Art of Accounting: A 5-point staff evaluation

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Quick, quick, rush, rush. Some things should not be rushed, and one is evaluating an employee's performance. The following is a five-point evaluation … that works. You don't have to rush it, but it is quick and only takes a few moments:

1. Does he or she learn from their mistakes?
2. Do they remember technical issues they previously worked on?
3. Do they check their work before handing it in?
4. Do they look to add suggestions or uncover planning opportunities in what they did?
5. Do they look at their final work product and visualize how the client would react to it?

Here are some more. Jimmy Johnson in his new book "Swagger" suggests the job of a coach is to evaluate talent. He has his own five ways:

1. Intelligence;
2. Works hard;
3. Playmaker;
4. Loves to compete; and,
5. Character. 

Each of Jimmy's five ways can relate to mine. Mistakes have to be expected and in some cases need to be made, but not continually repetitive mistakes. People who do not learn from their mistakes are lazy, selfish and not team players.

Everyone working in public accounting has intelligence, but they need to apply their experience by learning from their mistakes and also by maintaining a "retrievable" mental database of technical issues they worked on. Working hard means they need to do the extra by checking their work before they hand it in to make sure it is the best they, or anyone, could do. They need an internal mechanism that makes them compete with themselves by not letting something go without reviewing their final work product and visualizing how the client, or their boss, would react to it and wanting that reaction to be a wow! They also do not want someone else finding their mistakes. 

We need people to make plays and, for us, this means to look for opportunities to help clients above and beyond what our immediate job is. They are our playmakers. Those who succeed have to have character; it is pretty hard to make it too far in public accounting without character. Those who lack character and those with a strong character always stand out. 

Jimmy was successful because he evaluated his talent and got them to do the best they could do. That is what supervisors, managers and leaders of accounting firms need to do. Evaluate your talent; and then get them to do the best they can do. Try my five-point evaluation the next time you review someone's work, or try it targeting the next staff person you interact with.

Do not hesitate to contact me at emendlowitz@withum.com with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform.