Holding on Tight to Talent
California CPA magazine: September 2008
Staff Development as a Staff Retention Tool
Keeping and motivating employees to achieve professional success—and add to the business’ bottom line—has long been a key concern for corporate America and one that for the past several years has taken center stage for the CPA profession.
A 2007 Robert Half survey found that 58 percent of respondents worldwide and 73 percent of respondents in the United States expressed concern about losing their top performers to other job opportunities, up from 43 percent and 46 percent, respectively in 2006.
Following the struggles CPA firms have had over the past several years to fill key positions, firms of all sizes are developing staff development and retention programs as a way to keep valuable talent.
Back to School?
San Ramon-based Armanino McKenna LLP last year established “Armanino University,” which spans the first eight years of a person’s tenure at the firm. And last month the firm rolled out LEAP: Leadership Excellence for A-M Professionals.
Everyone in the company—325 employees and 30 partners—enters LEAP, from entry-level staff (Level 1) to partners (Level 4). Each level offers varying courses to help employee achieve desired competencies.
“We’re giving all employees the tools to help them achieve the ultimate management level, whether they’re coming to us with experience from another firm or just starting out,” says Vickie Moul, director of human resources and college recruitment for Armanino McKenna.
The firm also uses the “True Colors” leadership training module for all employees.
Travis Chance, a staff analyst, says that True Colors helped him identify other staffers who he would work well with.
“I’m a ‘gold’ and that means I’m very organized and detail conscious,” Chance says. “One of my colleagues in the office is a ‘green,’ which means she’s very analytical, and the combination of our strengths works quite well.”
Following the True Colors training, participants can explore other courses and are offered tracks that are appropriate to their experience levels.
Erin Chan, a senior consultant in Armanino McKenna’s IT Solutions Group, took a course called “fundamental principles of consulting,” in which she role-played the client, giving her a better perspective on what clients are thinking when collaborating with her.
“It was great to be able to learn how to adjust my level of communication with clients by understanding their mind-set and through asking the right follow up questions of them,” Chan says.
Regular Meetings
Harb Levy & Weiland LLP in San Francisco, with 70 employees and 13 partners, has a more structured program. For the past several years, the firm has conducted its development training for three to four hours every Wednesday.
The program includes all levels, from recruits to partners. In each session, the partners act more like professors, sharing their experience.
Manager Tony Wan says staffers are excited about this facet of the training. “They’re eager to interact directly with the partners and gain their own expertise more quickly. Eventually they, too, step up into the trainer role,” he says.
As additional encouragement, the firm pays full tuition for employees who want to pursue a master’s degree.
Yet another model of a staff development programs is Hood & Strong LLP’s one-on-one mentoring for its 100 employees.
Rolled out in January 2008, the program invites staff members to meet with a supervisor regularly—either in a quiet office environment or simply over lunch—to discuss professional development issues like career path preferences and strengths and weaknesses. Special meetings are held as the occasion warrants, such as when a new CPE catalog arrives.
“This assesses where everyone is with technical and non-technical skills,” says tax partner Lynn Henley. “We try to create a ‘whole accountant’ by identifying a growth area for various staffers.”
While Henley thinks the program is too new to see any direct results, she feels there is a definite psychological benefit as “staffers are defining their career paths in a self-actualizing kind of way,” she says.
Being Flexible
BDO Seidman LLP offer its BDO Flex program to all 3,000 domestic employees. According to Robyn Briggs, human resources manager for the San Francisco Bay Area, the program is more a cultural business style than a structured in-house regimen.
BDO Flex allows all employees to determine where, when and how many hours they will work.
Say what?
That’s right—an employee can decide to work, say, only 20 hours a week and work only at home. Or, 40 hours a week, but work only two days in the office. The combinations are flexible. It’s especially attractive to female employees who become pregnant and want to keep working part-time during maternity leave.
“Of course, it has to be compatible with the company’s needs, but we seldom turn an employee down,” says Briggs. “What we’re trying to do is empower our employees to determine their own work-life fit. We feel people who are happier in their private life are happier at work.”
The program was rolled out formally July 1, although it has been in practice on an individual basis for some time.
BDO Seidman also uses periodic employee surveys and in-house town hall meetings. “This lets employees give management direct inputs so they feel they have a say in how the firm is run,” Briggs adds. “We also have a robust performance management program wherein we give people performance feedback at least twice a year, and often every quarter.”
What About Smaller Firms?
While small firms and sole proprietors can adapt strategies of larger firms to fit their size, they also can leverage their “small” environment to create a formal or informal mentoring program, as well as other less formal programs that focus on employee development beyond the technical skills.
Karen Goodfriend is principal at KK Wealth Advisors, which only has six employees. She says her firm makes a concerted effort to grant new employees the opportunity to work directly with clients. The firm also pushes to develop softer skills, such as communication, writing and presentation skills.
“We also sit down with employees and make a list of developmental goals—both technical and soft—and set up a timeline to achieve them,” says Goodfriend. “We emphasize getting input from the entire team as well as input from the more experienced employees.”
Taking a page from the programs of major CPA firms, or creating your own can strengthen CPA operations of any size.
Ed Addeo is a freelance writer in Mill Valley. You can reach him at eaddeo@yahoo.com.
