the knack of feedback doesn’t always come naturally.<\/i><\/p>\n
by rick telberg<\/b>
\non careers <\/i><\/p>\n
if the finance and accounting people in your office work together like a well oiled machine, then consider yourself lucky.<\/p>\n
let me suggest you take them all out to lunch and raise a toast to their attitudes … because without their skills and goodwill, you are no longer working in a firm or company. you are a solo practitioner. <\/p>\n
even if you’re not working in a traditional command-and-control hierarchical organization, you are, in the end, a professional. and you work with fellow professionals. understanding how to trade feedback honestly, openly and without rancor is an essential ingredient to your successful work life.<\/p>\n
personnel who fall short on skills can usually be brought up to speed. all it takes is a little coaching and training.
\nbut personnel who fall short on attitude are a big problem. you need to talk with them, and you need to do it the right way. while a few words might suffice for the wise, you need carefully chosen words for the attitudinally challenged. <\/p>\n
in other words, to be a good manager in an accounting practice, you need to be a good psychologist, too. <\/p>\n
far and away, “positive feedback” – verbal pats on the back – for people who are doing a good job works best. experts say one negative remark can wipe away all the good vibes from five positive ones. for folks whose work could use improvement, on the other hand, steve lemmex, director of global knowledge course, recommends “corrective feedback.”<\/p>\n
corrective feedback can be a little tricky. he offers a few hints about what to do and what not to do if you want it to work.<\/p>\n
lemmex suggests a four-part approach. <\/b><\/p>\n
first, stick to the facts.<\/b> tell the person exactly and specifically what went wrong. “i noticed you were late last tuesday, last friday, and again today?” “i hear you’ve gotten into arguments with cheryl, randy, charlie and sue this week ?”<\/p>\n
second, explain how you yourself react to the problem.<\/b> explain that it leaves you worried about customer feelings. or concerned about office relations. or embarrassed for the firm. or scared of what might happen. “you’ve got me worried that we could lose business ?”<\/p>\n
third, explain the impact of the problem.<\/b> point out how it could cause a client to leave. how it makes colleagues feel. how it could destroy the practice. “we don’t have to lose many clients before we start laying people off ?”<\/p>\n
fourth, request a change. <\/b>tell the person what needs to happen. be specific. but make it a question, not an order. let the employee figure out the exact solution. “could you work up a list of ten ways you can be nicer to clients?” “could you give me a plan for getting your day organized?”<\/p>\n
all this advice is especially important in a finance department or accounting firm. given the difficulty of finding qualified staff, you’re better off working with what you’ve got than looking for replacements. and most good professionals will appreciate the feedback. just make sure you dish it out nicely. then you’ll have all the more reason to take everybody to lunch. they’ll appreciate that, too. <\/p>\n
[first published by the aicpa]<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"