The E-Myth Accountant by Michael E. Gerber & Root M. Darren

Author:Michael E. Gerber & Root, M. Darren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2011-01-27T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

We the People

M. Darren Root

You’re only as good as the people you hire.

—Ray Kroc

When you have the proper systems in place, it’s time to assemble the right team of people to manage those systems effectively.

The adage, “There is no i in team,” is as true as ever. Successful firms are supported by a group of dedicated people comprising individuals with varying levels of experience and skill. Savvy business leaders develop the right cadre of employees to ensure their firms run smoothly and processes are followed to the letter.

Far too often I encounter firm leaders who insist on having their hands in every aspect of operations. They hang on to their technician role, unable to break free and relinquish “power” to their staff. This is known as the “me” mentality. In other words, “Without me, things would fall apart.” Sound familiar?

Accountants need to get rid of the “me” and adopt a “we” mind-set, where they envision firm operations running independent of their own involvement. It’s time to trust your people, let go, and give yourself the opportunity to work on your practice . . . not in it.

One of the first things I want to get clear is that very little performed in our practice requires a CPA or licensed practitioner. Think about it: A license is not required to prepare, assemble, or sign a tax return. A license is not required to prepare payroll, compile information for a set of financial statements, or process payroll tax returns. Because the majority of tasks within your firm do not require certification, you can hand those tasks over to your very competent employees!

Up to this point, you’ve read about all the work that needs to be done: defining your service offerings and your client base; developing processes and systems; and ensuring you have the appropriate business, practice, and completion plans in place. Now it’s time to make sure you have the right people in place to get the work done.

In his bestselling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins illustrates this concept by comparing your staff to people on a bus. He said you must not only have the right people on your bus, but they must also be in the right seats. All too often, we have people in the wrong seats—that is, performing tasks that their skills do not support. For example, why would you have a painfully shy person sitting in the reception area tasked with greeting people? When you place an employee in the wrong seat, you set up that person for failure. Thoughtless placement of employees will always result in inefficiency and unrest among staff.

To avoid bad placements, spend adequate time designing job descriptions to ensure a good fit. When you do this, you develop a staff that has a vested interest in the firm’s success, because they can easily succeed in their positions.

Creating proper job descriptions is only the first step, however. You must also define your hiring process.

As you may know, hiring the right person requires more than matching skills on a resume to a given position.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.