Partner or Manager?
Managers trump firms when it comes to the attraction and retention of people. Are your partners acting as managers? According to Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book, First Break All the Rules, employees leave managers, not companies. I believe the same is true for CPA firms. Employees leave partners/managers, not the firm.
Getting the people you want
Buckingham and Coffman have spent 20 years with The Gallup organization researching the core characteristics of great managers and great workplaces. The research applies equally to professional service companies and especially to CPA firms and the current issues surrounding the attraction and retention of people.
They conclude that 12 questions can be used to measure the core elements needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees. The questions are:
- Do I know what is expected of me at work?
- Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
- At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
- In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
- Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
- Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
- At work, do my opinions seem to count?
- Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
- Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
- Do I have a best friend at work?
- In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
- This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
The manager is key
These are very insightful questions and can quickly determine your firm’s potential for profitability, productivity, employee retention and customer satisfaction. The authors recommend using a Likert scale for measuring employee attitudes. With a rating of 1, employees strongly disagree and with a rating of 5 employees strongly agree.
From the questions you probably conclude there isn’t a silver bullet or medication that will quickly transform a firm. What you can conclude is that employee focused initiatives such as day care, time off and profit sharing are not as important as the employee’s immediate manager. In many firms the manager is a partner.
How do you improve?
With this said how do firms improve their management? In order to answer this question, the term management must be defined. Too often firms view the success of management by the size of the partner/manager’s book of business.
This is outdated thinking and comparable to a pilot who only pays attention to the fuel gage and ignores the altimeter and speedometer. According the Merriam Webster dictionary, management is defined as the art of managing. Employees require care and feeding. Only focusing on revenue and ignoring planning, people and processes is a formula for disaster.
Suggested strategies
The following table outlines the above 12 questions and provides suggested strategies firms can utilize in order to create the culture to attract and retain quality people.
| Key Word From Question | Strategy and Tools |
| Expectations | Job Descriptions Quarterly Game Plans |
| Tools | Technology Research Library Intranet Online Connectivity (Space & Place) |
| Unique Abilities | Kolbe Index™—Unique Ability Teams |
| Recognition | Quarterly Accountability Reports Team Bonuses Awards |
| Cares | Appreciation by supervisor Mentor or Coach |
| Encourage & Develop | Mentor or Coach Training/Learning Curriculum |
| Opinion | Participate in planning Communication with Mentor or Coach |
| Vision & Mission | Participate in strategic planning Acceptance of firm business principles |
| Quality | Business Principles Culture Quarterly Accountability Reviews |
| Friend | Culture Social activities Mentor or Coach |
| Frequent Review | Quarterly Accountability Review |
| Ability to Grow | Training/Learning Curriculum Leadership committed to a Training/Learning Culture |
A good leader ... and manager
Are your partners good managers? Are they good leaders? Are they good partners? These are questions that most firms tend to avoid and focus totally on production and book of business. Some of the characteristics of poor managers are:
- Insecurity
- Failure to develop subordinates
- Boastful
- Abuse power
- Don’t provide for training/learning time
Some characteristics of excellent managers:
- Concerned about employees
- Focus on the firm’s strategic plan
- Provide subordinates the resources necessary for success
Most partners are either leaders or managers. Leaders chase firm vision, while managers chase firm goals. Some of the characteristics of great partners/managers are:
- Commitment to a big vision and growth.
- Willingness to delegate both authority and responsibility.
- Respect, value and appreciate people for their unique abilities and contribution to the team.
- Continually update personal skills (technical, technology and people) for greater productivity and leverage.
- Commitment to training and learning culture where everyone in the firm learns and teaches.
- Consistently offers employees new challenges, growth and rewards.
Don't wait!
The attraction and retention of quality employees have a lot to do with firm culture. Every firm has a culture, but sadly, some firms have as many cultures as they have partners. Strong cultures are built upon trust. The good news is that most firms have some great partner/managers. The question is how do firms duplicate their practices and eliminate those who mistreat others, abuse authority, resist change and fail to develop others. The simple answer is leadership. With strong leadership in all areas of the firm, not just at the managing partner level, firms can develop the culture that is attractive to quality personnel.
While your firm’s vision may remain the same over the years, your strategies will change. Now is time to be honest with yourself about the strategies your firm is employing – particularly if you are having trouble attracting and retaining quality people. Is it time to make some changes? Now is the time to act!
