Set Your Staff on the Right Course

By Steven E. Sacks, CPA, CGMA, ABC

If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there is a lesson Alice in Wonderland learned much to her frustration. This, too, can be frustrating for professionals entering the workforce, especially in CPA firms. Firms oftentimes are not clear about establishing and communicating expectations for their new hires. The focus on billable hours takes precedence over building professional and personal growth. While some firms are starting to come around, the vast majority overlook relevant staff training. The accounting profession because of its compliance-oriented nature must ensure that its staff meets the yearly requirements for continuing professional education. Much of what is required doesn’t reflect what these young professionals do, and more important, doesn’t reflect their areas of interest or strengths.

Such is the conundrum firms face: investing in new staff and then investing some more for replacements as these professionals leave for greener pastures. Why? Firms are looking at their training and education budgets simply as a cost of operating a business. But if they claim their employees are their most important assets, well, then, talk about real-life depreciable assets. Technology for years has changed learning. There are many delivery options for training and education self-study, interactive and group that don’t involve travel costs or cause disruption in work schedules.

And for those staff members who are already on an upward trajectory? Firm leaders should encourage their future stars to attend conferences that are designed not only for personal and professional growth but to learn the value of networking. An up-and-comer can benefit his or her firm by bringing back business intelligence in the form of best practices, while also gaining a broader business perspective. Not such a bad thing.

Partners should want their firms’ next generation of leaders to hone the ability to interact with their counterparts as it will help with listening skills. There is also the possibility of developing business and gaining a mentor, both of which will also benefit the firm.

If you have identified your future stars but also see that event networking is outside their comfort zone, do what is expected as a leader: be an advocate, coach, cheerleader and counselor for these up-and-comers. Learning to mix and mingle with different crowds and personalities will be particularly helpful in their supervisory or managerial role. It will also help these future leaders gain a greater sense of self-awareness of their strengths and weaknesses that may not otherwise be adequately or effectively explained to them in an after-engagement performance review. Help them chart their course.

Such a comparatively small investment in your people will yield a long-term positive return for the firm and your staff.

 

About Steve

Steven Sacks is the CEO of Solutions to Results, LLC, a consultancy that specializes in helping individuals, firms and organizations meet the challenges of communicating with clarity and purpose. Visit his website at www.solutions2results.com.