EMPLOYING PART TIME MEMBERS OF STAFF

Trainee Accountant to Senior: How to Progress in Practice (Quickly!)

Throughout my career as a specialist recruiter in professional practice, I’ve had the privilege of working with many talented, ambitious accountants, and some have progressed faster than others. While every journey is unique, there are clear patterns in what helps people move from trainee roles into more senior finance jobs within professional practice. Drawing from this experience, I’ve put together a set of strategies any accountant can adopt to accelerate their career up the professional practice ladder. These tactics have proven to be highly effective for those aiming to achieve their professional goals efficiently and successfully. Embrace Increasing ResponsibilityAs you begin your career in accountancy, the scope of your duties often starts with basic tasks such as data entry, reconciling accounts, and preparing reports. While these tasks are important for building a foundation, taking on more responsibility is key to developing the skills and experience needed for progression in practice.Start by volunteering for more complex tasks that stretch your skillset, such as handling larger client accounts, managing financial forecasting, or (if possible) participating in audits. These challenges will expose you to new aspects of accountancy and allow you to learn beyond the day-to-day duties. Another way to progress quickly is by taking on leadership roles within a team or department. Taking on the responsibility of overseeing junior staff, delegating tasks, and ensuring deadlines are met can significantly enhance your development and provide you with the invaluable ‘management experience’ which is essential for trainee accountants looking to advance to the next step in their professional practice careers. Continuous Learning and Self-DevelopmentAs you challenge yourself with new responsibilities, actively pursuing knowledge and development goes hand in hand with completing further qualifications. Traditionally, most accountants I work with are newly or nearly AAT qualified which is a fantastic accomplishment in itself but for those with aspirations of climbing the ladder the next step should be further studies. Qualifications such as the ACA, ACCA or CTA (depending on your chosen specialism) will allow you to strengthen your technical expertise. It’s worth mentioning here that a good training contract and mentor are invaluable for the next step in your journey and should be a big factor when deciding to look for a new role after completing your AAT. Finding a Mentor Another important aspect of progressing quickly in accountancy is developing relationships with more experienced colleagues, supervisors, and managers. By seeking mentorship from more experienced professionals, you can gain insights into how they managed their career progression. Also, they can guide you in taking on appropriate challenges and responsibilities and help you navigate the complexities of the profession. Many of the most successful finance professionals credit their career growth to strong mentorship relationships established early in their journey. NetworkingNetworking is one of the most underutilised tools for career progression in finance. While it might feel intimidating at first, networking allows you to connect with and learn from likeminded individuals, stay informed about trends in professional practice, and discover new opportunities. One of the primary reasons networking is important is that it helps build valuable relationships that can last your career. By connecting with colleagues, senior professionals, and other stakeholders, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge, insights, and opportunities that can propel your career forward. Ultimately, networking is not just about what you can gain but also about what you can offer to others. By fostering meaningful relationships, you contribute to a collaborative and supportive community that benefits everyone involved. Here at Sharp Consultancy, we host events across the year and have a long-standing relationship with various institutions and training groups including S&DCASS (Sheffield and District Chartered Accountants Student Society), LCASS (Leeds Chartered Accountants Students Society) and First Intuition to host events that bring studiers together from various firms throughout Yorkshire. It really is a brilliant first step in your networking journey. Whether you're just starting out or already on your way up, accelerating your career in professional practice comes down to a mix of mindset, opportunity, and action. By embracing responsibility, committing to continuous learning, building genuine relationships, and tapping into the right support networks, you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to thrive. If you’d like to explore how to take that next step—or just want to chat through your options—I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect and start shaping your future together. Charlie Marper, Business Manager, charliemarper@sharpconsultancy.com – 0114 261 1700 Looking for your next career move in finance or accountancy? At Sharp Consultancy, our expertise lies in matching your potential with the perfect temporary, interim, or permanent position. With a well-established presence in Leeds and Sheffield, our seasoned team of consultants extends their services across Yorkshire and beyond. Don't wait for opportunity to knock, reach out to us TODAYand let's chart your career path together.

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There are approximate 8.4 million part time workers in the UK. For businesses of all sizes there are a huge range of advantages to employing members of staff on a part time basis – but there are also several challenges which must be taken into consideration.

Advantages and disadvantages to employing part time members of staff:

Keeping costs down. Employing somebody on a part time basis can be an effective way to reduce staff costs in roles where there isn’t necessarily a need for someone on a full time basis.

Attracting the best talent. Having the option of part time work can help both with recruitment and staff retention; part time work can be attractive to parents with young families or those approaching the later years in their careers and are looking to reduce their hours. These people can offer a wealth of skills and experience and offering flexible and/or family friendly working arrangements can lead to improvements in staff retention.

Flexibility. Part time employees can enable a company to ensure that it has the right number of people in the right roles during times when business demands are greater. Roles and working hours can be determined around a variety of scenarios and may be fixed with an individual working fewer hours each day or working set days or alternatively a part time employee may work shifts which could vary on a week to week basis. There are also options around employing members of staff on term-time contacts or on a job share basis.

Staff morale and productivity. It’s not just part time employees themselves who can benefit; they can alleviate the pressure of workloads on full time members of staff – particularly if a business is relying upon overtime to keep up with demand – and therefore help reduce stress and combat low levels of staff morale in the workplace.

Additional costs. Part time workers can impact on costs and businesses need to consider that employing individuals on a part time basis can lead to additional expense – for example with benefits and training.

Recruiting part time employees:

As an employer, you will need to determine whether a particular role would be suited to a part time working arrangement. To do this you will need to take into account:

Objectives and outcomes. Establish what you want the employee to achieve and consider what time is needed to do each aspect of the role. Also think about the particular skills and personal attributes that will be needed and include these in a detailed specification.

Working hours. Think about whether there are elements of the job which have to be done on certain days or at certain times – this will help you understand how much flexibility there is in the hours you would require the successful candidate to work. Also consider whether the role is to be created on a part time only or job share basis.

Recruitment process and interviews. Make the process as convenient to those looking to work part time as possible to attract the best candidates; part time opportunities can open up the recruitment pool to applicants who may not have considered the position if it was on a full time basis. Try and schedule interviews at times which suit the part time hours being offered i.e. on the relevant days.

Managing part time employees:

It is important to consider how part time employees will fit into your existing team structure and to also give thought to how you will effectively communicate and manage those who are not working full time hours.

Communications. You must make sure that all part time workers receive all staff communications; you may need to contact them by phone, email or text message if they are not at work on a day when you make an important announcement or send out a message for the first time. For staff meetings and company briefings, try to find a time when all team members will be available or if this is not possible, hold additional sessions which will give every employee an opportunity to attend.

Flexibility. Establish whether your part time workers can work additional hours on major projects or attend meetings which fall outside their normal working hours. Are they happy to be contacted by you on days that they are not at work?

Training. Part time employees should have access to the same training courses which you offer to full time members of the team; consider if you need to make adjustments to how these are delivered i.e. inclusion of home study time and condensing particular elements of the course.

Employing part time members of staff:

Part time workers must be treated equally to comparable full-time employees who work for the same company and perform similar roles under the same type of employment contract. This includes:

Salary / rates of pay
Access to occupational pension scheme
Training, career development opportunities and consideration for promotion
Right to receive enhanced sick, maternity, paternity, adoption leave and pay as well as parental leave and dependents leave
Pro rata contractual benefits such as paid annual leave and staff discounts

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.