Maintaining the corporate ladder: how to keep quality employees in your organization.

• Author: Eufinger, Tony

Only proactive organizations with sound human resource (HR) practices will recruit and retain the best employees in today's competitive job market. However, a national survey suggests some in the accounting profession are lagging behind standard HR trends. Losing a good employee to the competition--or even failing to recruit the best applicant in the first place--can be costly. Does your organization have what it takes to keep talented employees working for you? Will your leader-ship be ready to pass the reins?

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When it comes to keeping quality employees satisfied, HR practices such as benefit plans, recruiting and retention practices and succession planning matter. But in 2003 the AICPA Alliance for CPA Firms (PCPS) and the Texas Society of CPAs conducted a National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) survey of 3,300 accounting firms nationwide, which revealed many local and regional accounting firms have yet to embrace "standard" HR practices. More than one quarter of these firms, for example, reported having no partner retirement plan. About one-third said they do not have an employee hand-book; one-half said they have no formal sick-leave policy and more than a quarter have no clear set of vacation guidelines.

Not all employee turnover is bad. But as Nick Burkholder, president of a major HR Web site--Staffing.org--points out, conservative estimates put the cost of replacing a good employee at the amount of that employee's salary. Even this estimate, which could reach tens of thousands of dollars per employee, falls short if a firm loses a promising employee who could bring significant value to the firm in the future.

So what does it take to recruit and retain top-notch employees? Here are some strategies, best practices and trade secrets offered by those on the leading edge of the HR field.

Knowing What Recruits Want

When it comes to recruiting the best and brightest, the best place to start may be with an honest internal assessment of what a firm or company has to offer potential employees.

"The best place to work offers the best of both worlds--a good career path and a spring board," says Gary Greenberg, an attorney with Denlinger, Rosenthal & Greenberg, LPA in Cincinnati and editor of the Ohio Employment Law Letter. "Salary is extremely important to applicants--especially those beyond their early 20s."

Most applicants consider wages, health insurance plans, vacation benefits, and retirement plans in that order when selecting their employer. The age of perspective employees, Greenberg says, is a good indicator of the importance of offering a good health plan. Older employees are more likely to view health coverage, as well as short- and long-term medical coverage, as a key incentive.

All new employees--regardless of age--want as much paid time off as soon as they can get it. Greenberg advises employers, however, that offering more time off does not necessarily mean employees will actually take it.

Creating a Retention Environment

One of the most important factors when retaining quality employees at Brockman, Coats, Gedelian & Co. is that the firm's directors put a premium on retention, says the firm's human resources...