For the long haul
By Carl Angelo C. Cabusas
THE pandemic surely has pushed the entire accounting profession to digitize everything as much as
possible. With the quarantine measures and strict protocols, in order to fulfill the need for compliance
of their clients, firms found alternative ways to allow staff to work from home and for clients to reach
them. In this age of working from home becoming the norm, turnover rates have been at its peak. Firms are
having more difficulties retaining staff than ever before. In conquering this plight, the focus on staff
experience must be the main focus. Let us explore the possible reasons people leave and how we can probably
address them.
1. Burnout. They say that burnout is one of the key factors for staff leaving. According to
Merriam-Webster's dictionary, burnout is "exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation
usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration." In addressing this, the overall staff experience
must be constantly evaluated, coaching and guidance must be intensified, and proactively solving problems
through a strong feedback system must be done.
2. Culture. Another factor that highly increases the chances of staff leaving is the cultural expectation
that has been set for decades. With the norm that "people are entering and leaving firms in short periods
of time," firms and students alike have already set their expectations and mindset that the job is only
temporary. This is much truer for the lower ranks of firms. It is saddening, but there is nothing much
that can be done here. Accountants are always in demand and their skills are highly needed by businesses.
Also, not everyone is meant to stay in public practice.
3. Motivation. Another key reason why staff leave is due to their lack of motivation. It is important
to lay down the career opportunities waiting for staff when they stay in a firm. Again, coaching and
great feedback mechanisms will definitely play a huge role here. Performance assessments must be
designed so that people could get rewarded for the great work done and there must be a way to show
that such work is relevant to them to achieve their personal goals.
4. Appreciation/compensation. A lot of staff resign due to this reason. This feeling is oftentimes an
accumulation of experiences where they feel that their work needs to be higher compensated, performance
assessments that have not been able to recognize the hard work and positive feedback of peers and clients
alike, and the lack of small "thank-yous" and words of affirmation for a good job. In appreciating the
work of staff, we must not only focus on the words "thank you," but rather tell the person how their work
provided value and helped in the accomplishment of goals. The more specific the feedback is, the greater
feeling of appreciation is attained. Also, benefit packages must consistently be reviewed at least
annually and kept at par with market expectations.
5. Excessive Workload. This scenario is very common in firms, especially during the busy season.
Firms typically cycle between busy seasons and slack seasons due to annual compliance requirements,
mainly stemming from the need to submit income tax returns and audited financial statements. One way
to address this is through proper staff planning and project management. Expectations must be set with
clients and timelines must be discussed and agreed on both ends. Another way to address this is to
ensure that staff are technically well-equipped to accomplish the job, trainings have been made and
procedures have been codified to serve as guidance while performing the job. Staff technicality is key
in maintaining the quality and speed of work.
6. Flexibility. This has been greatly magnified during the pandemic. Flexibility in the work schedule
and work environment has always been a great factor in turnover rates. The younger generations are now
leaning toward jobs where they can maintain a "work-life balance." This goes for older generations as
well. When the pandemic hit, jobs were forced to go online and work from home became more sustainable.
This gave everyone the chance to experience how it's like to work from anywhere (WFA) and at any time.
Work has now shifted from being paid by the hour to getting paid by results. In order to attract and
retain staff, firms will have to stay open to find ways to empower their staff to work flexibly. WFA is
probably here to stay. And a push to fully mandate staff to get back to office will most probably be a
key reason for staff turnover.
There may be other important factors, which contribute to staff turnover. The key is intently
listening to the team's feedback and addressing concerns proactively. At the end of the day,
when people are well-taken care of, they take care of the business. Take care!
Carl Angelo Cabusas, is the audit and digital transformation director of Paguio, Dumayas & Associates, CPAs (PrimeGlobal Philippines),
and a member of the Association of CPAs in Public Practice (Acpapp). The opinion of the writer does not
reflect in any way the opinion of these institutions.
Source: For the long haul - Manila Times