An ounce of retention...

What’s the best way to get top-notch senior accountants? Hire them while they’re star students — and make sure they stick around. To that end, Toronto-based Mintz & Partners is sending its co-op students back to class with a $150 care package that’s sure to keep the firm upper-most in their thoughts. In addition to the use of a laptop and a gift certificate for groceries, the survival kits include school supplies, an alarm clock, coffee, green tea, a stress ball and seasonal items such as sunscreen, lip balm, a beach towel and iced tea mix, or hot chocolate, a scarf, gloves and an insulated travel mug.

In this hot market for CAs, Mintz, like other firms, was having difficulty attracting senior-level accountants, says Steven Dolman, team captain of the firm’s assurance and advisory services. “So we said, ‘let’s take a few steps back and grow our own.’” In addition to boosting retention, the kits get Mintz’s name out on campus, which helps procure the next crop of talent.