practice makes progress.
by sarah johnson dobek
inovautus consulting
it’s no secret most accounting firms are facing partner succession and will continue to do so for years to come. the most common area of concern is how to involve new cpas in your firm’s growth activities.
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the short solution is young staff members should be involved in anything that will help them learn the business and develop the skills they need to lead one day, whether that means the partner track or some other role. it’s never too early to start. in fact, immersion should be expected from the first day they walk into the firm.
here are four instant and easy ways to get your young people involved in the business:
bring them with you to prospect and client meetings
we learn a lot by observing other people in action. when you invite a staff member to shadow you, their role is to watch and learn. giving inexperienced staff access and exposure will help them become comfortable in similar situations.
the time will also allow you to have high-level conversations about the business. the ride back to the office is a great time to debrief with the young staff member about meeting specifics and talk about the foundational aspect of relationship building. if you engage your young professionals in these situations early, they will be able to run meetings with poise and confidence independently when they hit the manager level.
ask them to write
writing is a great way to get young team members involved in your firm’s marketing and growth efforts. the process forces professionals to learn the valuable skill of communicating what they do in layman’s terms.
we all know partners struggle to find the time to write, so this is a perfect entry point for those on the management track. as a bonus, it also creates an opportunity for partners and young staff to work together on a project.
ask your seniors and supervisors to write one or two articles per year. an easy place to start is with a how-to or faq-type article. ask your writers to focus on a common question they get from clients or a frequent conversation. another idea is to rewrite an existing article. this option is ideal if you have access to technical updates that can be translated into plain english.
get them involved in social media
junior staff members probably are more comfortable and knowledgeable about social media than most partners. they can increase your firm’s digital visibility by training those less comfortable in the social media world.
another option is to task them with taking an active role in your social media initiatives. reasonable goals include growing your firm’s networks, conducting research for prospect meetings and finding relevant content to share through your channels. partners must maintain social media oversight, so ensure you have a process to review their work.
involve them in cross-selling
your younger staff is in most of the day-to-day client work. if you begin by teaching them about the business – and the opportunities to grow that business – they’re in an amazing position to help you identify valuable cross-serving opportunities.
begin by choosing no more than two focus areas. teach your staff about what to listen for or how to identify opportunities. don’t ask them to sell anything. simply ask them to bring any opportunities they see directly to you. from there, you can then assess the opportunity and decide if and how to bring it up with the client. the key here is not to reprimand the staff member if they misread a situation or misfire on an opportunity. instead, take the opportunity to reteach misinterpreted situations and encourage them to try again when an exploration doesn’t pan out!
if you make the mentor-mentee relationship a positive experience, the process will yield great results before you know it. remember, practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, but it does mean progress.
involving your young cpas early, often, and in the right situations will help you pivot with confidence.