Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

IS NO PERFORMANCE REVIEW AN IMPROVEMENT OVER WHAT YOU DO NOW?

While it seems that most CPA firms conduct their annual performance review process in the summer, there are some who still hold-off until December or early January to give formal feedback on performance to their team members.

I used to believe very strongly that an annual performance review is an ABSOLUTE must and that people will sink into the land of poor performance and poor attitudes if they don’t hear, hopefully more often than annually, how they are doing and if they are meeting expectations

While I still believe that LOTS of feedback is important (I like to see formal feedback given at least 3 times per year), I believe immediate feedback, especially if something needs improvement, is much more important than any formal, sit-down, go-thru-the-forms process.

Of course, daily positive feedback needs to be part of your culture. All this is called MANAGING and most accounting firms need to do a better job in this area. Period.

I will be focusing on this topic in a couple of weeks with the managers of Collins Barrow, a Canadian association of accounting firms. If you are a Collins Barrow firm, I hope your managers are registered.

I urge you to follow this link and read a recent article on The Juggle blog (a Wall Street Journal site dedicated to juggling work and family). Here’s an excerpt:

Carol Bartz, chief executive of Yahoo, assailed the entire performance review process in a recent interview in the New York Times. Ms. Bartz says she would rather skip annual performance reviews altogether in favor of telling someone right away when they perform poorly. “When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don’t say six months later, ‘Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?’ That doesn’t make sense,” she is quoted as saying. She prefers more instant response: “This is what’s on my mind. This is quick feedback.” Then she moves on to the next thing. Many young workers, in particular, prefer quicker and more frequent feedback than the annual review affords them.

I hope you are managing your people every day by simply giving them feedback as they move through their projects. This means open, honest and immediate feedback. And, please do not talk to them everyday about the weather, about their favorite sports team’s performance or about what was on TV last night. Talk, talk, talk about the work they are doing, if they are on target for completion and if there is anything you can do (as their manager) to help them.

As busy season nears and you reflect upon your team and your partners, keep this quote in mind.

“Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs.” – - Peter Drucker

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