Whether it's Dress for Your Day policies, unlimited PTO, free Fitbits or bringing puppies into the office to destress, every must-have employee benefit started in the imagination of some harried HR director or firm administrator — and that's where you need to look to find the next generation of recruiting and retention ideas.
Accounting Today's Best Firms to Work For are a fertile source of these kinds of ideas, and in today's entry we'll look at a handful of new and innovative tactics from this year's class.
- Professional services. As accounting practices, the Best Firms are well aware of the value of these, so some aim to make sure their staff have access to them. At Oklahoma's Wymer Brownlee, for instance, each full-time employee receives a $500 credit toward their individual tax return and a $350 credit towards estate planning services. And just a little further south, Texas-based Beaird Harris drinks its own Kool-Aid (in a good way): "All of our employees have access to any of our tax, accounting or wealth management services at no cost regardless of which team you work with."
- Reading is fundamental. Here's a neat initiative that's in place at both North Carolina's Martin Starnes & Associates and Kansas-based Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd: a "First 15" reading program. As described by Swindoll Janzen, "Our team starts their day by reading, on the clock! All books are provided by the firm, and the team can suggest new books." An obvious first choice for reading material will be business-related topics, but whatever you choose, it's a great way to share new ideas, get everyone thinking along the same lines, and give staff a shared base of knowledge.
- Targeted internships. Hiring interns isn't new for accounting firms, but Tennessee-based Market Street Partners' SkillBridge internship program is specifically created for veterans re-entering the civilian workforce. And while veterans are a great focus, it isn't hard to imagine a wide range of deserving communities that might benefit from — and appreciate — an internship that caters to them.
- Supporting BYOD. Firms that operate a "Bring Your Own Device" policy often present it as a concession to the employee, but Florida's Schellman recognizes that in many ways, it's the opposite. Under their BYOD policy, employees can get reimbursed up to $150 a month, or $1,800 per year, for charges related to their use of their own technologies for work purposes.
Staff at Schellman - New approaches to reviews. The Best Firms have been trying new things with employee assessments for a while, such as 360-degree reviews and the like, but California-based Johanson & Yau's bold move resonated with us: "We successfully eliminated performance review ratings in favor of a more forward-facing process that focuses on employee success toward firm and personal goals," the firm reported. "Employees appreciate this modern approach to performance management."
It's worth noting that good recruiting and retention ideas spread fast in accounting, so expect to see these, and many other innovations, in place at next year's
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