If you currently manage a support staff, or if you’ve thought about hiring some help, it’s important that you consider how to secure the best possible employees around. How do you do that? In a recent BNet article, William Taylor shares “5 Questions to Ask Yourself” if you want a great team. This exercise will enable you to build the kind of practice that attracts stellar applicants while focusing your attention on key hiring and retention strategies.
1. Why should great people want to work with you?
Taylor argues that, “Great people want to work on exciting projects. Great people want to feel like impact players. Put simply, great people want to feel like they’re part of something greater than themselves.” In that, it’s important that your practice has a solid vision and, as its leader, you are able to effectively communicate that vision. Once your practice becomes the premier accounting firm in your area, you’ll have to wade through all those applications to find those stellar prospects that are certain to exist.
2. Do you know a great person when you see one?
Once you have all those applications, will you be able to recognize a great prospect when you see it? If you can, it will enhance the quality of your practice tenfold. Remember that when considering applicants, character is just as important as credentials. And once you secure a quality employee, consider what makes them exceptional—it will help you look for those same characteristics next time.
3. Can you find great people who aren’t looking for you?
Taylor argues that great employees are usually already employed in satisfying positions. He suggests considering ways you can draw these “‘passive’ job seekers” out and into your practice. Again, your success in this hinges largely on the appeal of your practice.
4. Are you great at teaching great people how your team or company works and wins?
Effective leadership depends on good communication, and the best managers are also articulate and motivational. It’s important that all your employees understand how your company works and how their specific roles correlate with those of their coworkers. Ensure that you communicate frequently and effectively in order for your staff to operate optimally.
5. Are you as tough on yourself as you are on your people?
Stellar employees will expect a lot from their leader, just as stellar leaders expect a lot from their employees. Make sure that you hold yourself to the same standard you’ve erected for your staff.
As you try to secure a stellar support staff, remember that much of it depends on the quality of your practice. The better your practice, the more appealing it will be to superior applicants. Let Universal help you build a reputable practice that attracts quality employees and clients like a magnet.
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Over 30 years ago Universal Accounting Center (UAC) recognized a need. Small businesses were failing as the result of poor financial management. And the majority of accountants were not trained to respond to their unique needs. In creating the Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program, UAC designed a course that trains students in the day-to-day tasks required by small business. The PB program not only produces small-business accountants, but Profit Experts who enable the small-business owner to make more informed and lucrative business decisions.
When you enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program you have access to the following:
- Flexible training you complete on your own time and at your own pace
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- Hands-on instruction through which you gain much-needed experience
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- 6 months of valuable follow-up support
- The opportunity to earn professional certification
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The Universal Practice Builder (UPB) Program
When you market your business to prospective clients, you’re also marketing to potential employees. The Universal Practice Builder Workshop is designed to train you how to promote your practice in order to experience significant growth and profitability. Imagine all that you could learn from our experience training thousands of individuals like you!
This program offers the following:
- $30,000 in new annualized billings in only 12 months
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- Phone marketing instruction and training
- Training in the benefits of newsletters and websites
- 12 proven marketing strategies
- Financing options
Built a stellar practice and enroll in these two programs! Call 1-877-833-7909 to get started, today.
Resource
Taylor, William C. “Want a Great Team? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself.” 20 December 2010 BNet.com
