How to Attract and Retain High-Impact Internal Auditors.
This week our colleagues have been discussing the importance of attracting the right auditors but more importantly how to retain them within the business!
If you feel you need help in this area, then the experience shared below with for sure be of benefit to you!
How to Attract and Retain High-Impact Internal Auditors
Attracting and retaining top talent is critical to the success of a high performing internal audit function. And, compensation alone is not the deciding factor in winning the battle for talent. In order to attract and retain talent, organizations need to develop a reputation as a place where people want to work, grow and stay. Every department needs to be provided with the flexibility and tools needed to create micro-environments in which team members are able to execute their responsibilities while achieving their desire for learning, growth, and balance.
Whether the organization as a whole is onboard or not, corporate audit needs to develop and embrace programs designed to meet the needs of a changing workforce if they are to attract and retain top talent.
The Landscape
A great deal has been written about the millennial generation and how they differ from previous generations. However, while millennial may define how they require their needs to be met differently than prior generations, their needs really aren’t all that different than those of (ageing) baby boomers and Gen X’rs. At the end of the day, we all want financial security, career success, work/life balance and to work for an ethical organization.
Financial security: A competitive compensation package is critical to attracting and retaining talent and, interestingly, is closely linked to the three other needs. Millennials would like to live near where they work, give back to the community, travel, acquire new technology and avoid debt. They seek higher salary levels as they progress, but they have a different definition of what progression means. Millennial believe that financial security will come from advancement opportunities following their acquisition of new skills.
Career success: In late 2016, a report was created based on surveys of 19,000 millennial, including 8,000 associates in 25 countries. Only 22 percent of those who answered the survey ranked ‘aspiring to lead’ as a top priority. Millennial don’t necessarily aspire to lead others to be successful but instead, to be recognized as highly qualified in their field. They desire to make a positive contribution, work with great people, and have the opportunity to grow their talents in a skill-based economy.
Work/life balance: The term means different things to different people. And, the ability to achieve it is always going to be influenced by the chosen career, including factors such as the nature of the industry and seasonal demands. Millennial, in general, have learned from their parents ‘mistakes’ and want to do a better job achieving a good balance between their work and personal lives. Although they are constantly connected to work, they place a premium on their time outside of work.
Work for an ethical organization: All of us expect to work for organizations that do the right things, treat people fairly, and abide by rules and regulations. Every member of a workforce has opinions on geopolitical topics, corporate social responsibility, and gender/racial equity. However, while organizations cannot be all things to all workers, successful organizations strive to create environments where like-minded people can work on not only internal but also external projects that fuel their passions.
The Opportunity: The millennial workforce has a strong desire to learn and apply new skills. They have also grown up on the cutting edge of new technologies and are excited to leverage them to increase their productivity. And, they enjoy working in collaborative environments to learn new skills and solve challenging problems while continuing to achieve the balance they desire. Corporate audit functions can serve as an incubator within organizations by trying new approaches to attract and develop talent. Audit is an area where millennials can develop and sharpen their skills related to learning a business, interviewing, root cause analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving, project management, and oral and written communications – all skills critical to success in the global environment.
The Challenge: There are opportunities here for companies but not without some challenges to either the current culture or the business model. Perhaps the most difficult is work/life balance as it means different things to different people. It could mean a desire to work four 10-hour-days a week, or to not work late or weekends, or the desire to travel either less or not at all. The challenge is to make the time on-site more efficient by leveraging technology that facilitates concentration on high-risk transactions and audit focus areas. Then when audit staffs return from the road, it’s going to be important to provide them with the flexibility to work remotely as long as project completion deadlines are met.
Audit International are specialists in the recruitment of Auditors and various Corporate Governance Professionals including Internal Audit, Compliance, IT Audit, Data Analytics etc across Europe and the US.
If you would like to reach out to discuss your current requirements, please feel free to reach us on 0041 4350 830 95
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