{"id":51025,"date":"2017-01-10t05:00:16","date_gmt":"2017-01-10t10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=51025"},"modified":"2024-08-14t11:27:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14t15:27:33","slug":"mandatory-saturdays-thing-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2017\/01\/10\/mandatory-saturdays-thing-past\/","title":{"rendered":"how to make mandatory saturdays a thing of the past"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dog<\/a>four mental shifts to make.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

sound-off: does your firm require working on saturdays?
\n<\/strong><\/span>join the conversation here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

by jennifer wilson
\non staffing<\/i><\/a>
\n<\/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.<\/p>\n

more on staffing:<\/b> guidelines for flexible work policies<\/a> | 10 winning traits of accounting firm leaders<\/a> | the importance of great bosses<\/a> | the 12 reasons your staff hates your firm<\/a> | what happened to the relevancy of the cpa profession?<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

one of the ideas we\u2019re hearing cool firms employ is the elimination of mandatory saturdays during busy season. 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 \u2013 tracking, measuring and valuing time.<\/p>\n

today i want to explore the possibility of eliminating mandatory saturdays \u2013 which does not 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\u00a0a 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

    \n
  1. most firms feel that they need a certain number of total charge hours per person (varying by level and role) to meet their top-line revenue goals. i want to challenge this and suggest that what firms really need is a certain amount of revenue charged, realized and collected per person or per client, to meet revenue goals.<\/li>\n
  2. when you make that leap,\u00a0your firm will also have to empower your team members to work anytime they can and anywhere they want to meet their revenue and client service objectives. i realize that this “anytime, anywhere” philosophy doesn\u2019t work for all team members \u2013 especially those in their first year or two, certain administrative staff and those who simply cannot keep focused without the structure of their office workspace. that said, many professionals are capable of working from home, while traveling or from other locations and can produce high-quality work and perhaps be even more productive working remotely. your firm must provide a mechanism for these self-directed people to do just that \u2013 or they will go to work for a firm that will.<\/li>\n
  3. a related philosophy must also be banished: the attachment to \u201cface time.\u201d for many baby boomers, there is a direct correlation between seeing someone\u2019s face at work and believing they are committed to their job, clients and the firm. many partners speak of people they value as \u201cputting in the time\u201d and others they question as \u201cnever coming in early,\u201d \u201cnot staying late\u201d or \u201cnot being here as much as others.\u201d when i ask whether these people work from home in the evenings, whether they are meeting their goals, etc., there is often an acknowledgment that their performance is not suffering. be careful not to measure office or face time over the more important measurement of deliverables and results generated.<\/li>\n
  4. so, if you can begin measuring contributions and results, supporting anytime, anywhere work styles and giving up some of your face-time expectations,\u00a0then your firm may be ready to make the leap that some new school firms are making \u2013 eliminating mandatory saturdays during busy season periods. instead of mandating specific work days and hours, firms are instead:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n