(taken from the
Jan/Feb 2007 issue of On Balance magazine)
Next Generation Companies
By Rebecca Ryan
Meet Josh and Sandy.
Sandy is one of three female partners
at a 12-partner firm. She’s been with the firm for 18 years
and is a bona fide rainmaker. Josh is a 29-year-old senior
associate and a solid producer who shows promise for the
partner track.
On Tuesday, Josh approaches the elevator bank on
the third floor. As he reaches for the down button, he glances up at
the clock. It’s 3:42 p.m. He’ll have to hustle to be on time for his 4
o’clock.
As Josh boards the elevator, he hears Sandy
shout, "Can you hold the elevator!?" Josh reaches out to hold the
doors back as Sandy slides in to join him.
As Sandy reaches to press the button for the
second floor, she notices that Josh has already pressed the button
that will take him down to the parking garage.
"Headed home early?" she asks.
"Actually," Josh responds, "my son has dress
rehearsal for his preschool play this afternoon and I’m helping some
of the other parents make the sets."
Which of the following responses more accurately
describes how a typical partner at your firm would respond: "Must be
nice!" (while looking at her watch) or "That’s great! When’s the
show?"
Are you a Next Generation Company™?
If you chose the second response, you may work
at a Next Generation Company™. Next Generation Companies™ are
destination workplaces for the next generation of CPAs because they
cultivate a people-centered approach to work.
At Next Generation Companies™
•
Employees do not feel guilty about having a life outside of work
because life-work balance is a cherished value. Even during busy
season, employees are encouraged to pay attention to their personal
lives.
•
There’s a positive energy in the halls because senior leaders catch
people doing things right; they don’t reserve feedback for negative
situations.
•
The voice of employees at all levels is valued. Employees are
invited to participate in solving crucial client and company
challenges.
Best yet, Next
Generation Companies™ beat the pants off their competitors because
they foster a high performance culture that everyone wants to join.
Making the case
If you
identify with Sandy in the previous story—as a partner who’s worked
darn hard to achieve her status, thank you very much—you might ask
yourself, "Why would I forgo the way I was managed? That would be
top-down, partner-centered, hard-charging, 80-plus-hour workweeks. Why
would I want my company to become a Next Generation Company™?"
Because you
can’t afford not to. Let’s start with the numbers.
If you’re not
feeling a talent pinch, you’re not paying attention. The U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for public accounting
will grow by 18 percent to 26 percent through 2012, while 75 percent
of AICPA’s members will be eligible for retirement in the next 14
years.
Look around.
Where is your cliff? When will the number of retiring partners exceed
the number of new hires needed to fund partners’ payouts? We’ve worked
with several CPA firms that have calculated their cliffs and the
results are shocking. They would have to attract and keep more than
double the number of new hires they’re currently making in order to
fund the burgeoning retirement of the bulk of their partners in the
next eight to 10 years.
The
employer-employee contract has also changed. Your firm’s current
partners came of age when accountants started with, and hoped to stay
with, one firm. Making partner was the singular goal.
The next
generation has different priorities. Today’s 25- to 40-year-olds don’t
rely on one firm for job security. They rely on themselves. Time
Magazine reports that by the time they’re 32, next-generation
employees have had up to nine jobs.
The Six Drivers of
Engagement
at Next
Generation Companies: ™
-
Meaning:
Making the mission
purposeful; giving employees something they can believe in,
something that gives their work and their lives meaning, something
that involves a higher purpose.
-
Voice:
Giving workers a say in the strategy of the business, giving
them discretion to act in pursuing the goals of the organization,
and trusting them to exercise their discretion wisely.
-
Enrichment:
Providing opportunities for growth, providing staff with
a rich work and learning environment, as well as the tools and
support they need to do the work they like most and do best.
-
Membership:
Building bonds among workers and with the company, developing
rich person-to-person connectedness and belonging that individual
employees share with others affiliated with the organization.
-
Appreciation:
Giving everyone a fair share of
reward and recognition, making sure everyone who contributes to
success is rewarded and recognized commensurately.
-
Life-work balance:
Creating and sustaining life-work balance, maintaining a work
environment that allows staff to perform at peak levels without
compromising their personal priorities and interests.
Becoming a Next
Generation Company ™
Next
Generation Companies™ achieve great financial results through
progressive people practices. They take a "people first,
profits follow" approach to running their firms.
In
research including hundreds of companies and thousands of
employees we’ve learned that Next Generation Companies™ use a
combination of six drivers of engagement to achieve financial
results through people. These drivers are discussed in the box
above.
The
Siegfried Group and SS&G are two examples of Next Generation
Companies™. At Siegfried Group, Rob Siegfried believes
accounting should be fun. (Yes, you read that correctly.) He’s
devised a variety of ways for associates to earn money. If
they’re not in the field performing traditional accounting and
audit services, they can be on the bench earning income by
recruiting and developing new business. Today, Siegfried is
the fastest-growing accounting firm in the United States.
At
SS&G, leaders take a strategic approach to life-work balance.
Employees are encouraged to participate in a six-week "boot
camp" facilitated by a local personal trainer. I recently
attended an SS&G all-staff function. At lunch, a tablemate
looked at her plate and said, "I really need to eat right and
get in shape for tax season." Boot camp, it seems, has helped
employees make the connection between their personal wellness
and productivity.
But
SS&G doesn’t stop there. SS&G’s personnel manual is explicit
that employees are expected to work 40 hours during the year,
and no more than 60 during tax season. Partners and the
executive committee model life-work balance by taking their
vacations, pushing away from work, and reinforcing a culture
that honors life outside of work. SS&G was recently recognized
as Ohio’s "Best Place to Work."
How firms score as Next
Generation Companies ™
Since
January, we’ve surveyed 1,070 employees of public accounting
firms in the United States. The following results show
employees’ levels of engagement with each driver.
1.
Meaning = 81%
2.
Enrichment = 78%
3.
Membership = 75%
4.
Voice = 71%
5.
Life-Work Balance = 66%
6.
Appreciation = 56%
Not
all public accounting firms can be great in all six drivers of
engagement. But you must be leading (80 percent results or
above) in at least two drivers to differentiate yourself from
other firms and become a destination workplace.
Public accounting firms are competing for talent. As the pool
gets smaller, the battle gets hotter. To win the war for
talent, your firm must make a value proposition that appeals
to the heads and the hearts of the next generation. The Next
Generation Company™ framework is one method to evaluate your
competitiveness and plot your talent strategy.
For your book shelf:
Next
Generation Company™
Report,
available at
www.nextgenerationconsulting.com
Managing the Professional Services Firm by David Maister
The
Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First
by Jeffrey Pfeffer.
Rebecca Ryan founded Next Generation
Consulting in 1998. Next Generation Consulting offers
frameworks to help companies, communities and arts
organizations engage the next generation of employees,
citizens and patrons. For more information, visit
www.nextgenerationconsulting.com.
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