You Get What You Measure

Jeff DeYoung, MP of the Chicago & Minneapolis offices of Baker Tilly, the 16^th largest CPA firm in the U.S., gave a marvelous presentation to my Chicago roundtable group.

A few years ago, the former Virchow Krause boldly changed its name to Baker Tilly.  “We really like the international brand name – there are only 8 or 10 in the world.  Our marketing studies show that with a 30% increase in brand awareness comes a 20% increase in new clients.”

BT’s overarching marketing philosophy:  “We go to market by industry,” standard practice for firms over $20M, but strangely missing among most smaller firms.

One of the keys to Baker Tilly’s success is its adherence to  “you get what you measure.”  When you decide what to measure, you predetermine what is going to be important. Here’s what BT measures its partners on:

• “It’s all about growth and leadership,” says DeYoung.
• Achievement of formal, written goals.
• Upward evaluations by the staff.
• Getting a Net Promoter Score (a measure of client service excellence evidenced by getting client referrals) of at least 90%.
• Mentoring staff.

CPA firms in the Midwest experience one of the lower levels of female partners in the country (only 10% in the latest Rosenberg MAP Survey), but Baker Tilly bucks that metric.  Their Minneapolis office has 30% female partners and Chicago is at 22%.  “We put a wall around our female staff and have a special program for women.”

DeYoung shared with us a dramatic new trend:  “Almost overnight, big firms are hiring huge numbers of college graduates.”

Baker Tilly has merged in roughly two dozen firms in the past 10 years.  “We are particularly attracted to firms with quality partners having industry specializations.  But don’t come to us to solve your problems.”