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It’s easy to talk about change, but actually getting it done it is far trickier. How can firms plan, get staff onboard and make the changes, all without disrupting client services? Financial Accountant asked experts and accounting firms for their tips.
1 Make a simple plan
For Della Hudson, this means getting staff round a table and planning the changes with a long roll of wallpaper, coloured Post-it Notes and coloured pens. Planning can be done in as little as a couple of hours, depending on how big and complex the change. “Everyone has a different way [of handling change],” says Hudson, a consultant who previously owned an accounting firm.
“For example, if [I’m] sitting at a computer, I don’t think my brain flows as freely,” she says.
2 Sell the change to your staff
After planning, it’s important for a firm’s senior staff to explain to the others why they are doing it. This may sound obvious, but firms often neglect this bit, experts say.
It may also be necessary to explain the plans, or part of them, to customers.
“As with other things that are successful, the ones that don’t work generally are those where no one has explained what’s happening, how it’s happening or when it’s happening,” says Vipul Sheth, founder of AdvanceTrack Outsourcing, which provides back-office accounting services such as accounts production to accounting firms.
If change isn’t explained clearly, the “barriers go up” among staff, Sheth says.
“They assume it means a challenge to their role, [or] that’s it’s to save money and to get rid of people.”
If this happens, a firm’s most experienced staff may leave. Using staff workshops or one-to-ones with employees to explain the change – for example, how the changes can make their jobs easier and let them focus on the parts of their job they most enjoy − can ease staff fears.
Sheth says that partners at one of his customers, a UK accounting firm, successfully changed the firm’s accounts production technology and processes by reassuring staff their jobs were safe, and the change could be bought in at a pace they were comfortable with.
“The partners had an internal forum and brought people of all persuasions into the conversation, [including] one [worker] who was a big sceptic,” he says.
3 Be honest about the pros and cons
Tell staff about the potential risks of a change as well as the benefits, Della Hudson says.
Small changes can affect the quality of client services. For example, new practice management software may automate sending email reminders to clients, rather than relying on staff to remember.
This can increase efficiency but “you need to build in client contact”, Hudson says. Some clients may prefer a phone call from their accountant, she says. A compromise could be using the software to set a ‘reminder’ for an accountant to phone their client to ask for information for their tax return, expenses, and so on.
4 Appoint a project manager
Make someone responsible for managing and delivering the project – ideally a good project manager with experience in project management techniques such as Prince (an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments).
But no matter how good this person is, the project can still be scuppered if a minority of staff are hostile to the change.
Project management techniques can be useful, but the most important things are ‘people skills’, and training staff in new skills that will be required when the changes are made, Vipul Sheth says.
And remember to delegate.
When Della Hudson’s business moved office, she gave a colleague responsibility for the budget and trusted them with most of the decisions.
“Our office move worked seamlessly without my involvement,” she says. Try to stick to your plan – but don’t be afraid to change it, or scrap it if things go wrong.
If this does happen, make changes quickly.
“The beauty of a small business is that it can implement something, then if it doesn’t quite work you can change it quite quickly,” Hudson says.
Occasionally, you realise that it wasn’t the right thing at all, and you must backtrack. Having to do this is “hugely damaging to the ego”, she adds, but is better for your business in the long run.
Nick Huber is a freelance journalist