The demand for skilled accounting and finance professionals remains high. While intense hiring competition and recruiting challenges persist, retention concerns are top of mind, as well. In fact, many managers are now worried about their ability to keep their current staff. As reported in the 2018 Robert Half Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance, a comprehensive report of U.S. hiring and compensation trends, 45 percent of CFOs said they’re concerned about employee retention, and 36 percent expect to lose workers within the next year.
Competition for skilled workers is driving up compensation across the financial profession. Given the Q3 unemployment rates for financial analysts (0.6%) and accountants and auditors (2.2%) are below the national average, companies are offering a bevy of attractive incentives and perks. Read on for key findings from the 2018 Salary Guide.
Trends in incentives
Businesses rely on a basket of financial carrots to keep performance at peak levels. The most common incentive, according to research in the Salary Guide, is the spot bonus for individual or group achievement, used by 37 percent of respondents’ organizations. Eighteen percent hand out retention bonuses, typically awarded after an employee stays on a predetermined number of months.
Profit-sharing occurs at 20 percent of companies surveyed. A similar tactic, used by 18 percent of respondents, is to offer stock options, restricted stocks or performance shares. Sixteen percent feature deferred compensation, usually in the form of pensions and retirement plans.
Trends in benefits
The most common employer-provided benefit, defined as any non-cash compensation not directly tied to performance, relates to insurance. According to the Robert Half survey of human resources, compensation and benefits professionals in North America, 95 percent of companies provide medical insurance, 89 percent cover dental, 88 percent offer life and 81 percent adds vision. Other popular insurance policies are accidental death and dismemberment (79 percent) and disability (78 percent).
Around two-thirds of respondents have an employee assistance program, which includes helpful services such as addiction counseling and legal aid. Another popular benefit is reimbursement for tuition fees, with 56 percent of employers willing to pay for their staff to earn academic degrees and professional certifications.
Trends in perks
Perks are additional privileges — beyond benefits and incentives — that employers offer employees. These extras are a great way for companies to stand out from the competition, attract top talent and retain valuable employees.
Flexible work schedules are the most common perk, with 62 percent of respondents saying they allow staff to choose — within reason — when they work their daily hours. This perk is popular with employers and employees alike as it costs companies little or nothing to implement, while making a huge difference to their staff’s work-life balance and job satisfaction. Remote work, offered by 34 percent of businesses surveyed, can also be mutually beneficial: Employees save time and money by skipping the commute, while employers can grow their workforce without having to lease or buy larger facilities. Seventeen percent offer compressed scheduling, such as working four 10-hour days.
Of perks that require an outlay, the most common is hosting social events for workers, which occurs at 39 percent of employers surveyed. To support a healthy lifestyle, 25 percent have either an onsite gym or offer memberships to a nearby fitness center.
How employers determine increases and bonuses
Most employers tie raises to performance. Of the HR professionals surveyed, 72 percent said salary increases at their companies are calculated based on merit, such as hitting productivity targets or meeting goals. For 38 percent, wages increase in tandem with the cost of living, measured by the Consumer Price Index or annual inflation rate, currently at 2 percent. A smaller subset of respondents, 17 percent, raises salaries automatically according to length of service.
Many businesses give out bonuses. And when they do, they almost always tie it to performance. What varies is the metric: 27 percent of respondents base it on individual and company performance, and 22 percent include those two factors plus team performance. Sixteen percent look at just individual performance.
Finance and accounting salaries for 2018
Talented job seekers have choices. To land in-demand workers, companies need to offer competitive starting salaries. Here’s a sampling of the anticipated salary midpoints for some of 2018’s hottest jobs:
- Compliance analyst: $80,000
- Controller: $115,000
- Financial analyst, staff-level: $65,000
- General accountant, manager: $90,000
- Medical biller: $33,250
- Payroll manager: $71,000
- Senior internal auditor: $85,000
- Senior tax accountant: $85,000
- Staff accountant: $60,000
These starting salaries are national averages and will vary by location. Highly skilled workers, including those with specialized certifications, will command even higher salaries. See the 2018 Salary Guide for the anticipated wage ranges for more than 190 positions in accounting and finance.
For your business to grow and thrive, you require top talent. And once you bring them onboard, you need to keep them happy. With the right mix of competitive compensation, financial rewards and in-demand perks, recruitment and retention become much easier.
