Tactics to Become a Stronger Active Listener with Your Workforce

Becoming a stronger active listener with your workforce is essential for business success. The rise of remote and hybrid work makes this skill more important than ever.

Your ability to read, interpret, and respond to verbal and nonverbal cues supports employee engagement, job satisfaction, and performance. These skills also increase employee productivity and attraction and retention rates.

As a result, you should take steps to develop your active listening skills. These suggestions can help.

Choose among these tactics to become a stronger active listener with your workforce.

Minimize Distractions

Reduce noise, interruptions, and other external distractions as much as possible. Also, put aside anything you may have been thinking about so you can focus on what your employee has to say.

Maintain Appropriate Body Language

Make appropriate eye contact and keep an open posture during the conversation. Also, nod your head to show you are actively listening.

Focus on Nonverbal Cues

Pay attention to the explicit and implicit information you receive. The employee’s tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language indicate the motivation and emotions behind the words expressed.

Repeat What You Heard

Show you are listening by sharing the last few words you heard. This action helps keep you focused during the conversation. It also lets you pause to collect your thoughts before replying.

Ask Follow-Up Questions

Gather more information by asking for more details about the topic. Asking additional questions ensures you have the complete picture and understand the message.

Wait for Your Turn to Respond

Focus on what your employee is saying before you respond. Ensure you have sufficient information and understand the situation before you reply.

Monitor Your Emotions

If you feel your emotions rising, slow the pace of the conversation. Also, focus on measured breathing to calm your reaction.

Avoid saying something that might cause your employee to disengage, you to tune them out, or an argument to begin. Instead, ask to pause the conversation so you have time to think about the topic. Then, set a time to calmly pick up where you left off.

Do You Need to Add to Your Accounting and Finance Team?

Minimizing distractions, maintaining open body language, and focusing on nonverbal cues help you become a stronger active listener. Repeating what you heard, asking follow-up questions, and waiting to respond help you pay attention to the message and appropriately answer.

If you want help with finding qualified accounting and finance employees, turn to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Get in touch today.

4 Tips For Mining Your Employee Alumni Database to Fill Open Positions

The need for skilled talent remains high, yet recruiters struggle to find candidates to fill their open jobs. With more companies requiring employees back to the office, economic challenges, fewer opportunities for remote work, and “the Great Resignation” waning, where are recruiters finding talent? It might surprise you that employers are communicating with their former employees – those who left for so-called “greener pastures” and those who retired –  to see if they’ll “boomerang back” to their former company.

According to an article in ALM Benefits Pro, “4 out of 10 employees who quit their jobs during the pandemic now admit they were better off at their old job, according to a multi-country survey by workforce solutions company UKG.” Harvard Business Review also recently noted that “statistics around the prevalence of boomerang employees vary by industry, but a hot-off-the-press study conducted by HR analytics firm Visier between 2019 and 2022 found that 28% of “new” hires were actually boomerang employees who couldn’t stay away more than three years.”

Wooing Back Former Employees With These 4 Strategies

Here are some things to win back former employees. Oftentimes, a conversation with the former employee on why they left and how they’re doing may shed some light on what it will take to rehire them:

  1. Employee Culture: If you already have an awesome culture, congratulations! Many boomerang employees return because they miss the caring culture and work/life balance. If your culture needs improvement, work on the “low-hanging fruit” and move forward from there. Perhaps the former employee would like to be part of the team to enhance the company culture.
  2. Alignment of Mission and Values: ALM Benefits Pro notes that the “the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, employers are really being compelled to take a look at their own DNA — who they are as a company, what they stand for, whether they have the right talent on board.” Employees want to feel respected and valued for their contributions.
  3. Colleague Experience: If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it thousands of times – employees oftentimes love the people they work with but find the environment intolerable. When evaluating your employee culture, reassess benefits and perks, professional development and growth opportunities, and peer resource groups as options to improve the environment.
  4. Considering Retirees/Mature Employees: While some of your former employees may have retired, there are also many mature employees who would be valuable assets to your employee diversity. ALM Benefits Pro urges company executives to “rethink stereotypes of older employees as being less capable, less able to adapt and learn, and unwilling to roll up their sleeves and dig in. Organizations that eliminate age bias from their cultures and hiring practices understand and appreciate the merits of hiring mature candidates. A recent Deloitte study shows that age brings a sense of security and wisdom to teams that can be used to their advantage.” ALM Benefits Pro asserts that organizations with a “more collaborative spirit and the benefits of diverse teams that integrate youthful vitality with the insights of experience” may “become more innovative, profitable, and likely to reach its full potential.”

It’s a good sign that employers can tap into their alumni database for recruitment purposes, not only to rehire them but to seek referrals. By the way, these tips are important for all employers and could prevent employees from leaving in the first place.

Casey Accounting and Finance Resources is ready to help you with your labor shortages. Contact us today to see how we can solve your workforce challenges.

The Best Accounting & Finance Podcasts to Listen to Right Now

Are you searching for ways to stay informed about the latest accounting and finance news, trends, and best practices? If so, choose among these accounting and finance podcasts.

Discover the best accounting and finance podcasts to listen to right now.

Count Me In

Count Me In is hosted by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). Learn the latest perspectives on the accounting and finance field from experts and thought leaders.

AICPA Town Hall Series

AICPA Town Hall Series is hosted by Susan Coffey, CEO of Public Accounting for AICPA, and Erik Asgeirsson, President and CEO of CPA.com. Discover the latest news and updates in the accounting profession from leading subject matter experts.

Grow My Accounting Practice

Grow My Accounting Practice is for accountants and bookkeepers who want to expand their businesses. Learn sales, marketing, hiring, management, pricing, and other business skills needed to scale your company.

The Abundant Accountant

The Abundant Accountant shares tips to build accounting skills, increase revenue, and expand firms. Topics include networking, pricing, finding ideal clients, increasing cash flow, and setting boundaries with clients.

Building the Premier Accounting Firm

Building the Premier Accounting Firm helps accounting professionals confidently offer quality services and get paid what they are worth. Learn tips and tricks to apply accounting principles to build a successful business.

Accounting Marketing Doesn’t Suck

Accounting Marketing Doesn’t Suck is hosted by Hugh Duffy. Learn from successful accountants, CPAs, and other professionals how to grow a profitable business.

Where Accountants Go

Where Accountants Go is for accountants in all industries. Learn as accounting guests share their stories about career development.

Accounting Technology Fireside Chat

Accounting Technology Fireside Chat hosts Nick and Trevor have been working with technology for accountants for over 10 years. Gain insight into where technology is going and how accountants can use technology to increase efficiency.

Accounting Matters

Accounting Matters is hosted by Sarah Cage Richter and Adam Olden from Embark. They start with a new topic and definition in each episode, then highlight and discuss the key areas from evaluation to reporting.

Do You Need to Add to Your Accounting and Finance Team?

Partner with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources to add accounting and finance professionals to your team. Learn more today.

How to Write a Good Job Description

Writing a good job description involves sharing the duties, responsibilities, expectations, and requirements for the role. This information helps job seekers determine whether they can see themselves in the position and should apply.

Creating a clear job description helps create questions for the interview process. It also supports the hiring team throughout the candidate selection process.

Having an effective job description helps create new hire goals and training and development plans. It also supports job performance evaluations, career pathing, and company growth.

Implement these tips to write a good job description.

Choose a Targeted Job Title

Use a title with keywords that many job seekers search for. Titles that indicate what the role involves, such as “Call Center Agent” rank higher in search engine results than vague titles, such as “Rock-Star Marketer.” Job postings that rank well typically have a high number of clicks that can lead to qualified applicants.

Outline the Job Duties and Responsibilities

Highlight what would be expected of the new hire. Include the day-to-day activities and to whom the individual would report. Help job seekers determine whether this is the right position for them.

Limit the Qualifications

List the most essential education, skills, and experience required for the role. Keep in mind that hard skills can be taught while on the job. Limiting the number of qualifications encourages more candidates to apply.

Share the Salary Range

Let job seekers know what type of compensation to expect. Candidates who desire a higher salary can apply for other positions. This saves time reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews.

List the Benefits and Perks

Let job seekers know which benefits and perks make the role desirable. Examples include health insurance, a retirement plan with a company match, paid time off, a remote or hybrid work environment, and a flexible schedule. Supporting job seekers’ quality of life encourages them to apply to your openings.

Are You Looking for Help with Writing Job Descriptions?

Choosing a targeted job title, outlining the job duties and responsibilities, and limiting the qualifications encourage top talent to apply for your open positions. Sharing the salary range and listing the benefits and perks show job seekers what they can gain from working for your organization.

For additional help with writing good job descriptions, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Contact us today.

6 Effective Ways to Build Trust with Your Employees

As a manager, building trust with your employees is essential for success. You need your employees to carry out daily tasks related to their jobs. Your employees need you for guidance, support, and leadership.

Effective ways to build trust with your employees must be worked on daily. This is especially true if your employees work remotely or hybrid.

The more your employees trust you, the more engaged and productive they will be. This elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention. It also increases your bottom line.

Choose among these six effective ways to build trust with your employees.

1. Openly Communicate

Build trust with your employees by initiating or joining in conversations. This may involve sharing company news and insights or answering questions. Also, be attentive to your employees’ concerns. Ongoing communication with your employees builds confidence in your leadership abilities.

2. Provide Flexibility

Although you want your employees to work full days, situations will arise when they must take care of their personal needs. Show compassion by letting your employees take care of family issues or other priorities that come up.

Your employees are likely to go above and beyond when you need them to. Being there for your employees shows they are trusted and valued team members.

3. Be Direct

Communicate with your employees in a clear, honest manner. This is especially important if you have bad news to deliver.

Calm, direct engagement in conversations lets participants be heard and understood. This supports respect and trust with your employees.

4. Delegate Responsibilities

Ask your employees to take on high-priority tasks and duties. Show that you trust them to follow through and reach deadlines with little oversight.

5. Offer Guidance

Reassure, support, or lead your employees when needed. Show that they can depend on you in good and bad times.

Help your employees move through challenges and come out stronger than before. Being there for your employees helps build trust.

6. Lead by Example

Model the behavior you want your employees to follow. This includes being authentic and vulnerable. Your employees are likely to trust you enough to be authentic and vulnerable in return.

Add Employees to Your Team

Openly communicating in a direct manner and providing flexibility help build trust with your employees. Delegating responsibilities, offering guidance, and leading by example show that your employees are valued and respected members of your team.

When you need to add employees to your team, get help from Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Learn more today.

Challenges in Recruiting for Accounting & Finance Positions and How to Conquer Them

As The Great Resignation goes on, many employees are leaving their jobs for other opportunities. Therefore, the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions continue to increase.

Many accounting and finance professionals are expected to accomplish more with fewer resources. This increases stress levels, especially during busy seasons. The inability to maintain work-life balance often leads to burnout.

As more accounting and finance professionals leave the industry or retire, fewer professionals are entering the field. This increases the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions.

Because accounting and finance professionals are needed to drive business, company leaders must find ways to increase employee attraction and retention. These tips can help.

Learn the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions and how to conquer them.

Loss of Talent

Many experienced accounting and finance professionals are leaving the industry. Job-related mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, are among the top reasons why.

Lack of work-life balance, especially during busy seasons, also contributes to the decision to leave. Constant exposure to work-related stress can lead to burnout.

Seasoned professionals are the hardest professionals to replace. This is especially true for mid-career professionals.

Increased Automation

Fortunately, you can support your accounting and finance team by implementing robotic process automation (RPA). This software emulates human actions and mimics how humans interact with technologies.

RPA can help with essential accounting and finance functions:

  • Analytical procedures
  • Financial statement preparation
  • Dual-purpose audit tests
  • Forecasting
  • Investment decisions
  • Cost allocation
  • Expense reimbursement
  • Accounts payable
  • Accounts receivable
  • Reconciliation
  • Tax reporting
  • Cloud-based applications

Providing access to the necessary tools, systems, and support helps accounting and finance professionals complete their work. This helps maintain work-life balance and positive mental health while reaching company goals.

Work with an Accounting and Finance Staffing Agency

You can conquer the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions by partnering with a staffing agency that specializes in the industry. The agency has a vast network of experienced professionals with the skills and qualifications needed to help you achieve your company’s goals.

You can choose from temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire workers to blend with your full-time employees. Taking advantage of this flexibility helps save money while filling your staffing needs.

Partner with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources

The loss of talent in the accounting and finance industry requires increasing use of automation to support your workforce. Working with an accounting and finance staffing agency can help you find the qualified professionals you need to reach your business goals.

Reach out to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for help filling your recruiting needs. Get started today.

Supporting Your Employees’ Goals in 2023

Supporting your employees’ goals in 2023 is more essential than ever. Employees are finding new employers with better opportunities at a rapid pace. As a result, employee retention during The Great Resignation is extremely important.

How you support your employees in reaching their goals impacts whether you are an employer of choice. This affects your ability to attract and retain talent. The following ideas can help.

Implement these suggestions to support your employees’ goals in 2023.

Prioritize Employee Mental Health

Most employees continue to experience mental health challenges that began during the pandemic. Increasing exposure to stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and burnout. These factors impact employee engagement, productivity, and performance. They also affect job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention rates.

You can help your employees reach their goals for positive mental health by providing additional support for overall wellness:

  • Maintain an open-door policy for your employees to privately talk with you about their personal and professional challenges. Emphasize that these discussions are free from judgment or consequences.
  • Encourage your employees to get enough sleep each night. This helps maintain emotional resilience and performance throughout the workday.
  • Remind your employees to use all of their paid time off each year. They need time away from work to rest and rejuvenate.

Encourage Employees’ Soft Skill Development  

Many employees believe their soft skills were impacted by the social isolation caused by the coronavirus. This is especially true for Gen Z, whose educational and career goals were difficult to achieve during social distancing and lockdowns.

Many members of Gen Z say their education did not effectively prepare them to enter the workforce. They missed out on developing the soft skills that are essential for career success. This includes networking, speaking to groups, and negotiating.

Employees from other generations experienced a lapse in their soft skills due to working remotely. The lack of in-person interaction significantly increased stress, exhaustion, and burnout.

You can support your employees’ goal of soft skill development by providing online skills training courses and opportunities to implement their learning. You also can match your employees with mentors to model and develop the soft skills required to advance within your organization. Plus, you can assign group projects that require collaboration among teammates.

Need Additional Guidance for Supporting Your Employees’ Goals?

Prioritizing employee mental health and encouraging soft skill development help support your employees’ goals in 2023. These actions increase employee engagement, productivity, and retention. They also lower your hiring, onboarding, and training costs.

For further advice on supporting your employees’ goals, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Connect with us today.

Why Showing Gratitude to Your Employees Can Lead to Higher Productivity

Most employees cite their income, work environment, and company culture as reasons why they enjoy their roles. However, how they feel about their positions matters as well.

Employees feel good when their employers appreciate them. These employees often share their positive emotions with colleagues and coworkers. The cycle of smiles, generosity, and random acts of kindness impacts others in the organization. This leads to greater feelings of employee appreciation.

As a manager, you influence how your employees feel when they are at work. This is why you should be giving praise for employee achievements.

Providing autonomy and constructive feedback shows your employees they are valued and respected. This promotes engagement, productivity, and retention.

Discover how showing gratitude for your employees can increase productivity and how you can attain this objective.

Attractive Company Culture

Employees who feel appreciated often express gratitude for their colleagues and coworkers. This promotes feelings of appreciation throughout the organization. Companies that emphasize employee appreciation have an attractive culture. This encourages job seekers to apply to the organization.

Increased Employee Engagement

Employees who feel appreciated typically have high job satisfaction. They are committed to performing their best and reaching business goals. This results in strong customer satisfaction and revenue for a healthy bottom line.

Elevated Employee Performance

Expressing gratitude to your employees shows you appreciate their contributions and results. This creates a source of pride in their work. Employees who are proud of their achievements typically put in their best effort.

Stronger Employee Retention

Expressing gratitude to your employees shows they are valued and respected members of your team. This encourages your employees to perform their best. Employees who enjoy their roles are likely to remain with your organization long-term. This reduces hiring costs.

Methods to Express Employee Appreciation

  • Publicly give thanks for each employee’s specific contributions, results, and impacts on the organization.
  • Provide a donation in the employee’s name to a charity they care about.
  • Create a reward system that provides points to redeem for a gift card, remote work day, vacation day, or other awards.
  • Provide a bonus, pay increase, or promotion when appropriate.
  • Publicly give thanks for each employee’s specific contributions, results, and impacts on the organization.

Frequency of Employee Appreciation

A survey by Authentic Recognition found the following:

  • 2% Received Daily recognition
  • 11% Received Weekly recognition
  • 20% Received Quarterly recognition
  • 17% Received Annual recognition
  • 29% Received No recognition of any kind.

Source: https://authenticrecognition.com/how-frequently-should-you-give-recognition/

Want to Increase Your Team’s Productivity?

Expressing gratitude to your employees helps them feel valued and respected. This encourages your employees to remain engaged, productive, and loyal to your organization.

Many HR managers and People leaders follow the R.I.S.E. method when implementing their recognition program. This concept highlights how employee appreciation should be regular, immediate, specific, and encouraging.

If you’re looking for other ideas to express employee appreciation, or you need to add employees to your team, include Casey Accounting & Finance Resources in your hiring process. Learn more today.

 

Up to 67% of US Employees Could Be Quiet Quitting. How They Impact Your Business?

Millions of employees are putting in minimal effort to keep their jobs. This mindset of “quiet quitting” is becoming more prevalent than ever before. It also is impacting businesses across the United States.

Source: https://teambuilding.com/blog/quiet-quitting-statistics

What Motivates Quiet Quitters?

Quiet quitters typically blame burnout for their lack of motivation to perform better. For instance, layoffs and staffing shortages often result in the remaining employees taking on more of the workload. However, most are not being compensated accordingly.

Many managers expect the same productivity levels with the increased workloads. These unreasonable expectations cause many employees to feel unappreciated.

As a result, quiet quitters are losing patience with their employers leading these employees to prioritize their personal lives over their professional responsibilities.

Why Are Many Remote Employees Quiet Quitters?

Remote employees often have an easier time not going above and beyond in their roles. Many of these employees feel less connected to and involved with their teams.

A lack of clear work hours encourages many remote employees to be quiet quitters. Not understanding how much should be accomplished each day increases stress. Ongoing exposure to elevated stress levels typically leads to burnout.

How Do Quiet Quitters Impact Companies?

Employees who do not remain engaged in their work and perform their best decrease productivity. This lowers employee morale and here’s why.

Better-performing employees often feel the need to pick up the slack caused by quiet quitters. This typically leads to frustration and resentment. These high-performing employees often end up leaving for other opportunities. As a result, turnover and hiring costs increase.

What Can Managers Do to Motivate Quiet Quitters?

Managers must understand what motivates each of their employees. Examples include verbal recognition, stretch assignments, and additional paid time off. Rewarding employees in the manner they desire promotes engagement and productivity.

Talking with each employee in one-on-one meetings, on a regular basis, helps uncover how they feel about their jobs. Managers can discuss each employee’s pain points and collaborate to find solutions. Making changes encourages employee engagement and productivity.

Providing constructive feedback encourages employees to improve their performance. Sharing what an employee did well, and specific steps to improve can promote desirable results.

Remaining empathetic during employee conversations is imperative. Many employees are facing personal challenges that are impacting their work. Providing support through increased work-life balance, access to therapy, or career advancement opportunities encourages employee engagement and productivity.

Need to Add Professionals to Your Team?

Quiet quitters put in minimal effort to meet their job requirements. This causes other employees to pick up the slack. When these better-performing employees become frustrated and resentful, many find opportunities elsewhere. As a result, turnover and hiring costs increase.

Managers should use customized tactics to help their employees stay engaged in their work. Managers also can talk privately with employees who are not performing their best to uncover the reasons, resolve the issues, and provide support.

For help adding professionals to your team, partner with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Find out more today.

 

How to Motivate Your Employees to Finish Strong in Q4

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, approximately 65% of employees are not fully engaged in their work. This percentage likely increases during the holiday season.

Maintaining focus during Q4 can be difficult for employees. Most are thinking about their holiday plans rather than their work tasks.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to motivate your employees to finish the year strong. These ideas can help.

Follow these guidelines to motivate your accounting and finance team to finish strong in Q4.

Revisit Goals

Review which goals were achieved during the year and which remain. Then, clarify the goals your employees should put in additional effort to attain. Include how the goals increase company success for the current year. This sets up a strong beginning to the new year.

Offer Incentives

Provide incentives to your employees who reach their goals for Q4. Examples include gift cards, bonuses, and additional paid time off in the new year. These incentives encourage your team to go above and beyond to increase their achievements for the year.

Encourage Autonomy

Let your employees work as independently as possible. This shows you trust, value, and respect them.

Since your team members are well-trained, they understand what to do and when to do it. Provide the necessary resources and be available for questions, then let your team work independently.

Recognize Achievements

Thank your employees for their contributions and results. Include the goals your team members reached, the steps taken to attain the goals, and the impact on the organization. This increases employee engagement and performance.

Lead by Example

Model the behavior you want to see from your employees. Examples include meeting milestones, communicating status updates and challenges, and asking for assistance. Your team is likely to follow your example as their leader.

Need Help Finishing Q4 Strong?

Revisiting goals lets your employees know what to work on during Q4. Offering incentives, encouraging autonomy, and recognizing achievements show you trust, value, and respect your team.

If you need temporary team members to help finish Q4 strong, talk with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Learn more today.