Does Your Firm Ace the Test On Developing Great Staff?

Ask yourself these questions but don’t stop there. It’s likely that for several of the areas below, your firm falls short of getting an “A.” The easy part is identifying what you need to work on. The hard – though not impossible – part is execution. Don’t just read these questions – TAKE ACTION!

1. Do your partners utilize their contacts with clients, referral sources and other people to actively identify potential staff recruits instead of giving themselves a waiver and leaving it totally up to the HR department to do all of the recruiting?
2. Does your firm really, truly, treat your staff as important as your clients? Does your firm walk the talk on this?
3. Are your partners proactively engaged in mentoring staff, helping them grow and taking responsibility for advancing specific staff in the firm under their tutelage? And is their success at this an important factor in determining the partners’ compensation?
4. Is your firm proactive in providing training in leadership development? Or is it passive by waiting for the staff to show you they have the right stuff and by asking about advancement opportunities before YOU lift a finger to mentor them and help them achieve their goals?
5. Does your firm treat staff professionally by providing them with flexible time off and by evaluating them on the timely performance of their work instead of measuring them based on butts in seats?
6. Does your firm conduct upward evaluation of the partners by the staff? Do you do this well by:
   (a) having an outside consultant, who has experience working with CPA firms, conduct the surveys anonymously?
   (b) making the results a factor in allocating partner income?
   (c) showing the staff how seriously you treat the project by sharing results with them (not by person, but in summary) and plans to make changes?
7. Has your firm realized that the remote work triggered by the pandemic will reduce the growth, development and morale of your staff unless you take specific, additional and more frequent actions to check in with them compared to the pre-COVID environment?
8. Do you periodically share with the staff why being a partner in a CPA firm is one of the greatest jobs on the face of the earth? Great compensation. Challenge. Clients that love you. No accountability (a joke!).

Our book CPA Firm Staff: Managing Your #1 Asset offers practical advice on ► talent management ► recruitment & retention ► flexibility ► importance of the boss ► mentoring ► leadership development ► performance feedback

Purchase your copy today!

Remember the challenge from above – don’t just think about these items, put them on your to-do list and get them done. A strong bench is your key to continuing a great career, high profitability and the eventual buyout of retiring partners.