is your brand living its promise?
by sarah dobek
the profession will continue to see consolidation at all levels as mega firms continue to be created, presenting challenges and opportunities for middle-market firms. to compete, firms of all sizes will see a heavier focus on growth beyond their geographical boundaries. this will also require many more technical challenges and resources.
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labor force challenges will endure, and firms will continue working to augment their staff more deeply. firms will continue to explore roles for those in their firm. while it will take many years for the collegiate institutions to catch up, defining clear paths and roles for client servers, relationship professionals and technical experts must happen as part of this professionwide change. firms will continue to leverage operational support and continue asking questions about what they really must do and how to create new roles to support their firms.
to support this evolution in operational support, client service, sales support and full rainmaker support will be critical to learning and development. learning has and will continue to evolve to meet the needs of today’s firms. like firms, it will live in a hybrid environment.
on the marketing front, inbound marketing has been growing since the pandemic, and that’s not changing. rethinking how firms target and engage ideal buyers and how they support living their brand promise through client service continues to be a big focus. many firms are working to define this with more clarity, especially as they leverage more operational support.
we are well overdue for a slowdown in the economy, and if it’s not here in the next 12 months, it will be in the next 18. as they always have, cpas will weather the storm of change well, and because the labor force is tight, i don’t believe it will be as impactful as previous dips. however, it may give the profession a chance to catch its breath for a few minutes.
the best way to describe the past 12 months for many firms is eye-opening. the profession has known for some time about the labor shortages and shifts in workforce labor. many firms felt that – and more – at unprecedented levels. regardless of how good they are at retaining talent, one of the top conversations firms are having is around how to manage it and, more importantly, how to deal with it. they are taking a hard look at their client base and defining who is their ideal client and buyer. it’s no longer just about profitability or revenue. those were the first passes.
it’s going much deeper than that. this leads to a larger question about vision and strategy. where are we going? who do we want to be? the outcomes of the labor force, the large amount of big firm consolidation, and the pandemic are causing firms to pause and rethink in very important ways.
in adapting to the labor force challenges, firms are taking important steps to build out their operational teams. we are seeing them more fully embrace various levels of operational support, such as client excellence administrators, project coordinators and schedulers, and true executive administrative support. they are outsourcing and supplementing in all areas where needed.