FINANCIAL TALENT RETENTION
Singapore - Demand for finance and accounting talent remains sky-high in Singapore as corporate governance and regulation issues become increasingly important in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Surveys by various recruitment firms have found that the finance and accounting sectors continue to lead in the hiring trend since the start of 2010. This is reflected in the news with several large financial institutions announcing "serious hiring plans" in Asia within the past four months, says Tim Hird, managing director for Robert Half Singapore. Demand is "particularly robust" for middle to back-end specialities, such as internal audit, risk management, compliance, financial control and debt collection, he adds. "As the ‘governors' of the financial health of organisations, finance controllers, CFOs and accountants, especially highly experienced professionals with good track records, continue to be valued by companies."
Jeremy Yee, group CFO of cord blood services provider Cordlife, concurs. "Accountants are really hard to find in Singapore," he remarks on his current hiring challenge as the head of finance for the company. "They are one of the most sought after functions in the world, especially those from the big four."
As the economy recovers, Hird says employees would be expecting pay rises, bonuses, or better compensation packages this year. According to research by Robert Half, most employees expect a 10-15% increment on their last drawn base salary, while pay raise expectations for employees with in-demand skill-sets is in the 20% to 25% range. Highly skilled finance and accounting professionals, however, would continue commanding a top salary package.
However, money isn't the only concern for finance and accounting professionals these days. According to Hird, the recent market turmoil has driven home for many finance professionals the importance of focusing on non-monetary factors other than pay. They include the company's stability, career advancement opportunities and good mentors.
"Organisations need to think harder about providing personal and professional development to their best talent," he says. Hird suggests companies to start identifying opportunities, keeping communications open and empowering them if they want to retain their best talent.
That's exactly what Yee is doing to attract and retain top accounting talent. As an SME, Yee understands very well the company wouldn't be able to compete with major auditing firms financially. In fact, most accountants have to take a pay cut if they decide to switch to a commercial setting. However, Cordlife has a differentiating quality. Every accountant who joins would be sent for accreditation courses, fully paid for by Cordlife, even if they are still on probation. Likewise, Yee would send his accountants to gain regional exposure as part of their career development. He says these are programmes they wouldn't get as much of in a professional setting.
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