Challenging a Busy Season Paradigm
I recently experienced a first with regard to facilitating a Lean project in public accounting. This is newsworthy because I’ve worked with over 100 project teams in my lean consulting career, a majority of which have been in public accounting. I was working with a tax team in a multi-office regional CPA firm and we were kicking the project off by going through a Project Charter. As we were discussing specific objectives, the managing partner laid down the ultimate challenge to his team from a long-term perspective: “I want us to work 8 hour days during busy season”.
Once the shock was lifted from everyone’s faces, we began to peel back what this really means. Not only did I love what this managing partner said, you can be sure his team loved the comment as well. And while we knew it wouldn’t necessarily be categorized in the near-term objectives, it was definitely an objective we wanted to capture for several years down the road.
If you’re still reading, some of your traditional industry colleagues might call you crazy as I’m sure they’re thinking that of me and this project team / managing partner. Let them think it’s a crazy thought, and they can continue to live in the past. The thing is, we don’t think this is a crazy concept. We believe it is something that can be achieved, and let’s explain why.
First, most of my project teams in the past year have identified staff morale (staff meaning employees at all levels, not just staff) as a major issue facing the industry and an objective of the Lean project is to help improve morale. People are extremely “burnt out”. Setting up more effective processes that save time and allow individuals to work smarter is a must. This goal of 8-hour days for a majority of busy season falls in line with improved morale. Second, this firm is leading from the front. They are not satisfied with status-quo; things like copying other firm’s best practices, giving lip service to work-life balance but not really making the changes necessary, and having a dysfunctional leadership team are not part of this firm’s DNA. They will do what it takes, from the managing partner on down, to ensure they live by their beliefs and achieve their objectives. Third, this firm is a solid believer in Lean principles and the gains they can achieve. They understand the beauty in simplicity and the buried treasure (e.g. waste) that exists in many traditional compliance processes that can be removed. So they are ripe to achieve a goal of hitting 8-hour busy season days for a majority of days during busy season…without sacrificing revenue or quality. Lastly, think about what this does for individual growth and talent retention. Some of this firm’s top staff and seniors were on this project team. Do you think they’ll be more committed to this firm than others in the industry are committed to their firm? You betcha. And do you think they’ll use this as a recruiting tool to get more of the best and brightest? Yes, again.
This managing partner, who serves as the team’s Lean champion, laid down the ultimate challenge. And his firm is better off for it. We need more like him. If we never challenge the paradigms we’ve always lived within, we’re not growing. He challenged one of the ultimate paradigms and I thank him for it.
About the Author
Dustin Hostetler is President of Flowtivity, LLC, www.flowtivity.com. He works with CPA firms to implement Lean Six Sigma process improvement principles into their processes and culture, through training, facilitation and coaching. He can be reached at dustin@flowtivity.com or 614-288-6426.