Employers: Act now or lose your finance staff

Media release 1 May 2007

Employers warned: Act now or lose your finance staff

Employers need to act now to stop the financial sector skills shortage getting even worse, says a leading recruitment consultant.

Kim Smith, division director of Robert Half Finance & Accounting says her company’s 2007 Auckland Salary Guide, released today, shows employees are increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs and more than half of them are looking to move - many of them overseas.

Unlike previous years, this dissatisfaction is not just at junior levels, but extends all the way up to CFO level.

For example, of the 4,672 finance and accounting professionals surveyed, 67% of payroll clerks said they were very dissatisfied, dissatisfied or neutral about their pay and conditions, with only 33% satisfied and none very satisfied. Among auditors, 62% were unhappy or neutral, with only 35% satisfied and a tiny 4% very satisfied.

In half of the 16 finance and accounting designations listed, less than half of the respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their pay and benefits.

“But that tells only part of the story,” says Ms Smith. “More worrying is the decrease over past year in the number who are satisfied. Our research shows job satisfaction is falling at an alarming rate.”

The proportion of satisfied or very satisfied financial controllers fell by 11 percentage points compared with last year and satisfaction in business advisory services fell by 17 percentage points. In total, satisfaction ratings fell in half of the 16 job categories and increased in only five.

“The really frightening result is the increase in the number of people who feel they need to switch jobs to gain more bargaining power when trying to improve their pay and conditions,” says Ms Smith.

For example 73% of business analysts felt this was the best way to improve their position, up 18 percentage points on last year; 63% of accounts payable/receivable managers agreed (up 24); and even 44% of CFOs felt this was the best way to strengthen their hand, up 18 percentage points on last year.

As a result, 53% of respondents were either actively seeking a new job or thinking about seeking a new job.

“Employers need to talk to their staff - across all levels - before they start talking to other companies,” says Ms Smith. “They must ensure skilled staff can get what they want within the company, or those employees will leave.

“Skilled financial employees are in the enviable position of having choice, while Robert Half’s recent Financial Hiring Index shows New Zealand employers don’t necessarily have the same choice, with 51% of them saying their biggest staffing shortage was in the accountancy area. Globally, only 27% of companies face the same shortage.”

One reason for New Zealand’s acute skills shortage is that many dissatisfied employees go overseas. The 2007 Auckland Salary Survey revealed 28% of respondents intended to leave New Zealand in the next five years, most of them heading for Australia.

“This can’t be dismissed as just young people planning their OE,” says Ms Smith. “Less than half of those intending to go overseas are under the age of 35 - most of them are skilled, experienced and mature finance professionals.”

But the annual survey also gave pointers to employers wanting to keep their skilled staff. When asked what the most important tangible benefit from their job was, 35% of employees said it was their bonus, putting it in first place again.

The big mover this year was the second-rated tangible benefit, superannuation, which was up 12 percentage points on last year.

“With all the publicity surrounding retirement savings and KiwiSaver, this is becoming a hot topic for employees,” says Ms Smith. “Employers who are willing to contribute to retirement savings schemes will have a distinct advantage in retaining skilled staff.”

There was also a significant change in what employees rated as the intangible benefit that would most influence them in changing jobs. Work-life balance still scored top spot, with 31% of respondents saying this was most important, but that was down 11 percentage points on last year.

The big change was in second place. For the first time in the Robert Half’s NZ Salary Survey, employees were offered “Organisational culture” as an influence when choosing between jobs, and 18% said it would be top of their list. Another new survey choice, “Employer brand” scored highest for 6% of employees.

“When you add these two together, you get almost one in four employees saying a company’s culture, working environment and status play a major part in their decision to accept a new job or remain in their existing one,” says Ms Smith.

“Employers really need to pay attention to this area if they want to keep their staff and attract more skilled professionals to work for them.”

The 2007 Robert Half Auckland Salary Guide reports findings from one of the biggest studies of its kind targeting finance professionals of all levels. The Guide is now in its third year and aims to provide employees and employers with detailed salary information on different job functions within Auckland’s highly competitive finance and accounting industry. It also offers valuable insights into a range of current recruitment issues.

The Robert Half Finance & Accounting Salary Survey was emailed to 4,672 Auckland finance professionals and was available for completion online from January 30 to February 16. The results were collated and analysed by an independent market research company.

The full results of the survey are now available in the 2007 Robert Half Finance & Accounting Auckland Salary Guide. For a copy of the survey, phone Robert Half Finance & Accounting on 09 915 6700 or visit www.roberthalf.co.nz.

ENDS

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