Sustaining Gen Y
California CPA magazine: January/February 2009
Corporate Responsibility Attracts and Retains Young Professionals
By Damien B.M. English
Each May, Armanino McKenna LLP’s staff participates in a team-building initiative. In 2007, the San Ramon-based accounting and consulting firm decided to give back, christening the initiative “AM Gives Back.”
The firm split its 300 employees into teams and provided each with seed money. The teams were to use the seed money to tap friends, family and clients to raise more money than what the firm provided and were pitted against each other to see which team could raise the most money and put in the most volunteer time.
After 15 weeks, the firm collected more than $115,000, which was distributed to 45 Bay Area nonprofits, educational institutions, public service agencies and other community-based organizations. Team members had put in more than 1,000 hours of volunteer time.
“To see our people all bundled up and ready to walk all night long to someday beat cancer was an unbelievable thing,” says audit manager Dean Quiambao on his team’s volunteering for Relay for Life.
Programs like this play an increasing role in attracting and retaining Gen Y workers, also known as the Millennials, who number nearly 80 million and are broadly defined as those born between 1979–99.
As Baby Boomers slowly exit the job market, cornering this new talent pool—and developing these new recruits into future firm leaders—is a critical task for accounting firms. For some firms, the bait to lure in Gen Y has become social responsibility programs and green initiatives that are being built into the firm’s culture.
“Corporate responsibility is a full suite of business practices that must be integrated and showcased for a firm to succeed,” says Andy Armanino, Armanino McKenna managing partner. “Sustainable business practices are also high priority for Gen Y professionals.”
Speaking to some CalCPA members, it was apparent that they are finding success in attracting Gen Y workers by incorporating social responsibility programs.
Who’s Doing What?
Corinne Baughman, tax partner at Moss Adams LLP and board member of the firm’s foundation, recently helped the firm finish creating an official social responsibility “message” to formalize the programs the firm was engaged in and create some consistency among and a monitoring framework for ongoing programs.
“With the Millennials, our social responsibility statement and programs are something we found they are likely to ask about,” says Baugham. “We wanted to make sure we had a consistent message.”
This message focuses on four directives:
• Holding everyone to a very high standard related to integrity and ethical behavior.
• Participating in community involvement and giving.
• Giving firm members a chance to further their education and supporting programs in local universities specific to each office, such as supplying employees for professor-for-a-day programs or matching donations employees make to their alma mater for school improvements or scholarships.
• Establishing/maintaining a green initiative.
In regards to the first point, major decisions at Moss Adams are made by an executive committee, which is overseen by an independent attorney who teaches business ethics at Seattle Pacific University. The overseer sits in on the executive committee’s meetings to see that its process is respectful and democratic, and also gives regular independent feedback regarding executive behavior. He grades the execs at the annual partner meeting.
“It’s always a surprise to us what he is going to say, because he’s completely independent and does not discuss it with us beforehand,” says Baugham.
To cover the second point of its responsibility statement, each office is involved in a number of local community projects each year, rather than overarching community programs across the whole firm. “Most of our business is local, so that’s important to us.” This includes events with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Toys for Tots or the local soup kitchen, among others. The company also makes a commitment at least once a year to hold a volunteer event during work hours.
“We think it’s important to do that because people with families have a hard time giving time on the weekends,” says Baugham.
Sharon Selleck, assurance director at Burr Pilger Mayer, says the company has three long-standing programs:
• BPM Day: Tweaks the company’s acronym to “Because People Matter.” The firm’s four Bay Area offices pick four nonprofits and give them 60-80 employees to volunteer for a day. “The staff loves it,” says Selleck. “It’s a great team-building opportunity.”
• Reading programs: BPM sends employees to an ESL school twice a week before school starts to be reading tutors for children.
• Annual Giants fund-raiser: BPM Managing Partner Steve Mayer is a big San Francisco Giants fan. So, the firm buys 600 tickets in the bleachers for one of the first games of the season, and plans a big tailgate party beforehand. The tickets are then sold above face value (includes tailgate party, beer, dogs, etc.) to various parties, and all the proceeds go to a different cause every year. Selleck estimates the firm has raised $250,000 for various causes in the last 15 years.
David R. Sheets, CPA, principal at Berger/Lewis Accountancy Corporation, says his firm works with more than 120 nonprofits, which gives the firm a good entrée into social responsibility programs.
“We participate with our clients in the events they produce,” he says. The firm participates in two big Family Giving Tree events each year: one to provide Christmas gifts to children, and the other is called “Back to School,” which provides kids with school supplies.
“It is a touching experience to be a part of—to see the looks on the faces of the kids,” he says.
Going Green Could Also Attract Gen Y
Being green is something that also can fall under the umbrella of “social responsibility” and, in a recent study by the Marlin Company, 78 percent of U.S. workers surveyed said it was important for them to have an employer that was going green in a significant way. Although the survey does not include a specific Gen Y breakdown, it’s a safe bet this subset of the workforce agrees with that sentiment.
Armanino McKenna and BPM’s Palo Alto office were both certified in 2008 by the Bay Area Green Business Program, a nonprofit agency created by the Association of Bay Area Governments. The program verifies that businesses are meeting higher standards of environmental performance and taking actions to conserve resources, prevent pollution and minimize waste.
“This generation of professionals is looking for other factors that match their values and that includes sustainable business practices,”
says Armanino.
In addition, Armanino McKenna established a “green team:” a group of employees that volunteer to monitor and continually improve the firm’s sustainable business practices. BPM also has a green committee, and started a new joint venture business called BPM MacKenzie that is advising companies on going green and corporate sustainability practices.
And Moss Adams has a designated green group that explores ways to make the firm more green and monitors ongoing efforts.
“There was a very big stink this year when it was decided no one could buy bottled water in the office,” said Baugham. “But now we do it even when we go offsite into hotels and the like. We are also trying to cut back on the amount of paper we use and do things electronically wherever we can. Let’s face it, professional service firms can create a big carbon footprint.”
Sheets says Berger/Lewis was the first firm in Silicon Valley to be designated a green business by the Bay Area Green Business Program. The process took a little less than a month, because the firm already had been operating “paperless” for more than three years. The certification includes conducting green awareness training with the staff and ongoing initiatives like collecting e-waste and being conscious of spare the air days, a Bay Area Air Quality Management District program that notifies residents when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy, and urges residents to drive less.
The Payoff
Armanino McKenna’s recruitment activity has doubled over the last few years, mainly from organic growth. Since 2005, the firm has opened three offices in California and continues to grow even in a slowing economy.
Though it wasn’t the only factor for recent recruits of Armanino McKenna, most noted that the firm’s commitment to green and sustainable business practices was an important factor in their decision to join the firm.
“It was an added bonus and gave important information that the company I was contemplating working for cares about society,” says staff accountant Katja Benz.
Sarah Bloom, also a staff accountant, says, “While it wasn’t the deciding factor, it was definitely a plus to know that Armanino McKenna was involved in the community and it was a positive that I took away from my interviews.”
Grace Williams, another recent recruit and staff accountant, says “Armanino McKenna’s culture of social responsibility was influential in my decision to join the company.”
“We find when we talk to groups of prospects/students, these initiatives are one of the first things they ask about,” says Baugham. “In that vein, we invite students to participate in our responsibility programs, whether they are going to work for us or not. Groups like Beta Alpha Psi have a volunteer requirement component, which is great for us as we get to meet new students all the time, and they really enjoy being a part of those programs.”
Recent Moss Adams hire Kristen Yergler says, “During the recruiting process, I asked each interviewer how his or her company fulfilled its social responsibility. Nine out of 10 interviewers answered my question with either a blank stare or an unconvincing, half-hearted response. However, this firm immediately began listing charity events the company had held in the past and organizations it contributes to. A place where I could establish a long, successful career and give back to my community? I was sold right then and there.”
“I chose to work at BPM because I like the idea that it is willing to give back to the community in different ways,” says Vanessa Li.
Selleck encounters Li’s sentiment often. “It helps our employees feel better than just coming to work and getting work done,” she says.
So, maybe a good New Year’s resolution for your firm is incorporating some social responsibility into the work culture, and getting a slice of the Gen Y pie.
Curt Olsen, principal of CFO Communications, contributed to this article.
Damien English is CalCPA’s managing editor. You can reach him at damien.english@calcpa.org.
