6 ways to combine it with personal interventions.
by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner
too many firms’ primary way to manage partner performance and hold them accountable is with compensation. their reasoning is this:
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if partners perform well, they will see their reward in the form of higher compensation. if partners perform below expectations, they will get the message in the form of a disappointing compensation number. other methods are not necessary. it’s all about the money.
yet research studies have shown repeatedly that compensation is often an ineffective means of motivating people to perform. the higher one’s income, the more true this is, and cpa firm partners’ income is higher than that of 95 percent or more of all people in the world.
though partner compensation is not the best way to manage partner behavior and performance, it is one of several tools that should be in the managing partner’s arsenal of partner management techniques.
one of many memorable speeches by president john f. kennedy was given in july 1962: “we choose to go to the moon in this decade not because it is easy but because it is hard.”
amazingly, americans first walked on the moon only seven years later, in 1969.
the easy way to manage partners is with compensation, but it’s often ineffective. the hardest but most effective way is with the managing partner’s personal, face-to-face intervention and involvement with the partners. this, of course, takes lots of time, one of many big reasons why managing partners should not be burdened by a large client base.
in a nutshell, here is how managing partners should use partner compensation to manage partner performance, in conjunction with personal interventions:
- formalize in writing smart goals and expectations for each partner.
- monitor progress throughout the year. give feedback.
- where progress is lagging, help partners stay on track and coach them to succeed.
- conduct a written performance appraisal at the end of the year. it should include an assessment of the extent to which partners achieved their goals and met expectations.
- allocate income based on several factors, including the degree to which partners met their goals and expectations.
- deliver the final income number to each partner one on one, explaining how their performance links with their compensation. explain what partners did to increase their income and what decreased it.
manage partners by encouraging peer pressure
most firms have 15 or fewer partners. at this size, it’s common for each partner to form opinions on the performance and behavior of other partners. to the extent that these opinions can be conveyed to other partners in a constructive manner, they can be very powerful.
despite the managing partner’s best efforts, after a while some partners may not pay enough attention to what the managing partner says. but when another partner makes a comment about them that hits home, it can make a big impact.
managing partners have a big job. it can be stressful and difficult. firms shouldn’t load their managing partners with 100 percent of the burden of adjusting partner behavior. when partners see something that isn’t right about how a fellow partner performs, they have an obligation to act on it, either indirectly to the managing partner or face to face, perhaps at a partner meeting.