CPA Practice Advisor - 12

THE STAFFING & HR ADVISOR

5 Tips to Prevent Staff Burnout
During Tax Season
IT'S CRUNCH TIME for accounting professionals and tax pros. The arrival of tax season
means accounting firms are facing their busiest time of the year. When preparing for this
stretch of longer hours and higher stress, managers need to make sure their plan not

PAUL McDONALD

Senior Executive Director
Robert Half
paul.mcdonald@cpapracticeadvisor.com

only addresses production deadlines but also workers' mental fitness - a concerted
effort to prevent burnout.
A resounding 91% of employees
polled for an Accountemps survey
reported being at least somewhat
burned out. The average level of
fatigue on a scale of 1 to 10 was 5.6,
and the numbers were highest for
the 18-34 age group.
In the accounting profession's
annual tax marathon, you don't
want your people to hit the wall.
Burned out workers will be less
focused, more irritable, less healthy,
more likely to exhibit negative
attitudes and more prone to mistakes. Worse, bad attitudes can be
contagious.
So while you're planning
deadlines for tasks such as client
document submissions, it's also
important to consider how you'll
engineer a work setting that
minimizes burnout during what is
unavoidably a stressful period.
Here are some considerations
and tips.

ATTENTION TO
WARNING SIGNS.
1.PAY

Throughout the year, it's important
to gauge the level of satisfaction
of your team, but during tax time
it's especially crucial to watch for
signs of frustration that can lead to
burnout. Some employees will give
unsolicited feedback, but others
might fear that doing so will be perceived as a weakness. Check in with
each member regularly to identify
stress points and develop potential
solutions. Whatever small setback

12

FEBRUARY 2020 ■

there is in the time this takes will
be worth it in the long run.

OVERWORKED
STAFF SOME RELIEF.
2.GIVE

One of the top causes of burnout
is an unmanageable workload and
long hours, employees told us in
the survey. The amount of work
was also the top concern cited by
managers in a companion survey.
While heavier workloads and long
hours simply come with the territory during this critical period, you
can reduce their impact by bringing
in temporary professionals to take
some of the load off core staff. A
staffing firm specializing in placing
interim accounting and finance
talent can help you keep your operations at peak efficiency with less of
the stress.

3.

MINIMIZE
DISTRACTIONS.

In the survey, workers cited interruptions as one of the primary
causes of burnout. While client
calls, email and messages can't
be left unanswered even during
busy periods like tax season, allow
your team to set specific blocks of
time during the day to focus on
critical work uninterrupted. They
can then use the alternate blocks
for responding to these inquiries.
If disruptions are coming from
within the office, let them know
that it's OK with you if they post
a "Do Not Disturb" sign on their

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cubicle or office door for part of
the day. And there's something
you can do yourself that will also
help: Schedule only essential office
meetings during the busy season.

IN NEWER
TECHNOLOGY.
4.INVEST

Technology has transformed the
accounting profession - from ERP
systems and cloud-based financial
applications to robotic process
automation. But the standard for
what's state of the art is changing
virtually every few months. Evaluate whether aging tech tools are
limiting the speed and accuracy
of your team members - and
unnecessarily stressing them out.
In our survey, employees mentioned
outdated technology as one of the
contributors to burnout. While this
suggestion can't be implemented
overnight, it could help in future
tax seasons. And if you decide to

invest in new tools, you may have
a receptive audience: Forty-five
percent of U.S. managers surveyed
for our Jobs and AI Anxiety report
said their teams are very eager to
learn about new technologies.

YOUR
APPRECIATION.
5.SHOW

Some firms give bonuses or other
rewards at the end of tax season, but
consider some smaller perks as your
team negotiates the path. Ordering
a group lunch on Fridays or offering
snacks at a central office location
are two examples. Throughout tax
season, also be conscious of opportunities to verbally lift up your
people, commending their work in
both group and personal sessions.
Look out for the signs of burnout
before it's too late. Take note of this
year's challenges and solutions so
you'll be even better prepared next
tax season. ■
CPA Practice Advisor

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