While many organizations traditionally commence their hiring endeavors in the new year, concentrating on recruitment beginning in November can offer your company a competitive edge. By not postponing staffing decisions until Q1 2024, your company can proactively assess and address the staffing needs essential for a successful start to the new year and a seamless year-end close.

The Pros of Hiring in November:‍

Holiday Wind Down:

• You may already be feeling the onset of the most wonderful time of year. Business begins to wind down as people are getting ready for the holidays, the year is coming to a close, and there is an overall sense of calm. Many organizations find themselves with less noise around this time, meaning they have hands on deck with spare time. 

• Hiring in November versus waiting until January makes sense, as slower desks provide ample time to train new hires. Not to mention, new hires will have had a couple of months of training under their belt before year-end activities begin in January/February. Beginning the year with a full team that is trained and ready to take on all that Q1 brings is a smart idea to reduce workforce stress and increase productivity that could otherwise be lost to training/onboarding activities. ‍

Budget Benefits: 

• Many companies maintain a predetermined budget for their hiring initiatives, typically set as a fixed number or percentage of their revenue. While it might seem like a good idea to avoid exhausting this budget, doing so can send a powerful message to decision-makers. It demonstrates that the set budget was not necessary and can, therefore, be reduced in the upcoming year. 
• By understanding this “use it or lose it” mentality around budget, properly spending the funding provided can equip your team with the talent it needs to begin a new year of high-quality employees and preserve the hiring budget moving forward. 

Getting Ahead of the Competition:

• Namely.com ran a survey to find out which months have historically had the most and least hires. They surveyed more than 350,000 employees in their database and found that January is the second most popular month to start a job, and December is the least popular month to start a job. This means that your competition is likely following the annual trend of backing off from new hires toward the end of the year and hitting the hiring market hard in January. Hiring in November means your team is not competing with every other firm when it comes time to add members to the team. Q4 clients and employers have a bigger candidate pool, with fewer of their competitors vying for the same talent.‍

Public Accounting Candidates:

• Certified public accounting candidates are in high demand, especially those with 2-3 busy seasons under their belt. Another reason to make November your hiring month, is that this pool of top talent has not yet committed to another year of public accounting, making them available for hire toward the end of the year. 

New Hire Head-Start

• In the accounting and finance industries, a variety of software programs and types of technology are used. According to the Journal of Accountancy, it takes a full 30 days before new employees begin to become independent. Starting 2024 with a team of independent employees who are aware of their responsibilities and know how to use software and technology that is specific to their organization can put your company ahead of the competition that is starting to onboard new employees in the new year. 

The advantages of beginning your hiring process in November are clear. This strategic approach enables your company to leverage the holiday season's slow-down to train and prepare new hires, while also optimizing your hiring budget. It grants access to in-demand public accounting candidates and ensures a head start in adopting essential technology. By acting now, you set your business on a path to thrive in 2024, well-prepared and ahead of the curve.