Does your company have open finance/accounting positions which are taking longer to fill than you had projected? Leaving finance and accounting roles open for too long can cause headaches for your organization.
The reality is each company has different thresholds for hiring talent. Some companies just want to hire great people and weigh culture fit heavier than specific skill sets. Others prioritize the experience and skill set of a candidate and worry less about the rest.
Whatever your strategy is it’s important to keep in mind that today’s hiring market is incredibly competitive. With unemployment down and vacant job inventory up, businesses need to have an increased sense of urgency when it comes to hiring if they want to attract and retain the best talent.
Failing companies should come up with a strategic plan/approach to hiring and be open-minded with their hiring criteria when the market dictates it. Failing to follow-up with candidates who have applied for jobs for extended periods of time between interviews or lack of follow-up after interviews can each damage a company’s reputation, leave job seekers frustrated and impact the company’s ability to hire the right candidates during critical times.
When finance and accounting jobs go unfilled it can hurt a company in many ways, including:
1. OTHER EMPLOYEES BECOME OVERWORKED
Leaving roles open may save on salary but at what cost? It’s not worth burning out your employees who now must take on additional work to cover for the unfilled role.
2. DEADLINES WON’T BE MET
Many employees are already at full capacity in their workflow. By taking on additional work to compensate for the vacant position, projects will take longer to complete and deadlines will be missed.
3. QUALITY OF WORK SUFFERS
With an increased workload, current employees will feel pressured to rush through their projects and race to meet unrealistic deadlines. Typically, the faster someone works, the lower quality the work becomes.
4. REPUTATION DAMAGED
Public perception is everything. If job seekers see a flawed hiring process, they will certainly talk, and the reputation of the company from both the employees and job seeker perspective can be damaged.
5. APPEAR UNORGANIZED
Candidates will turn down jobs based on the interview process alone. You don’t want to lose good candidates because of a slow or unorganized hiring process.
6. CURRENT STAFF MAY LEAVE THE COMPANY
If your staffers are burnt out, or any of the above situations become the norm rather than the exception, current team members will notice and start seeking new jobs.
7. TEAM MORALE SUFFERS
If a company doesn’t show they are invested in filling open roles, team morale suffers, work quality suffers, and in time, the company suffers.
These are some of the scenarios that develop when companies leave finance and accounting roles open for too long. Don’t let this happen to your company.
Don’t let your vacant job sit open. Contact Atlantic Group Professional Consultants today.
Meet the Author and Team:
Steven Mickus, Partner
Atlantic Group
100 N. 20th Street, Suite 203 | Philadelphia, PA 19103
Direct: 267.314.7102 | Email: smickus@atlantic-grp.com