![]() Dallas, TX (August, 25 2021) - Benchmark Search President, Troy Ashby, has been named to the 37th Leadership Richardson Class. In September, Class XXXVII will begin. The 42 members will meet once a month to learn about Richardson and what it takes to run a city, as well as to enhance their own leadership skills. Richardson's program has graduated more than 1,200 students. Corporate executives, mayors, municipal council officials, non-profit board members, school board trustees, and others interested in learning more and getting involved locally are among the alumni. “I am eager and enthusiastic to learn more about the City of Richardson and meet other like-minded professionals who have already given so much to this city”, Ashby said of his acceptance to the 2021-2022 class. “I look forward to investing further into this community and learn from other leaders.” Class 37 begins with 42 individuals ready to improve their personal and organizational leadership abilities, learn what makes a strong community, and figure out how they can make a difference. Arts, cultural diversity, business and economic development, government, healthcare, public education, public safety, regionalism, and social services are all included in the program. For more information about the program, please click the link to read Richardson Chamber of Commerce press release. About Benchmark Search Benchmark Search specializes in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. The firm is predicated on the bedrock belief that exceptional people + progressive culture + unrelenting devotion to serving our clients and candidates is the formula for success. The team believes in developing long-term, trusted relationships with its clients and candidates to help companies and careers advance and thrive. For more information, visit benchmarksearchgroup.com.
0 Comments
Employee power has never been as obvious and instantly apparent as with the recent debate around working from home in a post-pandemic environment.
Some of the world's largest, most powerful companies are keeping 100% remote or hybrid office models due to employee demands and protests, or even just increased turnover. For some, those employee demands have been met. In Apple’s case, it's to extend flexible working all year round, and in Google’s case, it's extending remote work to 20% of their workforce, while 60% work flexibly in and out of the office. It seems that for an increasing swathe of the working world, remote and hybrid work schemes are now realistically accessible after 18 months of facing down the pandemic. However, this very public shifting of expectations in the wake of a global viral outbreak is very much group-oriented and collaborative in approach. One employee demanding a total shift of corporate culture will fall on sympathetic but ultimately deaf ears: thousands of employees, unified in demand, create change. So how should the modern job seeker - alone, but expectant and desiring of remote work or a hybrid work setup - approach the remote working conversation in an interview? As with everything revolving around recruitment, it’s best to create a remote work strategy, and that starts with analyzing your needs, understanding your market, effective negotiation, and finding a compromise. Be a contender, but don’t go for the KO!
Stand your ground, but think of the big picture
Employees are rightly seeing the changes to remote work as nothing short of revolutionary. The benefits are proven, it’s inclusive nature is better for morale, productivity, work/life balance, and recruitment. But no one company, or employee, is the same. The most important thing to come out of the pandemic in this regard is the stretching of recruitment tolerance. Long-term corporate decision-making will almost certainly include hybrid work; that is undeniable. But candidates have to understand and have respect companies that take a different approach to a remote team arrangement. Some companies are adapting quickly and then adjusting again months later. Other leaders are waiting until the future is more clear in order to have fewer changes. ** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com. The “great resignation” is here and there is no time to waste. Employers around the country are scrambling to assess how their legacy recruitment models match the current climate of remote and hybrid working.
Benchmark Search is in the trenches alongside our clients, and we have been spending the last 15 months building strategies to help clients find their way through the mire of changing working expectations. How employers in the accounting and finance sector approach this debate is unique to our field. Unemployment is low, pent-up turnover is on the rise, and the occupational outlook is very positive. This means our market is an exaggerated candidate market. Prospective employees know they are in demand and, generally, only move jobs when the offer meets and exceeds their expectations. Counteroffers are rife, so your offer has to be gold standard. But with some form of remote working now being one of the primary driving forces of candidates on the job move, clients have to be sensitive to this new working normal. Re-strategizing your hiring model in the wake of COVID-19 should have already happened, but now is the time to establish a remote working approach that fits your business model, your growth plans, and your future. Let's talk availability
Include your team and be proactive
Retain Retain Retain
Don’t just figure it out
Whatever your flexibility means, make a plan to commit to it, and make a plan to meet the demands of the new normal with achievable, long-term changes. Benchmark has had clients retain 90% of their team in the office, others who have started introducing WFH days like sick days or leave days, and others who are completely flexible and happy for employees to make a decision that suits them. What you need to do is understand what’s right for you, communicate to everyone, and stick to it. Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 20 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com. Your career shouldn’t wait. The last year has put a lot of job-movement on hold, and as we push into Spring, here at Benchmark we know many talented people are turning a passive job search into an active one. We are here to help.
We urge all candidates to look at their future, and we know last year a lot of you delayed or stopped looking for a new job. If you have delayed moving to a new opportunity, we suggest you reconsider. With professional unemployment below 4%, employers are eagerly looking for top talent. Resigning from a job is not easy. In the age of remote teams, it is even harder. Resigning from a role seems deeply personal, and it’s nerve-wracking trying to plan and time how and when you’re going to approach your leader to actually resign. Doing it virtually can feel impersonal, unprofessional, and frankly strange. How you get around this and look ahead with clarity and purpose is to consider the entire process as an exercise in respect. The respect you owe your company for the opportunity they’ve given you, and the respect you deserve giving them your time, effort, and labor. Doing all of the above remotely, or at least starting the process remotely does not mean you can use the screen to avoid having hard conversations. If anything, making your resignation respectful in a COVID-secure environment means you have to consider more stages to the process. Gone are the days of stopping by your boss’s office with a handwritten letter in hand and asking for a meeting. Professionalism is key
Start by requesting a formal meeting
Prepare your formal resignation letter
Explain the reasons for your leaving
The counter-offer
A final note for employees looking to use moving jobs as a bargaining chip to secure a better position or salary - there are far more effective ways of doing this.
One of our recruiters would be happy to help you prepare for these conversations to maximize your efforts. At Benchmark Search, we are more than a recruiting firm. We want to be part of the employment journey and our relationships start in a multitude of ways. If you’re leaving a job, our advice is to treat your employers how you want to be treated. Look to leave with dignity and handle the process with respect. *** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com. Building an accounting career takes a great educational focus, years of experience, networking, and a desire to succeed. It also requires great timing!
At Benchmark Search, we recognize it’s not easy to put your career on hold, and a lot of accounting professionals delayed a career move in 2020 to better see the lay of the land post-pandemic. We believe that public accounting candidates are better served, and will find better positions, if they look at job seeking through a long-term lens. Where do you want to be after the busy season? How are you going to be ahead of your competitor candidates when an opportunity arises later in the year? In the accounting industry, we face critical shortages of talent, so as recruiters we have to know when qualified CPAs will be open to a career move, and during the 2020/2021 winter period, we have seen an enormous uptick in public accounting professionals starting their active job search. Our advice for candidates aiming to jump on the job search is firm - strategize your exit, start interviewing now and, crucially, extend your start date beyond the end of the busy season. This way, you are ahead of your peer competition, while also not letting down your current accounting firm and colleagues. As we’ve said in other articles, good recruitment takes patience, and good employers will wait. There might be a multitude of reasons to leave your current firm, but encourage you to think twice before leaving during the busiest times of the year. We genuinely believe in leaving every job on the very best of terms possible. Being able to explain to your current employer and new employer you want to honor your commitments to your teams, clients, or customers during the busy accountancy season will garner respect, trust, and a great reference. We are looking ahead to this increase in career movement with excitement. If you are looking at making a career move sooner rather than later, we want you to consider the timing: you can get ahead of the recruitment game and still keep all parties happy once you depart! Wrapping it up: As I write this article the first week of March, we are currently working with public accounting candidates who are taking these steps and several have already accepted offers with April start dates. We know we can help you navigate an extended onboarding process, encourage communication and make sure all parties are happy. *** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com. This is the final part of our “Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast” series, studying the essential place of a recruiter network in your career.
Who is a recruiter to you? Recruitment, contrary to popular belief, is not a transaction: it’s a network, and to take full advantage of your recruiter network takes planning, strategy, and patience. Business owners and hiring managers rely on the recruiters' skills and passion for people to highlight the best talent for their company. Candidates look to recruiters to assess their career and background and channel their energies to finding them a better job and advance their career. Recruiters are matchmakers: they build relationships, above all else, and relationships are cultivated over time. Network building in 2021 Placing your business health or career in the hands of a stranger is a terrifying prospect, and recruiters make no small effort to make sure they give you everything you need to trust them to make the right decision for you. At Benchmark Search, we are experts at recruiting with integrity. We make sure every candidate and client who passes through our doors (digitally or in-person) is treated with complete respect and candor, and we support them throughout the process, even when they’re unsure of how we work or what we do. Whether you’re looking to your recruiting partners now, or in 6 months, or in a year - does the length of time you’ve known your recruiter make a difference to your job search or talent sourcing? The answer, unequivocally, is yes. Why should you build a recruiter network? For hiring authorities...
For candidates...
*** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com This is part 3 of a 4 part “Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast” series, studying the ongoing effects of the pandemic on hiring, interviewing, onboarding and networking.
How many stages should there be in an interview process? How many steps is too many? What constitutes too few? What makes a good interview? Your interview strategy should be about two things - efficiency, and momentum. Good talent does not hang around, so consider every candidate comes with a shelf life attached. You have a small window of opportunity to successfully hire the perfect candidate, so your interview process needs to be effective, positive, and personal. Let’s review: it takes approximately 25 working days to hire someone for a role, from initial contact to start date. That, in both the minds here at Benchmark Search and the minds of most candidates, is too long. Why do we interview? In the modern age when so much of a worker is digitally accessible, why do we persist in holding interview after interview after interview? Is a face-to-face interview in the age of COVID-19 still required or a preference? Job interviews are still the most preferred way to assess standards of professional and cultural suitability for both candidate and client. Besides the obvious errors fermented through conscious and unconscious biases, the interview, be it one stage or many, is still a highly effective way to understand the person beyond the resume. However you plan your interview strategy, we offer simple advice: avoid complexity, focus on efficiency and use your interview process to build momentum. Good Interviews vs Bad Interviews Interviews are an essential and effective part of bringing new people into your company. For many employers, it is the final piece of the puzzle to finding the right talent. Of course, what constitutes a “‘good” interview is in the eye of the beholder and there has been a vital cultural change to job interviews over the last decade. Gone are the days of clients being in the driver's seat and the interview being one-directional. Now, especially for college graduates over the age of 25 and in industries with candidate shortages, interview equality has been met. Candidates are making a judgment call on your company, on your culture, on your processes, and your offer of a career path. Interview Stages - how many is too many? Each employer has its requirements, and we want to help support their unique processes. At Benchmark Search, we’ve made it our job to know when this style of recruitment steps into the realm of ineffective, and we make sure each client we work with is provided with a personalized interview strategy that reflects their needs and company culture. When speed is of the essence, our tacit advice is - consider momentum. Why momentum? Momentum differs from simple speedy recruitment.
Candidate shortages in niche financial and accounting roles mean good talent is already gainfully employed, the most actively available of those are going to want a discreet, efficient, agile recruitment service to fit their schedule. You can catch a candidate’s eye with fantastic branding, a chance to move up the ladder, growth opportunities, a fancy title, and even more competitive pay...but in most cases, you will not keep hold of them by waiting for weeks to shore up more candidates to compare. They will not wait, or someone else will pluck them off first. We include assessments in our interview process - should we continue using them? You can absolutely keep them. That said, make them relevant and be flexible - potential candidates need to know they are supported and understood. Any assessments done digitally may have to be before or after hours, and if you do need assessments to be done as part of an interview day/on-site interview and assessment, be empathetic to them having to organize time away from their role to come to you. It is also important that you do not ask for the assessment to be done too early in the process, because you may not have garnered enough momentum to have them prioritize your opportunity over others (or over their current employer obligations). Assessments serve as a very valuable tool, but don’t let them inadvertently become a roadblock. What does an interview mean to a candidate? Interviews are a two-way street and must sit at the top of the hiring pyramid. You have sourced, vetted, and maybe even pre-interviewed this candidate. The interview is where you make the final call. This is doubly relevant for candidates. Candidates are assessing you for your leadership, business security, and (in the age of COVID-19) company safety. They need to make a professional and emotional connection with your company. Regardless of whether your interview is in-person or virtual, make it count. Interview strategy tips: Consolidate
Communicate
Feedback
In our next article, we discuss networking in our ongoing “Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast” series. *** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com ![]() This is part 2 of a 4 part “Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast” series, studying the ongoing effects of the pandemic on hiring, interviewing, onboarding and networking. Onboarding is an art: it is an integral element of effective recruitment and the final, most personal part of talent sourcing. Onboarding builds trust, community and sets the roots of a burgeoning relationship between the company, co-workers, and your new employee, and onboarding matters: it cultivates a sense of place and worth within your company while driving productivity, encouraging trust and improving retention in your team. The rise of COVID-19 has put pressure on cost-effectiveness and processes countrywide, so understanding the tangible effect of good onboarding practice mid-pandemic is integral to keeping your talent engaged, motivated, and happy! Like a lot of great recruitment practices, the art of onboarding has changed to meet the challenge of the new normal, and revamping your onboarding strategy is necessary, as all employers look to protect their workforces and candidate expectations change. How to perfect your onboarding best practice Pre-hiring
First Day
Welcome packs
After the first day
Training
Mentoring
Communication and Expectations
In our next article, we analyze interview strategy in the wake of COVID-19 in our ongoing Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast series. *** Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. BenchmarkSearchGroup.com This is part 1 of a 4 part “Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast” series, studying the ongoing effects of the pandemic on hiring, interviewing, onboarding and networking.
Think back to this time last year: the heady days of January 2020 were full of anticipation, growth was trending upward, employment was high and with the new year came new opportunities. Skip forward to January 2021 we find a global economy, and our workplaces, in flux; but in our sector of the accounting and finance fields, hiring has bucked the trend and we are seeing clients clamoring for talent. At Benchmark Search we are more than prepared to help them find the best in class and our critical challenge has been meeting this rise in demand amid a candidate shortage. It's wise to remember that the pandemic’s effects on employment have by no means been equitable. Many sectors such as hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors, which employ millions, have been seriously disrupted, but some sectors have seen incredible growth; professional services, healthcare, tech, insurance, supply chain, finance, and accounting sectors have seen demand skyrocket. Equitability of opportunity in the new normal The pressure on employers around the country to find appropriate talent to meet the changes wrought by COVID-19 are compounded by this disruption - but has the process of hiring changed alongside the changes to workplace culture? When (almost) the entire process of sourcing, vetting, interviewing, and hiring has been digitized and physical contact is discouraged, how can companies remain attractive to talent on the move, and how does a company hire with purpose in 2021? Here at Benchmark Search, we wanted to share some of our findings from hiring during a pandemic: some of the biggest changes to recruitment methodology we’ve seen and what processes have remained consistent throughout. New year, new me?
Discretion and your hidden job market
No one size fits
Expectation management
Communication and empathy
The Benchmark Way Now more than ever we have a chance to change how we communicate and build relationships with new recruits and build a better, more inclusive, form of hiring. In our next article, we discuss the art of onboarding in our ongoing Benchmark Search Hiring Forecast series. Troy Ashby is the founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. Benchmarksearchgroup.com. ![]() As I sit here in my makeshift "home office" with my loving wife, barking dog, and home schooled children, I am having conversation after conversation with people that I have known for months, years, even decades. I'm talking to long-time friends, long-lost friends, clients, candidates, and referral partners alike. We are talking about job loss, financial security, health concerns, family, and the job market. I KNOW that I am positioned exactly where I am intended and was reminded about this article that I wrote 9 months ago and it cannot be more true today! One excerpt said, "For the last 14 years, I often lay awake at night thinking about who needs help and how I can best serve them, I wake up early in the morning with a passion to make a difference, and sometimes have very challenging conversations with those in transition with the purpose of motivating them to be their best self in the midst of self-doubt." These are challenging times for many due to uncertainty, doubt, pain, fear, and constantly evolving pandemic. I may not know when this will end or where these relationships will be in the coming days, weeks, months...but I'm listening, I'm encouraging, and I'm present! I STILL LOVE MY RECRUITING CAREER! P.S. Thanks to those who have forgiven my COVID-19 beard growth during video calls! Troy Ashby is founder and president of Benchmark Search, a Dallas-based firm specializing in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. With more than 15 years of professional service experience, including more than a decade with one of the nation’s largest recruiting firms, Ashby established Benchmark Search on the bedrock belief that exceptional people, progressive culture, and an unrelenting devotion to serving clients is the formula for developing deep and transformational relationships. Benchmarksearch.com. |
Categories
All
Newsletters ArchivesFebruary 2021
January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 |
We are always happy to help.
Benchmark Search Group was founded by a CPA with prior experience in Big 4 public accounting, executive search, and a leader for one of the largest finance and accounting staffing firms in the United States. With more than 30 years of recruiting and professional services experience, our firm was created with a focus on quality first and making a positive impact for our clients, candidates, and the Dallas - Fort Worth communities. As a trusted advisor, we believe in establishing and continuing genuine relationships which empowers professionals to further their careers. Our commitment to excellence and integrity, combined with resilience allows our clients to focus on their business while we provide them with highly skilled employees. Benchmark Search Group specializes in direct hire recruiting, executive search, and temporary staffing for accounting and finance professionals. |
|
©
2018 | Benchmark Search Group | Privacy Policy | Designed by Mogul Mindset Consulting