Work/Life Balance

How to Attract and Retain the Best Team

By Mark C. Barrett, CPA

How can a working parent establish a balance between their personal life and their work life? Can our profession be a leader in developing strategies that will allow us to attract and retain the best accountants? As members of the MSCPA Work-Life Balance Committee, we plan to share some of the best practices we’ve heard about or tried so as to help other firms increase their chance of developing and retaining the best employees.

Flexible Work Schedules

Accounting firms have historically stressed hiring full-time workers, and establishing strict working hours with very little flexibility as to when the job responsibilities are performed. The firms have made few exceptions related to flexible work schedules or limiting expectations. Seasonal hires are widely desired, but these workers are often expected to work at least 40 hours per week. Our profession has been very slow to adapt to the employee who requires a certain amount of time with their family, especially someone who doesn’t want to work a full load during busy season.

Why is this an issue? More than 50 percent of accountants are female, and most of those females have some sort of family responsibility now, or plan to have that responsibility sometime in their working life. In addition, men and women are being faced with elder generation care issues at a much higher rate than in the past. If your firm can’t or won’t provide flexibility and quality of life to these employees, you face the risk of losing them to your competitors

What Is The Solution?

What can we do to enhance work/life balance? Every firm has to have their “core” workers who work long hours during tax season, and are on duty during the off season. A firm cannot exist without those workers. Firms should be aware, however, and try to minimize employee burnout. A firm can assist these workers by providing a team of part-time workers that ease the load. The benefits to the firm, in reduced training costs alone, are tremendous if workers can be retained, even on a flexible schedule. They don’t have to learn the system, establish a relationship with the clients, or gain the trust of co-workers. Current full-time workers need to understand these benefits to them and to the firm. Also, you are more likely to retain full-time workers if they feel that there is an option for a flexible schedule down the road, if circumstances change.

Some Considerations

Be honest with both groups of employees (full and part-time) as to expectations, pay impact, career advancement impact, etc. Set guidelines as to communication policies, client assignments, frequency of checking messages, etc. so that full-time workers don’t feel like they are having to cover for the individuals with a flexible schedule. Review the plan after 406 months to verify how it is working from both points of view. Honest feedback and a willingness to address the issues should be offered by both the employee and the firm representative.

Accounting firms are successful because of their management and their personnel – our people are our most important asset. There will always be people who decide that accounting is not for them. However, if management can solve the issue of how an employee can reduce the stress in his/her life, then the firm has a better chance to retain the employee for the long term. If our accounting firm can produce a better work environment than the other firms, we can retain the best employees and attract other employees seeking to make their lives better. This can be accomplished by treating both “core” workers and part-time workers with respect, creating a guilt-free environment, and openly communicating the long-term goal with workers and management.

Mark Barrett is the owner of Barrett & Associates, CPAs in Overland Park, Kansas. He is a member of the MSCPA Work-Life Balance Committee. Mark can be reached at mcbarrett@barrettcpas.com.