Managing change in your accounting practice
One of the few constants of every accounting firm is change—it is necessary for your survival and growth. But introducing something new—whether it be a system, process or any other new way of doing things—can be fraught with challenges.
Your team might resist, making the change stick can be difficult, or it could take far more time and resources than you anticipated. The chances of any this occurring can be reduced dramatically, though, with a well thought-through change management plan.
Careful planning and preparation, and following through properly, will make all the difference when it comes to adoption and adherence. Here is a step-by-step plan of what you need to do to ensure a successful transition from your old way of doing things to the new.
1. Define and communicate 'why'
Start by defining and communicating why something the team is doing today, needs to change (whether it’s a system, a process or a team structure).
You need to communicate across your entire firm, since everyone needs to understand why this particular way of doing things is no longer the best way (maybe it’s not delivering the most revenue, getting to the next step as quickly as possible, or perhaps it’s a decision led by some staff).
2. Set goals and metrics, and demonstrate how they’ll relate to the big picture
You need clear goals, as well as metrics that will demonstrate any progress made from the coming change.
For example, if you are looking at improving your onboarding process management, a clear goal would be to take it from 90 to 60 days to get a client from initial conversation to routine business.
A great metric would be to track the number of days for each phase of the onboarding process. If the days start reducing, you'll know you’re on track to hit your goal. Clarity like this builds trust, confidence, and accountability in your team.
The objectives you set need to be owned by everyone. This means they should relate to overarching goals of the firm like revenue or efficiency. So, while not everyone will be directly influencing the goal, everyone will be indirectly contributing to its success.
3. Get cross-organizational involvement
Whether or not someone will be directly involved with the change, everyone needs to be a part of it, either as a contributor or as a need-to-know member.
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