Controllers Council recently held a discussion on How to Attract & Retail Top Talent, sponsored by AvidXchange.
AvidXchange, a leader in automating invoice payment and AP processes, a FinTech unicorn AvidXchange processes more than 215 billion in transactions annually with 1600 employees, 6,000 customers, and 225 system integrations. Our matter experts were Rhonda Greene and Tyler Stubbs. Rhonda Greene is a certified accounts payable solutions consultant or APSC and principal consultant for AvidXchange. She brings more than 25 years of experience to help companies streamline AP. Tyler Stubbs is a solutions consultant for a AvidXchange, and he joined AvidXchange in 2017.
Following are key takeaways to this discussion. If you are interested in learning more, view the full webinar archive video here.
How would you describe your accounts payable department’s current level of automation?
AP professionals really value workplace culture as I think a lot of us do. Flexible work hours ranked as more important than a hybrid or remote working arrangement in the survey. The survey results also said that the most important items when considering a job opportunity were number one being salary and benefits, and number two being culture. More and more AP professionals are wanting to learn more and they’re wanting to work on more strategic tasks.
9 Numbers That Define the Modern AP Professional
- Economic Confidence: AP professionals feel a large sense of job security. So even despite the economic uncertainty including layoffs, stay in a predicted recession, unemployment rate in the labor market remains strong and AP pros appear to be optimistic. 78% of AP pros are not worried about layoffs impacting their department in 2023.
- Career Satisfaction: 51% of AP pros are very or extremely satisfied with their current role, 35% are moderately satisfied, 11% are slightly satisfied, with 3% being not at all satisfied.
- Organization Connectedness: 39% of all respondents feel extremely connected, 51% moderately connected, and 10% feel not at all connected.
- Health and Wellbeing: AP professionals appear unable to step away from their job. 22% of AP pros used their full PTO balance last year.
- Strategic Work: AP professionals with automation tools are more likely to be strategic contributors. 11 times AP pros with fully automated systems are 11 times more likely to work on strategic initiatives daily.
- Reporting and Analytics: AP pros are being asked to produce more detailed reports. 76% of AP pros with fully automated systems have access to the tools that they need to be able to build those effective reports.
- Perception of Leadership: AP professionals largely believe in their business and leadership, 7 in 10 are confident in the stability and future of their organization.
- Perception of Automation Technology: Three in four AP pros believe automation technology will have a positive impact on their career long term. So, they’re not looking at AP automation as a means for companies to come in and begin a round of layoffs.
- Save Time and Reduce Errors: 94% of AP Pros would use a tool to automate the most repetitive parts of their jobs, and they’re looking to save time and to reduce errors.
How to Attract & Retain Top AP Talent
Skilled labor shortages and a surge in employee retirement have created challenges for many businesses. Driving employee engagement improves retention, productivity, and profitability, but attracting and retaining talent in a competitive labor market is very important.
Number one is get to know your team as individuals. And I led teams for many years, and I feel very strongly about this, but in this survey 10% said that they don’t feel at all connected to the mission or purpose of their organization. You’ve got to get your folks involved and really let them know how important their role is. Number two, give your team the tools they need to succeed. 85% agree or strongly agree that access to tools and technology helps with professional development. And number three, create opportunities for growth. 84% said that learning or skills development opportunities are important when considering a job opportunity. Absolutely. Completely agree. And Cat Carmichael’s, CEO of Strategy 123 said, “Not many people talk about communication skills and yet they’re among the most vital things any leader can have. And part of it is not only creating the right vision that everyone will charge up the hill behind you, but also letting them know what’s in it for them. That’s the key.”
To view the complete webcast, download full webinar here.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR:
AvidXchange is a leading provider of accounts payable (“AP”) automation software and payment solutions for middle market businesses and their suppliers. AvidXchange’s software-as-a-service-based, end-to-end software and payment platform digitizes and automates the AP workflows for more than 7,000 businesses and it has made payments to more than 700,000 supplier customers of its buyers over the past five years.
