0December 22, 2015December 22, 2015
In News

3 Initiatives to Improve Employee Engagement in Your Firm

Engaged employeeWhat if the concept of employee turnover was foreign to your firm? What if the Monday morning faces of each of your staff shone like those of children lined up for entrance to Disneyland? What if your firm had so many clients eager for your help that your biggest problem was managing new business?

The best firms have already figured out that motivated and passionate employees equals success. The real challenge lies in retaining those employees and keeping them engaged and inspired so they aren’t tempted to look for work elsewhere. Here are three initiatives to help your firm enhance employee engagement and inspire long-lasting dedication.

1.    Get Employees Involved

An engaged employee is one who has a strong connection with their firm. That connection can be developed when the firm’s vision, mission, and core values are created and lived out through the involvement of all employees – not just trickled down from higher-ups. To help increase employee involvement, establish an engagement system that will benefit everyone in the firm, such as:

  • Set clear expectations that instill a sense of accountability in each employee.

  • Invest in your staff by making career development and learning a priority.

  • Develop a performance management process. Start with a focus on establishing SMART goals—goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely and continue with a commitment to keep open lines of communication between supervisors and employees.

  • Involve employees directly in firm projects and committees to encourage collaboration and provide confidence among all levels of staff to be innovative. This will provide them with an opportunity to prove themselves as a valuable team member.

How does your firm currently stack up on engagement? Your employees probably have an idea. AICPA Private Companies Practice Section member firms can use this Engagement Scorecard to see how their firm ranks among their staff in each of the areas of engagement.

2.    Foster a Culture of Gratitude

The concept of being grateful is highly undervalued in today’s business world, and yet it is such a familiar part of our individual daily lives. Simply adopting a grateful outlook in your firm can increase employee motivation; bolster team work and collaboration among the firm; improve individual confidence; provide employees a sense of empowerment; and encourage healthy lifestyle habits among employees by reducing stress, building immunity, and just making people feel appreciated.

Begin to incorporate gratitude into your firm’s culture by saying “please” and “thank you.” You can take it a step farther, and implement a reward system to motivate your staff to do their best. For example, the AICPA has created a program that enables every staff member within the organization to acknowledge a job well done for any colleague, at any level, through a point award system called “You Earned It!” The points can be awarded in varying increments, and these points can be accumulated and traded in for tangible awards. A lot of little “Thank Yous” can add up, and it doesn’t take much time to show your appreciation. You’ll be surprised how much these small signs of gratitude will positively affect your firm’s culture over time. Be specific in your praise, and don’t be shy about sharing your gratitude with others in your firm.

3.    Embrace and Nurture Through Learning

Creating an environment of engaged learning can be the key to attracting and retaining quality staff members. Now more than ever, learning opportunities are a prime concern for individuals in the workforce. Employees who feel their firms are supportive of their continued career development are more likely to stay with that firm.

On-demand education has transformed the way people learn, making it easier to access quality materials and hear from sought-after subject matter experts. Now, training courses don’t have to take up an entire day of staff time. Through initiatives such as The Future of Learning, professional development is being delivered in bite-size pieces, allowing individuals to learn something new in periods as small as just a few minutes. Continued professional education is now being delivered in new and innovative ways that make learning a passionate and personal experience. That excitement for learning can translate into an employee who is passionate about your firm and its mission.

Bottom line: make learning an ongoing initiative in your firm –it’s essential to creating deeper engagement with your firm.

Additional Information

More information on these initiatives and others can be found in The Engaged Employee: 10 Initiatives for Successful Firms by human resources industry expert Sandra Wiley. Visit the PCPS Human Capital Center  and their Firm in Motion e-toolkit for Staff Development and Culture for more resources in developing your firm’s employee engagement strategy.

Sandra Wiley, COO and Shareholder, Boomer Consulting. Sandra Wiley is ranked by Accounting Today as one of the 100 most influential people in accounting as a result of her prominent role as an industry expert in human resources and training as well as her influence as a management and planning consultant. She is the director of The P3 Leadership AcademyTM as well as the CEO AdvantageTM. Sandra consults and speaks around the globe on management- and technology-related topics, including strategic and technology planning, compensation, change management, and developing a training and learning culture.

Happy employee image courtesy of Shutterstock



Source: AICPA