Page 180 - JoFA_2022

FIRM PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

‘You have to remember, too, that students’

lives have changed dramatically [during

the pandemic], and their families’ lives

have changed.’

Stacee Rash, CPA, a partner with Martin Starnes and Associates in Hickory, N.C.

“I think being respectful of people and respectful of for career growth and development. Do we feel that
the need for a life outside our career is the most impor- it’s being recognized?”
tant thing we can do as leaders — and that doesn’t mean
not expecting them to do a good job,” Parton added. CREATE A PATH
He suggests hiring more people, instead of trying to These firms aren’t just trying to get through 2022.
get by with the smallest possible staff. “It’s OK to work They’re making changes to keep employees engaged
less. It’s OK to spend a little more,” he said. in the years and decades ahead.
SJHL has specific targets for reducing its work- At Crowe, that means giving workers options.
weeks. It set a 50-hours-per-week limit for busy The company is spinning up a “talent marketplace”
season, and leadership hopes to reduce that to 48 hours that should make it easier for employees to find a
and then 45 hours in the years to come. new job within the company.
The firm’s managing partner, Chet Buchman, CPA, “What has been really hard is to see people leave
CGMA, “drew a line in the sand,” Prieb said. “He said, Crowe to do something elsewhere that they could
‘All three of my kids are active in sports. It’s important have done at Crowe,” Wood said. “Let’s open up
to me that I am present to support them.’ ” those opportunities within Crowe.”
At Martin Starnes, firm leaders are determined “to Parton, of Coulter & Justus, is thinking about
meet people where they are right now,” Rash said. The opportunities, too. His firm sets a mandatory
firm employs many parents of young children, so it has shareholder retirement age of 62 — which, for him,
long offered flexible scheduling for school closures, is coming up in five years.
illnesses, and sports games, plus remote work options. “Every day between now and then, I’m making
That has kept staffing levels high through a competi- sure that the skill set is built and developed for
tive market. others to replace me,” he said.
At Crowe, a quarterly survey tracks employee The goal, he said, is to create not just a career
satisfaction, with a goal of improving engagement and path but a “vacuum” that draws people up into
retention, and the results are used at both the firmwide partnership. That kind of long-term planning can
and local level. The questions change, with focuses ensure that accounting is not just a job but a career.
ranging from diversity, equity, and inclusion to career “When you come to work here, not only are we
progression. “But at its core,” Wood said, “we consis- going to give you a really great place to work, we’re
tently ask questions around people feeling valued, their going to take care of you,” he said, “and we’re going
sense of pride in the organization, their opportunities to give you the firm.” ■

10 | Journal of Accountancy May 2022