5 sets of tools that will help.
by roman h. kepczyk
bridging the gap
amid all the discussion of improving understanding and bridging the gap in a somewhat humanistic sense, it’s important to also address the purely mechanical aspects of communication.
more: what’s your why? and why should anyone care? | 6 tips for fostering leadership in your organization | a simple way to dissolve the generational gap | the culture of continuous improvement | a call for change: an open letter to each generation
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for firms to optimize efficiency and client service as well as to overcome generational differences, they must select and standardize the tools they use for communication. this is another area where shared knowledge contributes to performance in addition to a harmonious culture.
communication is a critical component within every firm that can either enhance or detract from overall productivity. core communication skills are developed as people grow.
most are comfortable with the communication tools they were introduced to early and utilize during their career, especially those they use on a day-to-day basis. current firm leaders most likely can recall pink phone message slips and playing phone tag with voicemail, although a majority have evolved to appreciate the benefits of email for communicating with clients and digital calendars for setting appointments.
at the other end of the spectrum is the next generation of firm leaders who have recently entered into management and view those technologies as “old school” and somewhat archaic when compared to the real-time communication capabilities of today’s social media and collaboration tools. most emerging leaders are used to tools such as skype, yammer, socialcast and facetime, which provide instant communication (and satisfaction) with minuscule bits of information.
to improve performance, it is important to
- objectively evaluate firm production processes and
- monitor advancements in technology.
armed with this information, you can determine the optimal tools and processes to provide efficient service to clients while at the same time reducing wasteful practices. firms waste a significant amount of time in the absence of a clear understanding of what is to be done and when personnel do not have sufficient access to appropriate direction from leaders.
when millennial staff communicate with tools different from those utilized by their in-charges (often the leaders of the firm), there can be a disconnect. this results in false starts, project delays and a pattern of readdressing the same issue without complete information, all of which mean wasted productivity for the firm.
the reality today is that both current and emerging leaders need to learn to utilize the most effective available collaboration technologies within the context of serving clients. selecting a uniform package of tools to use across the firm must be seen as part of an overall effort to improve communication and maximize efficiency. consider these five sets of tools that can help improve collaboration within the firm and with clients:
- unified messaging: originally called cti (computer telephony integration), unified messaging allows for voicemail and faxes to be delivered within email so that all communications are centralized in one location (usually microsoft outlook), which is accessible on smartphones and tablets as well as workstations. unified messaging is still a critical collaboration tool as this is the way many clients prefer to communicate and is the most convenient for them. newer phone systems have the ability to link to microsoft exchange to deliver voicemail as an attached .wav file. faxes can be delivered as attached files through fax servers built into today’s duplicators and web-based services such as j2 and nextiva.
- portals/secure email: email has become a default method of transferring information between the firm and its clients. unfortunately, email poses a security threat when sending confidential data and violates cybersecurity laws in most states if taxpayer identifiable information is included. the solution for firms is to standardize secure document delivery through encrypted email and portals. email solutions such as sharefile, cpa safemail and filegenius allow for encrypted email delivery that is easy for clients to utilize. most of the major tax application vendors have integrated portal solutions that make it easy for staff to publish and deliver final tax returns directly to the client’s portal from their tax program, using an automated process. firms find that posting instructions and video tutorials on the portal helps clients with usage and answers common questions.
- instant messaging: instant messaging tools such as skype for business (formerly microsoft lync), cisco jabber and spark have status screens that allow staff to see the availability of their in-charge and to send a text message if they have a question. getting an appropriate answer to an immediate question allows staff to move ahead with work and get it done right the first time. while some in-charges view random staff interruptions as disruptive, it is a primary responsibility of being a manager and rules should be set regarding availability. staff have long utilized standalone instant messaging tools on their own (think aol, yahoo and other public messenger tools), but most instant messaging tools have evolved as part of a comprehensive collaboration suite.
- collaboration suite: collaboration tools today have gone well beyond instant messaging to include real-time communications such as voice and video chat, screen sharing and even the ability to take control of the other person’s screen to provide assistance. while instant messaging is optimal for quick questions, using audio and video allows for more complex discussions and interactions to occur more efficiently as our voice tone and facial expressions aid significantly in communication. skype for business, cisco jabber and google hangouts are examples of comprehensive collaboration suites that firms might consider for internal use. within the accounting profession, we find that the major application vendors are very microsoft-centric with an obvious preference for windows and office tools integration. this trend leads us to recommend that firms adopt skype for business (formerly lync), and provide ongoing training so all firm members become proficient at using its many features. for assisting clients with their needs, firms should have remote access tools such as join.me, logmein and gotomypc available that all staff are trained on and comfortable using.
- knowledge inquiry and capture: knowledge capture tools allow firm personnel to ask others about their knowledge and allows them to consolidate all responses to that inquiry in a searchable format so it can be updated and accessed at a later time. early adopters of knowledge management tools utilized lotus notes, microsoft sharepoint and even document management. recently, social networking tools such as microsoft yammer, vmware socialcast and salesforce chatter have begun to make inroads into firms for this specific purpose, as they are often easier and more cost-effective to utilize. departmental groups and industry segments can set up their own groups and firm personnel can join and contribute to the specific areas where they have input. this allows firm knowledge to be conveniently captured in a tool that requires minimal training and is available in the event that a key employee leaves the firm.
improving intra-firm and firm-client communications by taking advantage of today’s collaboration tools will make the firm more effective and efficient and will bring together all team members on a common platform. firms should consider allocating time during the slower summer months to discuss the various tools that are available today and how they can be optimized for the benefit of both the firm and its clients.
discussion questions
- how would the quality of a client project improve if current and emerging leaders collaborate and communicate more effectively with innovative technology tools?
- what is the most effective way for current and emerging leaders to collaborate on a project when they are working in different locations?
- in what areas would it be helpful for the firm leaders to capture and share the collective knowledge and experiences for the rest of the team to utilize?