what staff do like<\/strong><\/p>\n

chris frederiksen of panalitix (formerly 2020 group u.s.) surveyed a large number of young staff, and these are his findings about what they do<\/strong> like:<\/p>\n

\n
• they like the cachet of being cpas. firms must encourage staff to be active in the community and meet referral sources.<\/li>\n
• they like being with clients. firms should maximize staff\u2019s face time with clients. some misguided firms allow their partners to completely monopolize client relationships and face time, bringing all the client work into the office for staff to work on instead of letting them interact with clients and work in the field.<\/li>\n
• they like learning. when ambitious, competent young people stop learning and cease to be challenged, they often quit. make your firm a continual learning organization.<\/li>\n
• they like the flexibility of deciding when and where to work. firms should provide plenty of flexibility in these areas.<\/li>\n
• they love technology, the more the better. they get turned off by firms that are attached to paper. they get turned off by partners who barely know how to turn on a computer.<\/li>\n
• they like opportunities for input into changes in the firm. they like transparency. they hate surprises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  retaining staff: don\u2019t underestimate the power of money<\/strong><\/p>\n

  in addition to everything chris frederiksen\u2019s survey indicates, other surveys consistently show that compensation and benefits are at or near the top of what attracts staff and what retains them.<\/p>\n

  here\u2019s a great illustration. every other year or so, we conduct a staff forum in chicago. we ask 15 to 20 of the largest local firms in chicago to send us a staff person with one or two years of experience. for 2\u00bd hours, we discuss their jobs, their firms, their partners and other supervisors and what\u2019s important to them. results of the most recent staff forum are summarized in the next section.<\/p>\n

  one of our favorite moments is when we ask the young staff what they think the partners at their firms earn. their responses range from $150,000 to $250,000. a third of the responses are below $200,000. in the most recent session, the actual average income was $600,000. when we reveal this, their jaws drop.<\/p>\n

  one year a young man returned from the session, marched immediately into the managing partner\u2019s office and said: \u201ci just came back from rosenberg\u2019s staff forum and found out how much money you guys make. what do i have to do to become a partner?\u201d<\/p>\n

  when the managing partner told us of this, we asked him how the person was performing. the managing partner said his performance had been average at best. but in the years following this revelation, this staff person improved to the point where his performance was rated excellent.<\/p>\n

  doesn\u2019t every truly successful employee define success in terms of both<\/strong> job satisfaction and<\/strong> money? they are not mutually exclusive. we can<\/strong> have both!<\/p>\n

  marc rosenberg\u2019s morning with 17 young cpa firm staff<\/h3>\n

  here are key questions and findings from one of our staff forums:<\/p>\n

  \n
  1. what do you like most<\/em> about your job?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
     \n
     • \n
       \n
       • the people they work with<\/li>\n
       • tremendous exposure to the business world<\/li>\n
       • the work is never boring and they enjoy the opportunities to keep learning and be challenged<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
         \n
         1. what do you like least<\/em> about your job?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
            • \n
              \n
              • unrealistic time and budget expectations of partners<\/li>\n
              • the stress<\/li>\n
              • unpleasantness of the tax season<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n
                1. why did you choose the firm you work for?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                   very little had to do with ways that one firm might be truly<\/strong> different from another. examples: large vs. small. specialties. lots of young staff. training programs. leadership development and mentoring programs. winner of awards for best place to work. higher pay.<\/p>\n

                   instead, most of the responses had to do with these factors:<\/p>\n

                   \n
                   • \n
                     \n
                     • how much the staff liked the partners they interviewed with (the importance of which can never be overstated)<\/li>\n
                     • location (downtown vs. suburban)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                       the takeaway: we know these firms. they are clients of ours. many of the firms are indeed different from the others. but this message never came across to the recruits in the interview process. so, when recruiting, make sure you do a good job of differentiating your firm from others.<\/p>\n

                       \n
                       1. what do you think of your firm\u2019s mentoring programs? <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          only about half the firms had formal mentoring programs, but those staff who had them liked them.<\/p>\n

                          throughout the years, one of the most hotly debated mentoring practices has been the match of the mentor and mentee. most firms opt to totally control this match. the group emphasized the importance of having the right mentor. several said that they didn\u2019t click with the mentor initially assigned to them and this made the mentoring program ineffective for them. staff would like to be involved in the mentor selection process.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                          1. do you know what it takes to be a partner at your firm?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                             there was a resounding \u201cno\u201d to this question. this is inexcusable if your firm is serious about developing staff into partners.<\/p>\n

                             many partners in firms across the country are of the opinion that today\u2019s young people don\u2019t want to be partners. we have long disagreed with this as a blanket statement. firms\u2019 young people may say<\/strong> they don\u2019t want to be partners simply because they don\u2019t know how to become<\/strong> partners or what it means<\/strong> to be a partner. indeed, 60 percent of our group said they wanted to become partners.<\/p>\n

                             firms need to do a much better job of<\/p>\n

                             \n
                             • \n
                               \n
                               • putting in writing what it takes to be a partner<\/li>\n
                               • mentoring the staff<\/li>\n
                               • constantly talking up to the staff why being a cpa firm partner is an amazing job. it\u2019s fabulous because partners earn high incomes, are essentially their own bosses, function as entrepreneurs, have clients who love them and do challenging work for interesting businesses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                 \n
                                 1. how many total hours do you think partners work annually?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                    the average cited by the group was a staggering 3,219 hours. the actual number, per the rosenberg survey, is 2,450. staff see partners working when they leave and know they frequently work nights and weekends. staff want to know that someday they can run a firm and have a life too. make sure they know you don\u2019t work 3,200 hours a year. and if you do, be clear whether that far-above-average number is a requirement to become partner at your firm.<\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                    1. do women feel that their long-term career and partner opportunities are the same as men\u2019s?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                       none of the women in this particular forum aspired to become partners because they don\u2019t see it being compatible with raising a family. firms must work harder to communicate to their female staff that becoming a partner and raising a family are not mutually exclusive.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                       \n
                                       1. what is your overall satisfaction with your job?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          average rating was 7.9, with 10 the highest. we assume that the staff members who firms sent to our forum were considered at least average to above average. based on that assumption, we think firms would be unhappy with a 7.9.<\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                          1. what\u2019s most important to staff?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                             staff ranked several factors in descending order of importance to them. 1 was high and 10 was low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

                                             \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n rank<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n	important things that you want from your job and the firm you work for<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             1<\/td>\n	compensation and benefits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             2<\/td>\n	advancement opportunities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             3<\/td>\n	work-life balance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             4<\/td>\n	challenge in your work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             5<\/td>\n	supervisors who are good bosses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             6<\/td>\n	training<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             7<\/td>\n	flexibility on when<\/strong> and where<\/strong> you work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             8<\/td>\n	fun<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             9<\/td>\n	appreciation and recognition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                             10<\/td>\n	mentoring<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n  <\/p>\n \n what are examples of flexibility that appeal to you?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n two responses consistently come out loud and clear and have for quite some time:<\/p>\n \n \n \n they want to be free of limits on when they start work and when they stop work. they want to be judged on the quality of their work and whether they completed the work on time, not whether they had their butts in seats.<\/li>\n they want to do more of their work remotely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \n what is your preferred method of communication?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n this may come as a surprise to many, but our group of young staff understood the importance of face-to-face communication. still, they preferred email over face-to-face communication because it gives them a record of what was stated and allows them more time to think about what to say.<\/p>\n \n what can your firm do that would retain you for at least five more years?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n \n give better feedback, especially more timely feedback.<\/li>\n offer effective mentoring and leadership development programs.<\/li>\n provide more client interaction.<\/li>\n make the tax season less onerous.<\/li>\n be more flexible about when and where they work.<\/li>\n give better on-the-job training.<\/li>\n employ lots of young people so a young staff person has a peer group.<\/li>\n set more realistic budget expectations on jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n the high cost of turnover<\/h3>\n much has been written about the high cost of turnover. almost all estimates range from six to nine months of an employee\u2019s annual compensation. here is a worksheet for computing the cost of turnover at your firm.<\/p>\n computing the cost of turnover at cpa firms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n hard turnover costs<\/strong><\/td>\n dollars<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n separation processing, admin time and exit interviews<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n temporary staff to fill in, including the time to hire and train them<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n search-firm fees and staff referral bounties<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n interviewing and screening time of all personnel involved<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n training and ramp-up time for new employee; includes time of trainers, external costs and on-the-job training<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n other<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n less:<\/strong> cost savings while the position is vacant<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n total hard costs<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n soft turnover costs<\/strong><\/td>\n dollars<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n lost productivity during disengagement; reduced hours and effectiveness<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n time discussing issues and the need for change<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n lost work production during vacancy, including work rejected because of lost capacity<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n impact of overburdened staff and their reduced effectiveness<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n client dissatisfaction with the turnover, perhaps measured by lost clients<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n other<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n total soft costs<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n total cost of turnover: hard + soft costs<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" the 14 top reasons they depart, plus insights from young employees.<\/strong> \n<\/a> \nby marc rosenberg<\/i> \ncpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1339,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3120,3002,2297,2301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pro-member-exclusive","category-special","category-staffing","category-talent"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n