Ask the Expert: Randi Merritt, Finance and Accounting

In this edition of ‘Ask the Expert’, Randi Merritt, Denver Branch Manager, Finance and Accounting shared some of her insights on popular workforce trends. We sat down with Randi as she told us her thoughts on how clients should prepare for hiring in 2025 and advice for organizations who are unsure how to manage their workforce in this market.

As we close out the year, what should clients prepare for in 2025?

As you build budgets for the upcoming year, preparing for uncertainties is vital. This preparation can relate to the economy, understanding what’s happening in your industry, and whether you’ll be trending up or down in 2025. While budgeting and forecasting, allocate funds for all planned and potential hires you might make throughout the year, as well as accounting for natural attrition. Additionally, proactively update job descriptions to reflect any changes in roles and responsibilities. Being prepared before you have an urgent need to hire will save you time and money.

To do this, develop a regular cadence to assess current employees with your leadership team. Discuss potential departures, additional headcount, special projects, and strategies for attracting and retaining top talent, as well as the company’s current and historical turnover rate.

When starting the hiring process, here are some items managers should keep in mind:

• Know your employer branding. Be familiar with your website, Glassdoor reviews, Google reviews, and LinkedIn profiles. Remember, candidates are also interviewing your organization, and they will look at your website and LinkedIn page, just as hiring managers look at a candidate’s online profile. If it’s public, ensure it’s current and reflects what you want from a hiring standpoint.
• Build relationships with your internal and external recruiters. If you’re responsible for hiring and don’t have internal recruiters to lean on, consider utilizing a reputable talent solutions firm like Addison Group. They can help fill open roles by tapping into an expansive candidate pool to find ideal candidates for the job.
• Stay in touch with your network. You never know when you will need to hire someone; many of the best hires come from people in your network and industry.

What advice would you give to companies unsure about hiring in this market?

With contract hiring, we’re seeing more hiring managers wanting multiple interviews for candidates, which is unusual for hiring contingent labor. Many companies are looping in C-suite individuals or their private equity firm for approval to make that hire. We can attribute these multiple steps to tighter budgets and economic uncertainty.

As the market opens back up in the following months, managers will find it in their best interest to consolidate interviews and expedite their hiring processes to ensure top talent remains interested. Candidates want to feel welcomed and pursued. In times like these, when you still need to hire, start by evaluating your current workforce. Determine which roles you need to prioritize so your teams are not overwhelmed. If you need talent but aren’t able to hire permanently, consider engaging a contractor. Hiring contingent help ensures your team isn’t overworked and can prevent further turnover.

It’s also important to remain flexible with pay and what you’re looking for in a candidate, as candidates can now work remotely from anywhere. This means you’re competing with organizations nationwide, not just those in your local market. Assess with your team what’s non-negotiable for a candidate. When in doubt, you can hire a contractor to fill a gap until solidifying a game plan.

To retain talent, invest in employee development. Ensure your organization has a welcoming and impactful culture, treats and pays people well, asks what they need, and provides them with life flexibility they need now more than ever. Retaining talent is far easier and more affordable than dealing with constant turnover, as it costs your organization time and money to leave a position vacant. 

What are some of the finance and accounting roles most frequently requested to be filled, why do you think there’s such a demand, and what are the biggest challenge for companies in finding talent for these roles?

Common roles we see clients hire for are Accounts Payable Specialists, Accounts Receivable Specialists, and Staff Accountants. Generally, an organization will aim to stay bottom-heavy.  Companies typically have more of these roles in their organizational charts, which leads to more hiring and turnover. The demand is high because these candidates are integral to ensuring daily operations run smoothly, while the supply is tightening up. With greater needs come more movement in these roles.

Ready to hire finance and accounting talent for your team?

Need qualified finance and accounting candidates to add to your team? Addison Group can help. For more than 20 years, we’ve focused on quality, not quotas. We place qualified finance and accounting talent to help move your business forward. Let’s talk about how we can help fill your open positions.