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bonus: a sample flexible work arrangement policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n by marc rosenberg<\/i> this post originally by convergencecoaching, cofounded and led by jennifer wilson; updated by rosenberg associates<\/em><\/p>\n what is work flexibility?<\/p>\n convergence coaching uses the terms \u201canytime, anywhere work\u201d and \u201cwork flexibility\u201d very similarly. both refer to increased flexibility around timing and location, around one\u2019s work schedule and the place where work is done, while simultaneously meeting the needs of its staff and the goals of the firm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cwe like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they (are) at their desk or in their kitchen. yours truly has never worked out of an office and never will.\u201d \u2013 richard branson<\/p>\n \u201cbe stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods.\u201d \u2013 anonymous convergencecoaching\u2019s anytime, anywhere survey<\/strong><\/p>\n convergencecoaching conducts a biannual survey of cpa firms and their adoption of flexible work initiatives. not surprisingly, results from their survey published in january 2023 showed significant changes in the flexibility firms are granting their employees compared to prior years. a total of 216 public accounting firms participated in this survey. results were collected from june to august 2022.<\/p>\n key highlights from this survey:<\/p>\n guidelines for flexible work policies<\/strong><\/p>\n the best way to reduce conflict and disappointment in flexible work policies is to establish clear expectations, and there is no better way to accomplish this than by having a clear, transparent and up-to-date policy document.<\/p>\n paid time off consists of vacation, holidays, sick time and personal time off. of all personnel policies, the pto area is changing most rapidly.<\/p>\n traditionally firms have specified the number of vacation days, holidays, sick and personal days off that staff are allowed. about 10 to 15 years ago, many firms made a moderate adjustment, specifying a total for all of these days and calling them pto days. this was a nice step toward giving staff more flexibility in taking time off when they needed it.<\/p>\n but the movement today is to totally abandon all policies governing the amount of time staff can take time off. instead, let them take as much time off as they wish. the critical caveats are (a) staff must meet their firms\u2019 production targets and (b) staff must satisfy clients\u2019 needs, meet deadlines and provide them with world-class service. these standards continue to be paramount and nonnegotiable.<\/p>\n these are the highlights of a presentation made by convergencecoaching on unlimited pto:<\/p>\n why the firms adopted unlimited pto<\/strong><\/p>\n factors and issues considered<\/strong><\/p>\n who was involved in the transition process?<\/strong><\/p>\n partners, staff, hr, marketing and managing partners from other firms.<\/p>\n eligibility considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n advice to new adopters<\/strong><\/p>\n in addition, we\u2019ve noted that in some firms implementing unlimited or flexible pto, some employees struggle with understanding the system and therefore take much less time off than they did before. we recommend that you monitor both situations (people taking excessive time off and those not taking enough) to ensure the goal of providing a pto benefit is being met.<\/p>\n from a blog post by jennifer wilson<\/em><\/p>\n i always challenge firm leaders to evaluate their \u201cold school\u201d practices and shift toward more engaging, motivating and even \u201ccool\u201d ways of operating to retain top talent. one of the ideas we\u2019re hearing cool firms employ is eliminating mandatory saturdays during busy season.<\/p>\n when i\u2019ve shared this in group settings at cpa conferences, i literally hear a gasp of surprise because it challenges one of the most fundamental elements of public accounting: tracking, measuring and valuing time. in this blog, i want to explore the possibility of eliminating mandatory saturdays \u2013 which does not<\/strong> mean eliminating overtime in most cases \u2013 and discuss ways that might help make this \u201cnew school\u201d idea work and make public accounting an even cooler profession for up-and-comers.<\/p>\n to get us started, i want to address a few mental shifts i believe your leadership team will have to make to get to the place where you give up mandatory saturdays:<\/p>\n excerpted from an article written by derek loosvelt, senior finance editor and writer for vault.com, that appeared in vault blogs<\/em><\/p>\n for better or worse, we can now work anywhere. there\u2019s nowhere our employers and clients can\u2019t reach us. and there\u2019s nowhere we can\u2019t reach our employers and clients.<\/p>\n some of us like this arrangement. some of us don\u2019t. all things considered, are flexible hours helping or hurting us?<\/p>\n according to some 9,000 professionals who took our latest accounting survey, flexible hours are indeed helping us, are good and are a blessing. in fact, when we asked accountants to tell us what the best non-monetary perks were at their firms, they told us that no. 1 was vacation time, followed very closely by no. 2, flexible hours.<\/p>\n what can be difficult, though, is being able to take time off during the tax season.<\/p>\n this topic of flexibility was addressed in a wall street journal <\/em>piece. the article delineated between integrators (employees who embrace moving often between work and home life) and separators (those who prefer larger blocks of time in each area).<\/p>\n integrators<\/strong> \u201callow work and home life to bleed together.\u201d they \u201ctoggle between work and home tasks from the moment they wake up.\u201d they answer emails \u201cwhile working out and while waiting in the carpool line.\u201d they get more work done after the children are in bed. integrators feel \u201cthis enables them to be as productive as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n separators<\/strong> prefer to draw a line between home and work life. these people want to focus on work when they\u2019re at the office and on personal life when they are home. for them, the act of shifting gears saps their energy and frustrates them.<\/p>\n separately but related, another thing accountants told us in overwhelming numbers is that even outside of busy season it can be difficult to use their vacation days.<\/p>\n so while accountants appreciate the generosity of pto days offered, they\u2019d appreciate them a lot more if they could actually use them.<\/p>\n excerpted from a blog post by art kuesel of kuesel consulting<\/em><\/p>\n it\u2019s funny how people and organizations can launch a new philosophy, policy or approach with the best of intentions, but somehow fail to consider an unintended consequence that threatens to negate the whole purpose of the original initiative.<\/p>\n examples:<\/p>\n kuesel\u2019s post illustrates the principle of unintended consequences quite well. he cites the rash of cpa firms that have recently moved to an \u201ceveryday jeans policy.\u201d he points out the major caveat of the policy: \u201cif you don\u2019t have a client meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n while this \u201call jeans\u201d policy might seem to be a cause for celebration for staff, it has unintended consequences. kuesel asks: \u201cdon\u2019t we want our personnel to be spending time with clients, prospects and referral sources? might this \u2018all jeans\u2019 policy subconsciously lead to a reduction of face time by partners and staff?\u201d<\/p>\n program purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n [your firm name] is committed to helping team members manage the competing demands of work, family and life-related issues by offering a number of possible flexible work options. the goal is to provide team members with increased flexibility around their work schedule and the place where work gets done, while simultaneously meeting the needs of our clients and team members and the goals and objectives of our firm.<\/p>\n the following are common flexible work plans that offer you more control over when your work is completed. these programs don\u2019t impact the production expectations of those participating, and therefore should have no impact on compensation, benefits and work assignments. arrangements can be modified to create the most suitable plan for your specific situation.<\/p>\n day-to-day flextime<\/strong><\/p>\n this type of plan officially recognizes that team members have obligations outside the firm and empowers team members to adjust their schedules accordingly. it allows for small choices and changes in when team members work and includes only non-recurring, inconsistent events. we want our team members to be able to attend their kids\u2019 sporting events, concerts and other school functions. it acknowledges that outside commitments like doctor appointments, home repairs and auto repairs (to name a few) are a part of everyday life.<\/p>\n in this type of day-to-day flextime, team members are trusted to make up any production lost because of missed work for personal appointments at night, on weekends or whenever the team member chooses. for exempt employees \u2013 those who are salaried and exempt from overtime pay \u2013 true day-to-day flextime does not require them to get permission for this time off, nor are they required to use paid time off (pto) when they need a small portion of the day.<\/p>\n this allows team members to feel trusted and also acknowledges the \u201cgive and take\u201d of a true professional, who may work more hours in one week but need a few hours off the next. it is expected that the time off be blocked off on your calendar so that it is clear that you are otherwise engaged and not accessible for work.<\/strong><\/p>\n early \/ late start<\/strong><\/p>\n this program allows team members to start and end their day at a time of their choosing. this may be a structured program where you work a set schedule like 7:00 a.m.\u20134:00 p.m. or 9:00 a.m.\u20136:00 p.m. or it may be a more informal program that allows you to start your day when you choose, as long as you achieve expected production.<\/p>\n if you are using the early\/late start program, you must be available and accessible during our firm\u2019s core working hours for work from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. monday through friday, unless you have a non-recurring event taking place during this time.<\/p>\n compressed workweek<\/strong><\/p>\n a compressed workweek program allows exempt (salaried) team members to work more hours per day so that they can work fewer days per week or month. examples: working four 10-hour days or 12 hours during peak work periods.<\/p>\n this next set of flexible work arrangements affects hours and production expectations. team members who pursue these flextime programs seek to produce a reduced amount of work results than would be expected in a full-time position. as a result, there are key considerations in creating each individual\u2019s agreement and plan, namely compensation and benefits adjustments, work assignments, expected administrative time and eligibility to manage others. with all of these programs, good communication is vital to ensure client and firm needs are attended to regularly.<\/p>\n part-time program<\/strong><\/p>\n this program can be customized to fit the firm\u2019s needs as well as the team member\u2019s needs. it allows for reduced weekly schedules or working for only part of the year.<\/p>\n zero overtime program<\/strong><\/p>\n this program allows team members to work full-time without the requirement of working extra hours.<\/p>\n reduced hours off-peak<\/strong><\/p>\n this program allows an exempt employee to work overtime hours in peak season and then reduce their work hours in nonpeak periods.<\/p>\n day-to-day anywhere work<\/strong><\/p>\n this plan recognizes that team members have obligations outside the firm and empowers them to adjust their worksite accordingly. it is for small choices and changes where team members work, and includes only nonrecurring, inconsistent events.<\/p>\n it recognizes that team members might want to attend their child\u2019s midday music performance or an important event in a parent\u2019s life and recognizes that work on that day becomes more effective from home than the office. it acknowledges that, for example, a child\u2019s illness or a visit from the plumber is part of everyday life and a team member can still work productively away from the office while tending to these matters.<\/p>\n work from home<\/strong><\/p>\n a work-from-home arrangement allows a team member to work virtually from their home for part of or their entire work schedule. when a work-from-home program is approved, it is typically expected that child care be arranged, especially for younger children, to minimize distractions and allow team members to maximize their productivity.<\/p>\n remote team members<\/strong><\/p>\n [your firm name] welcomes the opportunity to retain team members who, for personal reasons, choose to move out of the firm\u2019s geographic area. these work relationships require pre-approval but can allow an employee to live in a different geography and still be a productive part of our team.<\/p>\n eligibility<\/strong><\/p>\n personal responsibility will be imperative in making a flexible work arrangement successful. staff who demonstrate a high level of motivation, organization and ability to meet certain requirements will be considered for flexible work arrangements. please keep in mind that a work arrangement must be appropriate for your position at [your firm name] and that some arrangements might not be possible for all positions and many are disallowed for nonexempt employees based on state labor laws.<\/p>\n [your firm name] must also consider coverage and the need to meet client and staff service expectations.<\/p>\n if a team member\u2019s performance declines significantly under a flexible work arrangement, the firm reserves the right to review the team member\u2019s participation in the program.<\/p>\n duration<\/strong><\/p>\n each work arrangement will be unique and specific to each individual\u2019s needs as well as those of [your firm name]. therefore, the duration of arrangements will vary based on need.<\/p>\n flexibility<\/strong><\/p>\n a crucial component for a successful arrangement is flexibility. although every attempt will be made to honor your schedule, it must be understood that client meetings, cpe, etc. may sometimes be scheduled outside of the agreed-upon hours and you will be expected to participate in those events.<\/p>\n accessibility and communication<\/strong><\/p>\n team members participating in flexible work arrangements are expected to regularly communicate their schedule and accessibility to their supervisor and others and communicate best methods for staying in contact.<\/p>\n remote team members should plan to respond on the same day to communications that occur during core hours, even if the response is only a commitment to get back to the issue on a future day and time.<\/p>\n evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n each work arrangement will be evaluated as necessary, but at least every six months, to ensure that the work arrangement is successful and accommodating to both the team member and [your firm name.]<\/p>\n compensation and benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n if appropriate, compensation and benefits may be adjusted to reflect changes in the individual\u2019s production and contributions to the firm based on their flexible work arrangement when it involves reduced production.<\/p>\n continuing professional education<\/strong><\/p>\n we take pride in ensuring that our staff are up to date on the most recent information. therefore, continuing education is an important part of our continued success, including for those with flexible work arrangements.<\/p>\n career advancement<\/strong><\/p>\n career advancement may be different for those utilizing a flexible work arrangement. advancement will be determined on a case-by-case basis after consideration of the participant\u2019s experience and performance.<\/p>\n
\ncpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset<\/i><\/a><\/p>\nmore:<\/b> why staff leave cpa firms \u2026 and how to stop them<\/a> | how to solve the big disconnect in talent management<\/a> | what relevance means for staffing in accounting<\/a> | how accounting staffing has changed<\/a>
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exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\n
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what\u2019s the best way to start a flexible work program?<\/h3>\n
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unlimited paid time off (pto)<\/h3>\n
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are mandatory saturdays a thing of the past?<\/h3>\n
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are flexible hours helping or hurting us?<\/h3>\n
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unintended consequences<\/h3>\n
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\nconvergencecoaching, llc sample flexible work arrangement policy<\/h2>\n
full production, flextime programs<\/h3>\n
partial production, flextime programs<\/h3>\n
full production, flex-place programs<\/h3>\n
program details<\/h3>\n
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