When I started my career in public accounting, I started writing down things I enjoyed about my work as well as things I didn't enjoy.
I loved the challenging work and making a difference in clients' lives, whether for individuals or business owners. I didn't like working so many Saturdays and often holidays when I could have been home with my young family. I also jotted down bigger existential questions such as: "Why am I an accountant?" and "Am I cut out to work for other people?"
I made plenty of mistakes along the way, but when Andy Lane and I started Tri-Merit in 2007, we had two goals in mind:
1. To be a place where people enjoyed working. It would be a place where people got satisfaction from what they were doing and enjoyed coming to work and didn't feel anxiety all the time.
2. To support an industry that we loved with integrity and opportunity. Little did I know how much that early notebook would shape my career trajectory and the culture we've built at Tri-Merit.
Two years into my career at a midsized local firm, I was doing pretty well. I enjoyed the work and my co-workers, but I was newly married and thought I should be making more money. A small firm across town offered me $2,000 more to come work for them — big money at the time — so I made the jump. Big mistake.
A few months into my new job, I was having doubts. One freezing cold Chicago night, the firm's managing partner and I were finishing up an audit at a car dealership. It was about 7 p.m. We still had more work to do back at the office, so I decided to walk the six blocks back and use the fresh air to clear my head. Next thing I know, the managing partner has hailed a cab and is screaming at me, "Get in the f'n cab now!" He didn't care about me freezing. He wasn't inviting me out to dinner. He just didn't want me out of his sight or to waste any billable time getting from our client's office to our own offices. Sound familiar?
The next morning, I went into the office as usual, but I knew it was over. I tidied up my files, wrote explanatory notes on each and at lunch time, I walked outside and never came back. I didn't have another job lined up, but I knew I could never keep working in a culture that treated its people so horribly.
After a few days, the reality of being newly married and unemployed hit me hard. Sheepishly, I called my original firm and told them the job I took didn't work out. They asked me what I was doing next. When I told them I had nothing in the works, they asked me if I'd like to come back to my old job. "I'll be there tomorrow!" I exclaimed.
That's the kind of culture I'm talking about. The firm had my best interests in mind. Even though I was very junior, they valued the contribution that I made to the firm and didn't hold grudges. My second stint with the firm went well and 30 years later I'm still in touch with the partners.
Now that I have my own firm, I try to bring as much of that collegiality into our own firm's culture. We're big believers in "What's Your And?" pioneered by my friend John Garrett. It's about getting to know everyone outside their work persona, such as I'm a CPA and a home brewer. I'm an auditor and a beekeeper. I'm an IT specialist and a triathlete. I'm a payroll expert and a cross-stitcher. At every team meeting, we let one person spend the last 10 minutes doing a show-and-tell about who they are outside of work. And when a new person joins our firm, I reach out during their first week and sit down for a few minutes to chat about their hobbies, interests and family — anything except work. It's very important to me to get to know the whole person, not the job title on the org chart.
Also, you don't want to pigeonhole people into a role that's not the right fit. Knowing what their professional passions and personal passions are will help you figure out what their best role in the business will be. For instance, if you find out someone loves classic cars, why not see if they can help the firm develop a niche practice in car dealerships? Culture is all about making sure people are happy in their roles and, if not, what are their strengths and is there a better role for them.
I should know. I was in the wrong role at my own firm. I nearly killed myself — literally — trying to be the firm's rainmaker and its managing partner in charge of day-to-day operations. It wasn't until I had a stroke at age 51 that we decided to have our co-founder, Andy Lane, take over as managing partner. I evolved into the company evangelist/brand ambassador role. I've never been happier, and the firm has never been better. In the past six years we've grown from $2.5 million in revenue to over $30 million.
Once you have the right people, how do you get them in the right place to maximize productivity and firm growth? Here are some things to keep in mind as you grow your firm and build the right culture:
1. Ditch time tracking. Billable hours provide the wrong incentives for accountants. They encourage inefficiency because the longer a job takes, the more money you make. Also, it tells your people they need to work as many hours as possible in order to get ahead. This puts them on the potential burnout path.
2. Become a virtual organization. When your people can work remotely, you now have access to the best talent in the country, if not the world. Our firm of 60 people is mostly virtual. People ask me all the time how we maintain our good culture when we only see each other in person once or twice a year. Giving your team the option to work when they want, where they want without being micromanaged is huge for morale and for growth. My assistant is based in Mexico. Our head of business development is spending the next six months working for us from Colombia. He and his wife want their kids to have the experience of being immersed in a foreign culture. He'll still get his work done. Isn't that better than forcing them to endure long commutes to come to the office every day, especially during the harsh Chicago winters?
3. Use upfront pricing/value billing. Modern accounting firms are more likely to use fixed-fee and subscription-based pricing instead of hourly billing. This enables them to project capacity upfront so they can staff up appropriately. Many modern firms sign up clients for annual advisory packages that include a set number of calls, plus email support and a certain number of reviews of different documents. Value billing is based on the value of the advice you're giving. For instance, for tax prep, our firm charges a percentage of savings generated for the client with a reasonable cap.
4. Transparency. Everyone knows where they stand from a performance standpoint and how their peers are doing as well. At our firm's semi-annual in-person gatherings, everyone gets a State of the Firm address. We're very open about what our revenues and profits are. But transparency is not just about the numbers; it's about vulnerability. Our firm's leaders are not afraid to show their vulnerability — to admit they don't know all the answers — and to show empathy for others.
5. Stand up for your people. If you have clients who are giving your employees a hard time and constantly berating them, you have to let the client know you won't tolerate that behavior. Getting rid of problem clients is one of the best things you can do for your culture and retention. It tells employees you have their back and that their welfare is more important to the firm than additional revenue.
6. Mental health awareness. A key part of building a successful firm is taking good care of the people you work with. For too long, our profession has treated workaholism and 2,000-plus billable hours as a badge of honor. It's not. It puts them on the fast-track to burnout as well as a variety of physical and mental illnesses. Make sure everyone on your team knows that it's OK to ask for help if they need it and that they know where and how to obtain those resources.
At our last all-company gathering in San Diego, the photographer we hired said something that really stuck with me: "People seem to be having a great time and I honestly can't tell who the partners are. Everyone seems to be equal and open."
I can't think of a better compliment. Contact me any time if you'd like to discuss ways to bring your firm into the modern era.
