staffing & recruiting

have you gauged your staff’s enthusiasm?

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you should be eager for this feedback, not dreading it.

by steven e. sacks

have you ever conducted a job satisfaction survey of your firm’s staff?

more: managing difficult personalities in the workplace | knowledge maintenance: gaining employee buy-in | how does your firm leverage its talent? | the lost art of the interview | the 5 keys to success in accounting careers | the holy grail: finding the right talent | the power of ‘real influence’ | stop wasting time in useless meetings | is your firm’s culture a magnet? | outsourcing the c-suite
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

every so often you should conduct a survey that asks anything ranging from clarity of purpose and level of commitment to flexibility and advancement. it costs nothing to do but will yield important anecdotal data to be addressed by senior leadership. you may find that staff wants more input on developing business or increased exposure to clients and customers.
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top tech choices for the virtual firm

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why we choose what we choose.

by jody grunden

the tools that are used by a distributed firm with remote clients are going to vary greatly from those of a traditional brick-and-mortar firm.

more: creative perks for remote employees | traditional benefits for remote employees | the hidden cost of running a distributed company | how to develop your leadership team | 4 ways to bill clients | automation and the future of accounting | the only three metrics you need to measure staffers
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

every tool we consider or use has to be cloud-based. nothing can be restricted to a single computer or location.
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managing difficult personalities in the workplace

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angry boss in chair staring down at tiny businessman5 “usual suspects” and how to manage them.

by steven e. sacks

let’s admit it: not everyone in a cpa firm can be your cup of tea. this is because of the different experiences your co-workers have, their cultural differences, biases, personal agendas and of course, diverse personalities.

more: knowledge maintenance: gaining employee buy-in | why knowledge maintenance is key | retention starts with the hiring interview | the new way to handle exit interviews | who’ll quit next? | strengthen your firm’s screening practices | smart trust in the workplace | what aspiring accountants need to know | improve job satisfaction or it’ll cost your firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and the challenges faced by these differences are not limited to senior leadership or those who function in a supervisory role. what types are the usual suspects?
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knowledge maintenance: gaining employee buy-in

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smiling woman meeting with man in officethey’re going to leave. pick their brains first.

by steven e. sacks

i’ve discussed the importance of collecting and storing institutional knowledge in the event of employee illness, resignation, relocation and acquisition. not to be overlooked is to have the support of your employees to make this endeavor successful.

more: why knowledge maintenance is key | set your staff on the right course | how motivation is like bathing | be a talent magnet | make crap a badge of honor | the job interview: a make or break proposition | 10 elements to balancing shareholders’ needs
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

employees will want to know how it will personally benefit them, because after all, this is another function you have assigned them. you need a deft touch in explaining that documenting their experience and knowledge is not a “chore,” it is an integral component for preventing disruptions to operations during times of change – both anticipated and unanticipated.
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creative perks for remote employees

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dog sleeping in home office as woman works at computer in backgroundeducation and tech stipends? why not?

by jody grunden

in addition to the more traditional benefits, we also offer a few creative perks that i think our employees really appreciate, including an education stipend and a technology stipend.

more: traditional benefits for remote employees | keeping the right people on the bus | how to run effective leadership team meetings | disc helps remote team work together effectively | 3 ways to keep client files safe from security threats | the only three metrics you need to measure staffers
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

education stipend

we believe that continuing education keeps our team members sharp and ahead of the game. one of our core values is “curiosity” because we want our employees to always be thinking about how we can improve our services, become more efficient and do things better. we want people to think outside the box because we’re not a typical accounting firm, nor do we ever want to be one.
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why knowledge maintenance is key

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businesspeople discussing chartsdon’t let systems and processes leave with your employees.

by steven e. sacks

there are nearly 80 million baby boomers today, and this cohort ranging from ages 55 to 73 is projected by the u.s. census bureau to reach 83.7 million in the year 2050. by 2030, more than 20 percent of u.s. residents are projected to be aged 65 and over, compared with 13 percent in 2010 and 9.8 percent in 1970.

more: set your staff on the right course | how does your firm leverage its talent? | the lost art of the interview | the 5 keys to success in accounting careers | stop wasting time in useless meetings | is your firm’s culture a magnet?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a large part of this growth is because of the aging of baby boomers (individuals born in the united states between mid-1946 and mid-1964), who began turning 65 in 2011 and are now driving growth at the older ages of the population. as one source in 2016 put this into perspective, every day, 10,000 people turn 65. there are more than personal financial issues at stake here.
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traditional benefits for remote employees

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woman sitting outside with laptop and smartphoneis skimping worth the cost in loyalty?

by jody grunden

traditional benefits often include things that many brick-and-mortar office workers take for granted such as paid time off, health insurance and a retirement plan.

more: keeping the right people on the bus | 10 interview questions for unlocking true potential | toss the org chart for an accountability chart | how core values affect remote work culture
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

why do i say these are taken for granted? well, some distributed companies may hire independent contractors to cut down on their expenses when it comes to “frivolous” things like this, but we believe in building a great place to work, and to us that means offering the kind of benefits that make employees feel secure and cared for.
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set your staff on the right course

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people standing, holding food and talkinghelp them develop soft skills.

by steven e. sacks

in the famous words found in alice in wonderland, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.”

more: how does your firm leverage its talent? | retention starts with the hiring interview | the new way to handle exit interviews | who’ll quit next? | strengthen your firm’s screening practices | smart trust in the workplace | what aspiring accountants need to know
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is a lesson alice learned much to her frustration. this, too, can be frustrating for professionals entering the workforce, especially in cpa firms. firms often are not clear about establishing and communicating expectations for their new hires. the focus on billable hours takes precedence over building professional and personal growth.
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how does your firm leverage its talent?

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five questions you can’t say “no” to.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

with millennials representing 35 percent of today’s workforce, 50 percent in the next couple of years and 75 percent by 2030, the career mindset will shift even more toward moving onward and upward – and out.

more: retention starts with the hiring interview | how motivation is like bathing | be a talent magnet | make crap a badge of honor | the job interview: a make or break proposition | 10 elements to balancing shareholders’ needs | a leader’s guide to ending entitlement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

unless you are a business owner, the days of 40-year employees have disappeared.

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keeping the right people on the bus

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illustration of different types of people connectednot everyone will work out, and that’s ok.

by jody grunden

there’s a common misnomer when it comes to retention and keeping people on the team. retention doesn’t mean keeping every single person on your team forever.

more: 10 interview questions for unlocking true potential | the hidden cost of running a distributed company | how to develop your leadership team | 4 ways to bill clients | automation and the future of accounting | the only three metrics you need to measure staffers
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

not only do you want to get the right people on the bus, but you also want to get those people into the right seats. we want summit cpa to be a great place to work, and we want great people to be working here. however, we realize it may not be the right place for every person.
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10 interview questions for unlocking true potential

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how to think outside the (geographical) box and hire remotely.

by jody grunden

before our firm became a distributed company with a remote workforce, our hiring was naturally limited to a small geographical location – fort wayne, indiana.

more: the hidden cost of running a distributed company | how to run effective leadership team meetings | disc helps remote team work together effectively | 3 ways to keep client files safe from security threats | the rise of the virtual cfo
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when we really started to grow, we knew we needed to bring in more senior-level accountants to be able to handle the clients we were bringing in at such a rapid pace.

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retention starts with the hiring interview

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two women shaking hands across a tableask about real-life situations and look for fit, not personality.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals: practical guidance for today’s accounting firms

what are your strengths and weaknesses? all potential hires are asked this. if you had to plan for these two questions, what would you do to be ready to respond?

more: how motivation is like bathing | the lost art of the interview | the 5 keys to success in accounting careers | the holy grail: finding the right talent | the power of ‘real influence’ | stop wasting time in useless meetings | is your firm’s culture a magnet? | outsourcing the c-suite | getting the accounting firm agreement right | today’s workplace challenge: communicating across generations, cultures, and diversity | negotiate for success, not a ‘win’ | does busyness really mean productivity?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there have been scores of books offering guidance on interview preparation; what to avoid; how to turn a negative to a positive; and skillfully and persuasively transform what you perceive to be a weakness into a strength.
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