HOW TO SHOW YOUR STAFF ARE VALUED AND IMPROVE

Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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Everybody wants to feel appreciated by their employer and when employees feel valued by their managers, it is likely to result in higher levels of job satisfaction, productivity and staff retention.

Retaining your most talented individuals is a challenge for any business; what can employers do to demonstrate that they appreciate a person’s efforts and enable them to hold onto crucial members of their team?

Make sure you recruit the right individuals into the business; not only do they need to have the right technical experience and be able to deliver against the requirements of the job role, they must also fit into the culture of your organisation.
Ensure you have goals in place for the organisation and know what skills you will need to achieve your ambitions. Communicate your vision to your team so they can buy into what you hope to achieve and can see where they can make a contribution.
Understand what each member of your workforce wants to achieve in their career and how the business can meet these ambitions. Consider departmental restructures or the creation of new teams to open up career progression opportunities for key members of staff.
Put in place a robust performance review programme with clear personal goals and rewards that are linked to your business objectives.
Have clear and open lines of communication; talking to your team on an on-going basis is essential and allows you to address potential issues before they escalate into a bigger problem.
Regularly review and benchmark your salary levels against other organisations or similar job roles in your industry but don’t make promises of pay rises or promotions that can’t be kept- this will only lead to ill feeling. Also, avoid using higher financial packages as a way to ignore other issues which may contribute to staff turnover.
Put in place rewards packages that are meaningful to your key team members; bonuses may be well received but would people welcome flexible working hours, increased holiday allowance or a contribution towards childcare costs as alternatives?
Make sure you recognise the contribution that people make to the business – positive feedback and acknowledging hard work go a long way to ensuring a feel good factor amongst your staff. Also consider introducing on-going reward schemes that offer instant recognition for achievements or outstanding work rather than waiting to recognise staff through annual appraisals or company awards.
Celebrate success. Whether it’s a new contract win or recognising a member of the team with a long service award, by acknowledging such achievements you will foster a culture of success which motivates and inspires individuals to strive to do their best.
Recognise that some staff turnover is necessary for any company to stay fresh and move forward; conduct exit interviews to understand people’s reasons for moving on and put in place measures to address any lessons learnt.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your recruitment needs.

HOW TO SHOW YOUR STAFF ARE VALUED AND IMPROVE RETENTION

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