Page 291 - JoFA_2022

LEARNING RESOURCE

Next Steps Series — Motivating the Next
showing their people that it is OK to sign off at a Workforce
certain time, take an hour away in the middle of
Good performers can become bad performers,
the day for a walk, or give back to our communi-
and bad performers get comfortable and stay.
ties by participating in one of our many corporate This presentation is a fast-paced look at some
responsibility programs.” clever and aggressive new engagement and
At Plante Moran, firm leaders asked employees retention processes that are both effective and
what they needed most during the pandemic and legally compliant, mixing fresh case studies with
psychological theory.
then rolled out “Work From Home Remedies,”
which provided additional support for child care, CPE SELF-STUDY
money for home office setups, reduced work hours
when necessary, and recharge days for employees For more information or to make a purchase, go to aicpa.org/cpe-learning
to step away from the virtual world. or call the Institute at 888-777-7077.
In addition to personal wellness, another key
aspect of employee well-being is the social con-
nection that work can provide.
LevitZacks has established a fun committee AICPA RESOURCES
that plans and funds regular team lunches, parties,
Articles
and unexpected surprises, like pumpkins sent out
to every employee for a company carving contest “ Companies Say They Will Pay More to Recruit and Retain Staff,”
around Halloween. And now that some of their JofA, March 30, 2022
employees are based in other states, they have “ How to Retain Staff Amid Surging Turnover,”
flown everyone out to San Diego for team parties JofA, Aug. 16, 2021
so employees can meet and bond in person.
“ Why People Leave Their Jobs and How to Retain Staff,”
“The fun committee is not just for fun, because CPA Insider, Sept. 28, 2020
we know mental health is an issue,” said Sue Wat-
son, LevitZacks’s executive vice president/COO.
“Doing a lunch once a week where they shoot the
breeze and talk about whatever they feel like talking
about makes it so they don’t feel like they’re on an point of bringing new employees along to client
island.” meetings so they can observe and learn from more
experienced team members.
Automate to increase higher-level work “Just because someone is a staff or in-charge
Automation has the potential to free up employee doesn’t preclude them from being able to connect
time and allow employees to do more purposeful with a client,” he said. “That’s the only way
work. Many firms are implementing tools to take people are going to learn to get comfortable
care of simple, repetitive tasks and increasing the dealing with individuals and fielding questions
amount of time employees spend with clients. on the go.”
“Engaging with the client and talking to them In addition to automation, firms are in-
about their business helps bring it to life for creasingly outsourcing entry-level tasks and
them,” Proppe said. bringing in candidates with varied educational
Tasks related to data entry, invoicing, pulling backgrounds.
bank statements, cash collections, and tax returns For example, as EY continues to centralize re-
are all good places to start experimenting with peatable and lower-risk activities within the audit,
automation, according to Proppe. He added that Carlier said they are thinking differently about the
if your firm is undergoing a digital transformation skills and degrees required and have been hiring
and implementing new software, make sure em- associates with two-year degrees to accomplish
ployees are properly trained to use the technology. some of that work.
Once implementation is complete, consider “By matching the skill sets to the tasks
using any excess time to entrench employees into performed, we’re enabling our staff auditors to
the firm and help them improve their “human focus their time in areas that allow them to apply
skills,” such as consulting, insight generation, and their higher-level analytic skills and accounting
client relations. knowledge, while delivering improved career
At LevitZacks, Ramsauer said they make a experiences all around,” she said. ■

journalofaccountancy.com July 2022 | 23