Among all the challenges today’s accounting firms face, burnout is perhaps the most alarming. A recent survey revealed that 99% of accountants and financial professionals are experiencing some level of burnout. This can lead to increased mistakes on the job.
Because burnout is measured by factors that include an emotional detachment from work and a low sense of personal achievement, increasing employee and team engagement in accounting firms could help reduce this chronic exhaustion. This article discusses what healthy employee and team engagement looks like in accounting environments and offers workforce management practices to help your firm get there.
What Does Employee Engagement Look Like in Accounting Firms?
Despite unprecedented levels of burnout among accountants, the accounting industry had the third-lowest average turnover rate in 2022 compared to 12 other sectors. However, just because accounting employees and teams are sticking around doesn’t mean they’re actually engaged in their work.
Employee engagement is driven by a number of interconnected factors, including:
- An emotional connection to one’s coworkers and their teams
- A commitment to helping the firm achieve its goals
- The level of enthusiasm and pride an employee feels towards their job
For many employees and teams, engagement occurs naturally in environments with a strong workplace culture where they believe (think, feel) their voice is heard by their team members, managers, and company leadership.
Engaged employees are more collaborative, communicate effectively, and respond well to constructive criticism and changes. When employees are disengaged, they separate their work and emotions, avoid communication, and refrain from asking for feedback. Disengaged teams may be less productive than engaged teams.
4 Workforce Management Strategies That Increase Employee and Team Engagement
Workforce management refers to how firms maximize performance levels and manage employee operations. Making workforce management a priority is the best way to increase employee and team engagement in accounting.
Fortunately, tools – such as workforce management software – make this easier than it used to be.
Improve Workplace Transparency
Without transparency and openness in your accounting firm, employees may be uninformed, underappreciated, and powerless. Communication should always go two ways. If you’re not willing to be honest with your employees, you can’t expect them to be honest with you.
One way to improve trust and transparency is to implement office networking tools already included in some workforce management systems. These tools help:
- Provide a discussion platform where everyone can have a voice
- Facilitate feedback and idea-sharing
- Enable coworkers to connect on a more personal level
- Share company updates and achievements
- Make firm leaders feel more accessible
Office networking channels are especially important for firms with hybrid or remote employees and teams and can help everyone feel more connected to the company and, in turn, their work.
Give Recognition
Employees are engaged when they’re encouraged and think & feel like their work is valued. One way to do this is to provide real-time recognition.
By implementing workforce management software that includes project management tools, you can gain visibility into individual and team progress as it’s made. When you see that a project has been completed or a primary goal has been achieved, you can give timely kudos to those involved.
Invest in Work-Life Balance
When you encourage employees to find balance in their personal lives, it sends a strong message that shows you care about your teams on an individual level. With consistently heavy workloads, accounting professionals sometimes need to be pushed to prioritize self-care.
Workforce management tools can alert your employees (and their management) when they’re about to work overtime so they stay aware of their working hours. These tools can also remind them to take their scheduled meal breaks during the day to help them destress and re-energize.
Avoid Micromanaging
As a firm leader responsible for your accounting firm’s overall operations and success, it’s natural to feel uneasy sometimes about whether staff are putting in their best efforts – especially when working remotely. However, nothing kills employee engagement faster than micromanaging.
Workforce management software comes with business analytics tools that enable you to quantify productivity, calculate time spent in meetings, and identify barriers to success without becoming overly involved. This gives you peace of mind while empowering your employees and teams to do their best work.
Start Driving Employee and Team Engagement in Your Accounting Firm
coAmplifi’s workforce management software for accounting firms includes all the tools mentioned above and more – all in one system. This enables you to align employees and teams, encourage accountability, and empower your workforce without switching between (or paying for) multiple apps.
Experience the transformative power of digital workforce management today. Schedule your demo now!
