The first thing to look at is what is different this year, compared to prior years. Probably the biggest thing is that we are now two full years into COVID, and people want their lives to go back to normal. This means more traveling, more eating at restaurants, more shopping, moving back to the office, etc. But we also have a possible recession lurking, which could mean higher prices, possible belt tightening and more stay-cations instead of air travel.
For practitioners, this all signals opportunity. Business owners will need your help with cash flow projections and to help them maximize their sales. The flip side is also true: If your clients are likely to suffer in a recession then they will need your help to stay afloat. It’s therefore important to ensure you are ready to help businesses in the way they want to be served (more on that a little later in this article).
Additionally, the talent war that you’ve had to contend with may finally be easing up. As tech layoffs continue, there may be opportunities for you to pick up staff you wouldn’t have had access to earlier. You’ll have your pick of interns if that’s a direction your firm chooses to go to attract younger employees. Lastly, you may be able to attract older workers who want stability and predictability in their workdays. Watch this space, and don’t assume that staff are impossible to get anymore.
With This in Mind, How Healthy is Your Firm?
There are several key areas you can explore to help you understand where you should focus in order to meet the challenges and maximize the opportunities ahead.
First question: How are your client retention rates trending?
Attracting new clients and understanding how long you keep them (client retention) is one of the best ways to measure the health of your firm. How are your rates trending? Clients tend to stay when they like the service provided, they enjoy working with the staff, and they feel good when they work with your firm digitally. Clients want to feel they are getting a premium experience and that you have their best interests at heart. In a recession, premium clients will still be well positioned to shop around. It is therefore important to examine all facets of your Client Experience and ensure it’s top notch.
If more clients are leaving your firm than joining, you’ll need to discover and correct the root cause right away. To get your creative thoughts flowing, here are a few common reasons that clients give when they leave accounting firms. Do any of these apply to your firm?
- “It was so difficult to get an answer – if I called in and got anyone other than who I normally work with, no one could help me. They always had to research it then get back to me.”
- “Their systems were outdated and difficult to use – I couldn’t log in to their portal without calling for help. Very frustrating.”
- “No one ever called me to discuss my business – I only got a phone call if my bill was late.”
- “The reports they gave me were accurate, but too late to make any difference.”
You’ll notice that none of those reasons actually had anything to do with the quality of your work product. They were all about how the client felt (their experience) when they were interacting with your systems or your staff. So while you have expert staff who care deeply and do accurate and timely work, is it actually making the client feel valued? Are you meeting their needs? Are you offering them a premium experience?
The good news is that once you have the problem areas identified, you can explore solutions that will increase the satisfaction your clients will have when they work with your firm, whether it’s in person, over the phone or digitally.
- Look for a solution that gives staff full visibility across all client communications so that anyone can answer client questions when they call.
- Ensure your client-facing tools are easy for them to use (a great way to do this is to ask your grandmother to try it – if she can do it, anyone can. If not, keep looking!).
- Add a regular check-in and advice session for each client, at no charge. You’ll uncover additional business opportunities in those sessions, and clients LOVE the attention!
- Ensure that you are giving clients key information in as close to real time as possible so they can make quick decisions and maximize the impact of your knowledge on their business success.
If you nail these things, then your clients will not only stay with you, but they will also refer you to other premium clients. It’s a double win!
Second question: How are your employee retention rates trending?
Employee retention is a reflection of your firm’s culture, plus how easy, or difficult, it is for employees to do the work they signed on to do. The accounting, bookkeeping or tax work is the “means” to helping the client be more successful. That’s the best part of every accounting professional’s workday, so it’s important to stack the deck in favor of that joyful work and reduce the areas of the workday that are frustrating or a waste of time.
If your employee retention rates are suffering, you’ll want to take a hard look at how you are asking your employees to spend their days. Here are some questions to ask:
- How many places do they have to look to locate what they need to do the client work?
- How many interruptions do they get each day?
- How many “work arounds” have they had to create because your systems don’t give them the visibility and transparency they need firm-wide?
- CAN they answer any client question if that client’s regular staff person is not available?
- Are managers and staff treating each other with respect? Is there a healthy way to air and discuss grievances?
All of these are possible roadblocks to a great Employee Experience. By solving these issues , EVERYONE gets happier. The whole vibe changes at the firm, and you become a talent magnet.
Last Question: How healthy is your brand?
This is a little trickier to evaluate, but your brand is important. To get started, take a look at your website. After all, it’s the first thing that prospective clients check. Is it “all about you” or “all about THEM”? This simple litmus test will tell you if you have an “old” brand versus a progressive, “new” one. Modern firms discuss the results (and feelings) that clients will have when they work with the firm, instead of focusing on the firm’s accomplishments and collective credentials of the staff.
Additionally, do you have Social Proof? Happy clients will give you great reviews on Google and other review platforms. Ensure you are replying to all of them and engaging openly and helpfully with any “bad” review. If your reviews are all excellent, be sure to THANK the people who posted them.
Then, take a look at your social media handles. Is every post about selling your services? If so, you are not presenting your firm in the best light. Consider asking one of your younger staff to take over your social media brand, and remember the 80/20/10 rule. Share 80 percent valuable information from other sources (with insightful comments and the implications), 20 percent of your OWN content and 10 percent or under of actual selling
