Building and Retaining Superstar Performers in the Workplace

What is the best way to build a superstar team? You can pay top market salary, offer unique incentives, incorporate flexible schedules, provide more benefits, or give employees the option to volunteer for a few hours in the community without a loss of pay. According to Forbes, all of these are frequently listed as ideal features of employment.  So to attract and retain superstars, you need to do something, right? Right. However, you may not have the budget to increase pay or offer more benefits, or you may not have the manpower to enable staff to work from home or
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Ask Questions That Open Job Candidates Up

The purpose of an interview is to discover whether a candidate is qualified for a job. It’s also your best chance to learn about the candidate’s personality and attitude and how well they would fit in with your organization’s culture. Here are some questions that will help you explore these areas: “What are your career goals?” The answer will tell you about the candidate’s level of maturity, planning ability, and focus on achievement. “Tell me about your first job.” You can find out a lot about the candidate’s work ethic by listening to their early job history.  “What do you
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Ask the Right Questions to Find the Right Employees

Hiring people may seem like a gamble, but you can increase your chances of hitting the jackpot by getting to know candidates as thoroughly as possible during the recruitment process. Here are some probing questions to ask:  “Tell me about your best and worst boss.” The answer should give you some insight into how well the candidate deals with authority, rules, and conflict. “Where do you see yourself in one year?” Five- or 10-year goals tend to be vague and theoretical. A look one year into the future can tell you how the employee realistically views his or her prospects
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Make Sure Your Team Understands Your Words

Whether you’re talking to an employee or addressing an important client meeting, the basic rules of communication in the workplace apply. Make sure you’re getting your message across by following these guidelines: Become the other person. What does your listener want to hear? Expect to hear? Need to hear? Anticipate how your audience—whether it’s one person or hundreds—may respond to your message so you can tailor your words appropriately. Be sure to speak their language and avoid accounting jargon.  Know what you want. Don’t describe a problem unless you know what you expect the other person to do about it.
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Listen for Clues to Promotion

Some employees who are ready for promotion may be easy to spot, but others aren’t always so obvious. If you think you may be overlooking some talent that can be developed, look for these clues that a worker is ready for a promotion:  Free time. If an employee has finished all his or her regularly assigned work and has nothing to do, it could be a sign that he or she is ready for more responsibility. Fast response time. Keep track of how quickly the employee finishes assignments and short-notice tasks. If he or she is getting faster, a promotion
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How To Maintain A Positive Attitude During The Workday

When you’re an accountant and a business owner, the busy pace and unpredictable nature of operations calls for you to have the ability to be flexible, resilient, and maintain a great attitude. Inevitably business owners will experience days full of mishaps, mix-ups, and misunderstandings, which can leave you feeling more like the business’s punching bag instead of the owner. Still, it seems that the hardest times to stay positive are usually the most important, as a positive attitude equips you with the best ability to problem solve and handle stressful situations. Some of the most effective ways to maintain a
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Creating A Positive Attitude

Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” You could actually take this statement one step further and say “Attitude is the little thing that makes all the difference”. Think about your last setback or your last bad day. Did it seem like everything went wrong all day? How did your attitude change over the day? Chances are that once you perceived that something went wrong, you started seeing everything going wrong, and saw only the bad things. You have also probably had at least one or two “perfect” days, where absolutely nothing could
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Going the Extra Mile For Your Clients Isn’t As Hard As You Think

In today’s sharing and gig economy, almost anyone can fill the roles of “client” and/or “provider.”  This means more opportunities and more competition for today’s accounting firms. It’s easier than ever to engage with clients, but the accessibility comes with a downside; the competitive climate makes it more difficult to make an impression without risking getting lost in the noise.  That said, there is one clear-cut way to distinguish your customer service from your competition and that is to remember two words: YOU MATTER.  This simple phrase can serve as an unofficial mantra that your client will appreciate not by
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5 Tips for Keeping Your Employees Motivated At All Times

One of the hardest parts of being a leader is keeping your employees motivated at all times, even when the going is rough. However, doing so is an essential part of being a leader and is crucial for the success of your company. Here are five tips for keeping your employees’ morale up.  Keep Them Challenged Boredom will quickly lead to decreased morale. On the other hand, challenges will lead to excitement, a desire to overcome the challenges, increased motivation, and an improved mood overall. To keep your employees motivated about their job, make sure to constantly give them new
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3 Tips to Simplify the Hiring Process for Accounting Firms

Hiring someone can be an arduous process. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might know of someone who will be just right for the position. Maybe that person is among your circle of friends or a friend of a friend who is doing a similar job at another company. But this kind of situation only occurs once in a while. Most of the time, you need to go into your hiring process blind. You’ll need to post a job listing, scan resumes, interview candidates, negotiate salaries etc. Here are some tips to help you do so:  Job Listings Nowadays, most people
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