Practical ideas, lessons learned and shared experiences for those in the world of CPA firm management, human resources, administration, marketing and technology.
In a CPA firm, the partners and managers are the bosses.
As I mentioned on Tuesday’s blog, every accounting firm has it’s cast of characters and your firm might have one of those partners who is absolutely great at delegation and thus has plenty of time to chat with those staffers working on his/her accounts. Perhaps this partner is more comfortable hanging-around with the team members and even eating lunch almost every day with them rather than eating with bankers, attorneys, prospects and even his/her best clients.
Maybe it is to the point where team members even dread seeing the partner coming down the hallway. I often hear team members complain about the partners/managers who tend to hover over them all the time.
Help is on the way! Share this post with team members and bosses in your firm. It’s from Bruce Tulgan (who I often refer to on this blog and in my presentations). He’s the author of It’s Okay To Be The Boss and most recently, a book that looks the opposite direction – It’s Okay To Manage Your Boss.
Watch this short video from Tulgan who offers some great advice to solve the “boss that talks too much” issue.
No man goes before his time; unless the boss leaves early
Hundreds of studies have found that the most engaged employees – those who report they’re fully invested in their jobs and committed to their employers – are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged.
However, only 20% of employees around the world report that they’re fully engaged at work.
The recommendation made to employers certainly applies to accounting firms. You must shift the focus from trying to get more out of people, to investing more in them.
The last few years, many firms have been running lean and mean when it comes to staffing. Cuts needed to be made back in 2008/09 and maybe even 2010. Your people are now looking to you, firm leaders, to provide relief and appreciation for the extra effort many of them have contributed recently.
Here’s what the studies show as the things employees need.
Commit to paying every employee a living wage
Give all employees a stake in the company’s success.
Design working environments that are safe, comfortable and appealing.
Provide healthy, high-quality food.
Create places for employees to rest and renew during the course of the working day.
Offer a well equipped gym and other facilities that encourage employees to move physically and stay fit.
Define clear and specific expectations.
Institute two-way performance reviews so that employees not only receive regular feedback but they are able to give feedback, too.
Hold leaders and managers accountable.
Create policies that encourage employees to set aside time to focus without interruption on their most important priorities.
Provide employees with ongoing opportunities and incentives to learn, develop and grow.
Stand for something beyond simply increasing profits.
I believe that CPA firms measure-up pretty well in many of these but still lack in others. How’s your firm doing?
You got to like your work. You have got to like what you are doing, you have got to be doing something worthwhile so you can like it.. because it is worthwhile, that it makes a difference, don't you see?
Inside CPA firms, people with authority often avoid difficult conversations. You can call them crucial conversations, critical confrontations or even honest performance feedback. If there is something unflattering to say, people often choose to simply avoid it or ask someone else to do it.
An example might be that the firm has a very clearly defined dress appropriate policy, however, Julie constantly ignores it and everyone notices. Bill, a manager, stops the firm administrator in the hall and says, “Did you see what Julie has on today? Could you please talk to her about it?”
I usually find this happens to firm administrators in CPA firms and sometimes to managing partners. It happens to some managers but not all, because there are select people in a firm who seem to have a natural ability to actually talk about the tough issues with people.
What do you do when a “messenger” discusses a performance problem they are having with someone or uses you to complain about another person in the firm?
Delivering unflattering feedback and becoming a problem-addresser rather than a problem-bearer is a skill that can be learned.
If you are working in a CPA firm and you are a managing partner, firm administrator, HR Director, Marketing Director/Coordinator, Training & Development Manager, partner, administrative assistant, senior manager, manager, senior or associate you need information on best practices and how to propel your firm forward in 2011 and 2012. In other words, if you are working in a CPA firm and are breathing, you play a role in helping your firm Thrive in Challenging Times.
I was reading an older post on the Mentor Plus blog by Edi Osborne. I had saved a link to the blog because…. well, just because. I bet you do that, too. You read something that is thought-provoking or simply a good idea that you want to implement or share at some point in time. Then you forget about it and never get around to implementing or even sharing.
I find this is a basic trait of many CPAs. I describe it in two-word phrases. If you have attended one of my presentations or workshops perhaps you have described your firm to me using two words.
Here’s the two-words for this situation and for many, many more inside CPA firms: Good Intentions. No Implementation.
Fall is coming and the threat of losing great people is looming. You have probably read the stories and stats about accountants – - you might have 20% turnover in 2011.
Read this blog post by Osborne, Performance Based Chickens. It is so entertaining and has a very important message for you as you manage, nurture, train and motivate your staff this fall.
Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs.
I was talking with a CPA partner recently and they commented that their firms mission statement would not inspire anyone. It was too long, too boring and no one in the firm even seemed to be able to recite it.
I read a lot of CPA firm mission statements and, yes, most of them sound very much alike and they really do not inspire. In fact, I believe that few professionals, like CPAs, are motivated by grand visions or clever mission statements.
Young, high-potential “superstars” inside CPA firms are inspired by individual managers/owners who know how to get the best out of them.
Yet, many CPA managers/owners simply have not been trained, mentored and coached in how to manage people. CPAs of all levels inside firms receive plenty of technical training, they do plenty of professional reading on the technical aspects of the profession but they have not been trained, nor do they read about how to manage people, how to give feedback in such a way that it leaves the recipient energized rather than resentful.
Even the managing partner (and many firms are seeing new MPs take office) has not been trained, as the old saying goes, on how to get a bunch of prima donnas to sing like a choir.
All of this is so important during a merger and there are lots of mergers going on in the profession right now. Firm leaders need to pick managers carefully and train them quickly.
Beginning this fall, I am involved in a training program for managing partners, future managing partners, PICs of offices and niches. Click here to download the full informational booklet. Click here to register.
I believe managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.
As you prepare for your management retreat this year, are you having your team grade you on your performance? Is a survey on your performance part of your firms regular feedback system?
On a scale of one to seven, with seven being outstanding how do you think you would rank? Often leaders are expecting a 6 or 7 and they are very surprised to receive a 3 or 4!
Honestly, I like to see a firms culture where upward, anonymous surveys are not necessary because leaders are continually asking for honest feedback, verbally, and giving honest, career-building feedback almost every day. However, I find that this is not usually the case. I am sad to report that I often find team members hesitate to be honest because they have some fear of retaliation
If you ask for feedback and receive some unfavorable ratings, it should not come as a surprise to you. Could some of your comments sound like these?
Bill needs to be more available.
Joe needs to make more timely decisions.
Sharon needs to be more clear and direct with her direct reports.
Mary seems to reward mediocrity.
Eric is always too busy and doesn’t seem to have time to give us feedback.
Sam’s challenge is being able to really hold people accountable.
Barry needs to be able to use the firms technology better.
Firm meetings are a big waste of time. We try to cover too much too slowly.
Of course, there are always a lot of positives, too. And, even with the negatives, the main point is that feedback is needed and should be acknowledged, discussed with the team and some action steps put in place. As leaders, once you ask for and receive your team’s feedback you need to visibly demonstrate that you take their feedback seriously and that you are making progress.
Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.
If you are working inside a CPA firm, by this time in March, everyone on the team has been working long and often stressful hours. They are moving from engagement to engagement, focusing on client service and responding to multiple priorities on a daily basis. Often they are eating dinner at the office and usually seeing way too little of their families.
Occasionally, tempers are short while expectations remain high and the managers and team are “mad” at someone up-the-line or down-the-line.
Requests are flying around the office: “I forgot to tell you, we have a meeting with the client in 2 hours and we need the draft statements!” “Big Fred Client is leaving for Florida tomorrow, can we get his return done by noon today?” “Can we pull some of those people out of the field to help with tax?”
We certainly need less of this kind of March Madness! Here are some suggestions to stop the CPA firm March Madness:
Think Positive
Smile when you walk down the hall. Stop and briefly chat (talk about the work) with the team, inquire how they are doing and ask if they need any guidance from you. Give them lots of cheerfulness and a positive attitude.
Stop Whining and Complaining
It is so easy to get caught up in the rumor mill; you get sucked in before you know it. So, STOP it! Be aware of your words and immediately think “STOP IT!” if you are coming across negatively.
Use Positive Self-Talk
When you do something really dumb what do you call yourself? (Idiot, jerk, dumbo). If you say it or think it often enough you might become it. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Don’t Walk Away From Negative People RUN away from them! Stay away from them physically and mentally.
Learn to Praise and Compliment Others Freely and Often
Some of us may have grown up with parents who were just naturally critical, so we may tend to be very critical of others, too. Do you think praise is too fake or schmoozy? There are two rules: Praise must be true. Praise must be specific.
You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.
I have a featured article in the AICPA’s Career Insider newsletter. I’m very pleased. I hope you’ll read it.
It is titled: Blame It On The Retiring Baby Boomers – Gearing up for the looming talent shortage, one million and counting.
The main message is: Firms that don’t craft a strategy to better attract, manage and retain their people will undoubtedly find themselves sliding backwards. Keep in mind that star performers don’t leave firms, they leave their direct supervisor. In a CPA firm that could be a partner, manager or supervisor. Have you provided your managers with training focused on how to be a great boss?
Smart CPA firm leaders will take advantage of opportunities like the PCPS Human Capital Forumto expand their people management expertise.
Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.
