five strategies for keeping your firm out of it.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
is your firm in a doom spiral?
more: business model transformation: do it or die | misperceptions, corrections, accountancy and lemonade | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | three ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
here’s what it looks like:
- a cpa quits or retires.
- the firm can’t attract a replacement.
- the firmwide workload remains constant.
- increased workloads get redistributed.
- a cpa quits because of stress.
- workloads increase again.
- someone else quits. no one gets hired.
- the firm turns away clients.
- revenue drops. salaries stagnate.
- uncompetitive salaries hinder hiring.
- a cpa quits or retires.
- repeat.
and so it goes, around and around, down and down.
this does not end well
this cycle, all too common, does not end well. among management’s many priorities – keeping up with technology, marketing the business, workflow efficiency, quality control – staying out of the doom spiral should rank high.
as fewer and fewer recent graduates opt for careers in accounting, recruitment gets more and more difficult. and retention of current professionals gets more and more important.
who wants to quit?
but retention isn’t getting any easier. according to a survey conducted by the pennsylvania institute of cpas, something like 14 percent of cpas have little or no desire to stay with their current firm. roughly one in five wouldn’t mind ditching the accounting profession altogether.
and who wants to quit?
women, who make up slightly more than half of the profession, are more likely to leave because of work-life imbalance.
immigrants, half of whom say they would leave their jobs if another job accommodated their needs outside of work.
gen z (whippersnappers born between 1995 and 2004), who place greater importance on work-life balance than any previous generation.
here are some stats from the survey, answers to what would increase cpas’ desire to stay with their firm or in the profession.
- 42 percent said working hours capped at, say, 40 or 50 hours a week.
- 37 percent said better benefits, such as parental leave, sabbatical, more paid time off.
- 33 percent said more flexible options around hours and location.
- 33 percent said workload spread more evenly across the year.
- 29 percent said better time-off packages.
those numbers aren’t much lower than the 40 percent who said a higher salary would help hold them at their firm or in the profession.
higher salaries are relatively easy to resolve. it’s just numbers.
but issues of work-life balance are harder to measure and define.
five strategies
the picpa survey offers five general strategies for providing the balance that can keep firms out of the doom spiral.
- don’t overwhelm the team. an expanding clientele calls for more capacity planning. if people can’t be recruited, look for part-timers, contractors, offshore teams, staff development – whatever works.
- offer engaging work. good professionals want challenges, full use of their skills, new kinds of work.
- lead by example. make sure leaders take time off, focus on hobbies, go to social events.
- implement flexible time policies. flex-time can be a cost-effective competitive differentiator and retention advantage. a four-day workweek capped at 10 hours a day? options to come in later and work later, or vice versa? longer lunch breaks? nap time? why not?
- instill a culture of wellbeing. don’t let people feel guilty for not working overtime. in fact, limit their overtime. and let them decide how the firm can improve their lives.
these strategies may depend on a whole new business model with a framework that nurtures a healthy, conducive, attractive, productive culture.