About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 CPA Prac. Mgmt. F. 17 (2012)
How Marketing Can Support Your Firm's Recruiting Efforts

handle is hein.journals/cpamanf8 and id is 41 raw text is: FEBRUARY 2012 Marketers' Corner How Marketing Can Support Your Firm's Recruiting Efforts By Sally Glick Q: We don't have a full-time human resource pro- fessional at our firm yet. Can our marketing director help us in some way? He is willing, but we are not sure how to leverage his talents for a different role. A: This is a great question, and one that I can an- swer because I was in this exact situation at one point in my own career! When I first joined Sobel & Co., the firm had not hired anyone to direct the human resource area. The firm administrator, along with the managing partner and one or two other partners, handled the recruiting and retention of the firm's employees. Once I was on board, it became obvious that the communication skills that are appropriate for attract- ing and retaining clients could be equally as effective at attracting and retaining high-quality staff. As such, I began to wear two hats and realized that many of the outbound messages we were crafting, especially through ads, website pages, public relations, and the tie of social media, were as appropriate for recruiting ,111(1CUltUre-buillding as they were for prospecting and i ss development. The process was the same, the Id,1 was just different! I s yoiu meet with your marketer and discuss o\ me of the firm's marketing initiatives might be li the y can be used to recruit and assist with I I If staff. I would divide the tasks into cI Vgreas: 1. -t eal communications. Send a compelling mes- w uture employees 2 enalco/mmunication and culture building. Develop eii 1Ye pride and passion External communications: Send a compelling message to future employees Listed hcbw are some of our more successful human resource 1ractices that can evolve and take root under Host afocusgroupfor college seniors. To get us start- ed on the right path at Sobel & Co., I called a group of accounting professors and guidance counselors from lo- cal-area universities. I requested that they send us two or three seniors who were pursuing accounting degrees to participate in a focus group. The goal was for us to have the chance to do some brain storming regarding the cri- teria students most value when selecting a firm. Every- one in the room had already accepted a position at a CPA firm, so they knew we were not recruiting-we just sim- ply wanted to gain some additional insights. We supplied the pizza, and the students supplied the ideas. They critiqued our recruiting section on the web- site, made suggestions for a Facebook page, and even gave very good direction regarding our other print materials. They told us how important it is for firms to be involved on campus (e.g., participating in the accounting club or other student activities). All in all, the meetings I facili- tated gave us enormous insights that we were able to put to use during the next recruiting season. Help draft recruiting ads and other materials. Your marketer can help with the content and graph- ics that are included in recruiting ads, the trade show booth, and print materials to ensure the message is clear, compelling, and consistently supports the firm's overall brand. Attend college fairs. Your marketer can team up with some of your younger staff and accomplished CPA partners to attend college recruiting fairs. While typi- cally not a CPA, your marketer can tell the story about your firm, its mission, and its culture very effectively. You should leverage this expertise when communicat- ing with young and seasoned recruits. Use employee testimonials on your website. Market- ers are excellent at finding ways to enhance the recruit- ing portion of your website. I would ask your marketer to review the pages and see what additional content, such as staff testimonials (if this is something you are comfortable making public), should be included. Use Facebookfor recruiting. I am sure your marketer is adept at using social media tools, especially Facebook, CPA PRACTICE MANAGEMENT FORUM

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most