This edition of Generational Viewpoints features two professionals from Forge Financial & Management Consulting, a 38-person firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. We asked Gen X CEO Courtney DeRonde, born in 1980, and millennial client success specialist Sage Hinson, born in 1995, to share their perspectives on the following question:
“You’ve made one of the biggest business model changes needed to compete in the future: eliminating time. What caused this transformation and how is it going?”
DeRonde’s Gen X viewpoint
For more than 20 years, I’ve viewed time entry as a necessary evil. It’s tedious to track everything you’ve done all day to the correct client, project and activity. Not to mention all of the time and energy that goes into reviewing [work-in-progress] reports to determine what to bill. Time tracking is an administrative burden we’ve dealt with to bill our clients. But not anymore!
We’ve had two major shifts in our firm over the last several years that led to us abandoning time sheets. First, we adopted a business model of fewer, larger clients with work scoped and priced up front. Second, we’ve put constraints on our hours and taught our team members how to get more done in less time through managing their energy and their focus. As a result, our revenue is not tied to time and we have a very productive team, so we no longer need to track time.
Initially, our team was excited about the freedom of ditching time sheets. But it didn’t take long for team members to start asking, “How will we measure success without realization and utilization data from a time-and-billing system?” Though we’ve used those metrics for decades, we had begun to realize they’re no longer relevant to our business model or our culture. We believe success is measured based on the outcomes of our work — the results, transformations and solutions we provide to our clients.
Tracking time doesn’t tell us whether we did what we said we would do, when we said we would do it. It doesn’t tell us whether we solved the client’s problems or met their needs. Tracking time only tells us how much time we put in — it measures inputs. When we focus on inputs, rather than client outcomes, we run the risk of completing the work within the budget but missing the mark on the value clients are expecting.
I wonder how much longer clients will allow our profession to quote hourly rates and bill after the fact, instead of taking the time to understand what they need and provide a scope of work and upfront fees so they can make an informed decision about the value of the solution?
How much longer will team members allow their performance to be measured as if every hour is created equal?
I get it — these are big mindset shifts. I’ve been measuring my own success, and that of my team members, and ultimately the entire firm, based on realization and utilization for years. Abandoning these metrics is scary, but most big changes are.
Aside from finding a software system to handle engagement terms and process digital payments, our plan to eliminate time sheets involved:
1. Adopting a project management mindset and system to help team members proactively manage the scope, timing, budget and deliverables of engagements.
2. Implementing a change order process to identify, communicate and agree upfront with clients regarding the scope and price of service changes.
3. Establishing new performance metrics based on client satisfaction, project outcomes, and team members working within their “ideal week” (a productivity concept we utilize from Michael Hyatt’s book, “Free to Focus”).
Shifting our focus from time tracking to project management has allowed us to estimate how much time projects and tasks will take so we can proactively plan our days and weeks. Utilizing change orders instead of out-of-scope billings enables us to agree with clients upfront rather than doing the work and then defending billings later. Measuring performance based on outcomes puts our focus on what matters most to our clients and our team — no timekeeping required.
Hinson’s millennial viewpoint
Timekeeping is no longer required to be successful in the accounting world today. For years it has been the backbone of our industry for many different reasons: billing, monitoring employee productivity, forecasting, etc. Several months ago, our firm did away with timekeeping, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t skeptical of how it was going to work. However, our leadership team felt very passionate about making this change and I quickly hopped on board!
Going through the transition, my first insight was: Wow! What freedom! Since graduating from college, I have recorded every minute of every day I have worked. To log on that first morning and not open a timekeeping app was exhilarating! I wasn’t getting notified every half hour to log in to the timekeeping app for lack of activity. Instead, I was able to focus on accomplishing the tasks on my list for that day. I used to stress about how long a task was taking me to finish, like it was a game of Diner Dash, and I was trying to beat the clock (’90s kids — I know you get it). But now, thanks to pricing ahead for services and the removal of time tracking, I can focus on the quality of my work and make a difference for my client. Our clients appreciate our willingness to help without “nickel-and-diming” them every time they send an email.
While I love the freedom from time tracking, part of me does miss the hard data that it provided. I believe this is the main area of concern where we could see generational differences. Whereas a Gen Zer loves the freedom, a Gen Xer craves those numbers and struggles to make decisions without them. The millennials get caught in the middle — we love the freedom but feel like we’re missing something without the data. From a managerial perspective, timekeeping made it easy to track productivity. If we were going to do without, it was crucial to find another way to ensure our employees are completing tasks efficiently and effectively.
Everyone wants to trust their employees to do the right thing. But timekeeping isn’t only about trust — some employees used it as their way to stay focused and manage projects and tasks. Taking that away can throw their worlds off balance. My solution would be to vet and implement a project management system before doing away with timekeeping. Not only would this maintain the organization of client work, but it would also keep your employees on track with a sense of control over their workloads.
Although it can be intimidating to do away with the hard numbers provided by timekeeping, I believe it’s the direction our industry needs to be headed. There are other ways to handle billings, track employee productivity, and forecast without time tracking. The tradeoff of changing your internal processes to better engage and serve your clients is worth it every time! AT
This column is facilitated and edited by Sarah Land, the millennial marketing and program coordinator, and Jennifer Wilson, the baby boomer co-founder and partner, of ConvergenceCoaching LLC, a leadership and management consulting and coaching firm that helps leaders achieve success.
To have your firm’s generational viewpoints considered for a future Accounting Tomorrow column, email them at sarah@convergencecoaching.com.
