for even the most complex accounting or financial services positions.
• Faster Time-to-Hire: When time is of the essence for you to hire an accountant, staffing agency professionals can get the right person through your door quickly. Recruiting and hiring are our core services, and we are constantly refining our processes. We understand both the art and the science of hiring, allowing us to continually speed up our average time-to-hire.

Specialized Expertise in Accounting Roles

Hiring an accounting professional can be particularly challenging if you don’t happen to be a financial services expert yourself. Accounting staffing services have the specialized expertise you need to make the right match.

• Industry Knowledge and Insight: Accounting roles are highly technical and often quite nuanced. When you work with a dedicated accounting recruiter, you’ll gain the industry insight you need to determine whether a candidate has the right skills and background to succeed.
• Filling Niche Positions: Do you need an auditor, a financial analyst, a tax specialist, or some other highly niche professional? Then you need a partner who knows where to source top talent in these specific areas, as well as the ability to accurately assess candidates for these roles.
• Keeping Up with Industry Trends: The accounting industry changes rapidly. Today’s hot new software may be entirely passe tomorrow. Regulations can be byzantine and are frequently tweaked. Even the required certifications can change on a dime. Partnering with an accounting staffing agency can help keep you up-to-date and ensure that you remain in compliance.

Reducing the Risk of a Bad Hire

Bad hires are expensive. At best, you’ll have to eat the costs of recruiting, hiring, and onboarding a replacement. But a truly bad hire can actually wreak havoc on your entire operation. From lower companywide morale to lost clients and reputational damage, bad hires are a real concern for any company. When the bad hire is in an accounting role, the risks are even higher. Partnering with a dedicated accounting staffing agency can help to protect you in three important ways:

• Thorough Screening and Assessments: We thoroughly assess each candidate’s technical skills and competencies, as well as their background and experience. We won’t present you with any prospect who hasn’t passed our rigorous screening and vetting process.
• Temporary-to-Permanent Placements: Temporary-to-permanent placements are an excellent way for you to further assess potential new hires. We’ll send you someone on a temporary contract with the option to convert. At the end of the contract, you can decide whether to onboard the person as a permanent hire. If not, you can simply allow the contract to expire. Think of it as an extended working interview!
• Ensuring Cultural Fit: We pride ourselves on our expert matchmaking abilities between companies and candidates. That’s why we’ll get to know your company as a whole, particularly your values and work culture. Then we’ll match you with candidates who are just the right fit.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Using an Accounting Staffing Agency

Did you know that accounting staffing services can actually save you money throughout your hiring process? Here are just a few ways we can help reduce expenses.

• Lower Recruitment Costs: When you conduct the hiring process yourself, you’ll have to spend money at every stage of the process, from placing job ads to vetting candidates to onboarding. When it’s time to hire the next person, you’ll incur those same costs all over again. Partnering with a dedicated accounting staffing agency means that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. As new roles open, all you’ll need to do is let us know. We’ll utilize our existing resources to bring the right candidates through your door.
• Reducing Overtime and Productivity Losses: It’s tough for any company to maintain productivity when roles remain open. If you’re down your only accountant, it can be tough to get much done at all. If you do have team members who can cover the gap, you’ll likely have to pay overtime as they struggle to complete all the work. This also increases the risk of burnout. Over time, you could experience sinking morale, resignations, and even physical and mental health concerns. Partnering with a staffing agency helps you hire more quickly, reducing these risks and maintaining productivity.
• Avoiding Costly Hiring Mistakes: As mentioned above, the costs of a bad hire can be devastating. We can help to reduce those risks by finding someone who is truly the right fit for each role.

Why an Accounting Staffing Agency is Key to Hiring Success

Partnering with an accounting staffing agency is a smart move to boost your hiring success. From speeding up the time-to-hire through lowering your financial and reputational risks, we have the skills and expertise you need. Recruiting and hiring accountants and other financial services professionals is our core business. Outsourcing those tasks frees you up to focus on your own core business, while saving you both time and money.

Partner With IHC Today!

Integrated Human Capital, or IHC, s a proud minority- and woman-owned company founded in 2002. We believe in the power of people, and we’ve placed thousands of workers across Texas, the United States, and Mexico. We’re partnered with businesses of all sizes, from small startups to Fortune 500 companies. If you’re ready to get started with a top accounting staffing agency, contact us today!