july2021 - 16

THE STAFFING & HR ADVISOR
How a
Help Your Team in the
However, finance managers will
also want to safeguard any efficiencies
that rose from the pandemic, such as
reduced office footprints and more
technology-driven processes. A hybrid
schedule in which an optimally sized
team commutes to HQ while other colleagues
work from home is an excellent
way to bank the gains in productivity
made over the past year - while
eliminating the losses.
WHAT ACCOUNTING
PROFESSIONALS WANT
IN THE NEW NORMAL
Research from talent solutions firm
Robert Half reveals employees are
divided on the question of returning
to the office. Some have found
working from home has improved
their work-life balance. Others worry
about isolation and wish to rejoin their
teams in person as soon as possible.
The most striking statistic is that
only 25% of employees want a total
return to the office. Furthermore, 1 in
3 professionals said they would quit if
they couldn't work remotely at least
part of the time. For most practice
managers, this means a return to
business as usual isn't in the cards.
On the other hand, only 26% of
workers want to work from home fulltime.
Though drawbacks to not being
in the office cited in the survey include
weaker relationships with coworkers
and stunted career growth.
Nearly half of respondents (49%)
favor a hybrid schedule, with a mix of
in-office and remote working days. This
approach would help people maintain
their work-life balance while also allowing
for essential face-to-face interactions.
HYBRID WORK MODEL Can
NEW NORMAL
WHAT WILL OFFICES look like after the pandemic? It's a good question that raises an even
better one: After a year when teams have worked remotely, how much of post-pandemic
life will take place in an office at all. Few accounting practices will abandon the office
altogether. Offices facilitate close collaboration and coherent organizational culture.
HOW TO BUILD A HYBRID
TEAM
A hybrid work schedule presents managers
with a new set of challenges.
Communication breakdowns pose a
risk, and you won't be able to please
everyone all of the time. However, you
can minimize disruption by following
a few basic steps:
1. DEFINE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
FOR REMOTE WORKERS
Remote employees have a great deal of
flexibility. For example, they can adopt
a windowed working pattern, doing, for
instance, a few hours in the morning
and the rest of their shift in the evening.
It's crucial to agree to these patterns
in advance. Be clear about availability
requirements, daily targets and the way
employees report back to you. Once
you've set expectations, people should
be free to arrange their schedules however
they like when working remotely.
2. ENSURE YOU HAVE COVER IN
THE OFFICE
One of the most challenging aspects
of hybrid scheduling is figuring out
who you need in the office and when.
One reason this is important is that
you can't expect clients to work
around your routine. They'll expect
the relevant people to be on-site for
in-person meetings.
It's a good idea to map out these
requirements before you negotiate
schedules with individual employees.
Decide how many people you need in
the office each day, and make a note
of any professionals who are required
on-site at specific times.
16 JULY 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
3. PLAN TEAM MEETINGS
Whether it's a five-minute daily
standup or a quarterly strategy review,
team meetings are vital forums for
sharing best practices, analyzing
problems and brainstorming ideas.
Ideally, you'll have an agreed time
where everyone is on-site, and this will
be your window for team huddles. Failing
that, you'll need to decide between
holding hybrid meetings, with remote
workers calling in to the conference
room, or continuing with all-virtual
get-togethers. The latter is worth considering
if you're worried about remote
team members feeling disconnected
from their office-based peers.
4. KEEP REVIEWING THE
SCHEDULE
Hybrid working will be a new and
potentially jarring experience for
many. Check in with everyone regularly,
and ask questions like:
■ Do you feel empowered to complete
your duties when working remotely?
■ Do you feel included in all relevant
team conversations?
■ Does technology help or hinder you,
and are there any tools that would
enable you to communicate and
collaborate more effectively?
5. WORK WITH A TALENT
SOLUTIONS FIRM
Maintaining a hybrid team is as challenging
as building one. Sooner or later,
you'll need to hire new staff - a timeconsuming
process that will impact the
balance of your team.
With their networks of skilled
accounting professionals, recruiting
firms like Robert Half give you access
PAUL McDONALD
Senior Executive Director
Robert Half
paul.mcdonald@cpapracticeadvisor.com
to candidates with the profiles you're
looking for, whether that's full-time or
contract, and on-site, remote or hybrid.
And they've been helping companies
build hybrid teams before the pandemic,
so they have insight that can
help you navigate hiring and managing
hybrid teams.
WHAT IF AN EMPLOYEE
WON'T COME BACK?
For various reasons, an employee
might not wish to return to the office
at all. Try to find a solution by:
■ Engaging - Talk to the employee
about his or her concerns. Is the
employee worried about the risks of
being among people? Or is it a work-life
balance issue?
■ Support ing - Sometimes the
employee might just need extra
information, such as your approach
to vaccinations or worker safety
measures. Be patient, show empathy
and don't discount someone else's fears
just because you don't share them.
■ Accommodating - If you can adjust
your schedule to support an employee's
needs without inconveniencing the
employee's colleagues, do it. It's a
small price to pay for keeping a valued
professional on board.
The last year-plus has been tough
on everyone, so don't be surprised if
your employees are worried about
returning to the office - in whatever
form it takes. This is where leadership
matters. Go to your team with a clear
plan and a positive mindset, and
there's every chance you'll inspire
them to carry their pandemic-era
adaptability and resilience into the
new normal. ■

http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

july2021

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