Top 10 Ways to MakeTax Pros Happy!

Top 10 Ways to Make Tax Pros Happy!

(Without a Salary Increase)

Laundry service and car care? Perhaps even grocery shopping…

10

Busy tax pros may not have time to get it all done. So, some companies are offering regular laundry service with drop off and pick up at the office, car care (oil changes, cleaning, etc.) and even once a week grocery shopping, where you place your order and it is dropped up for you just as you are about to head home for the evening!

Paid time off to volunteer

9

If you can drag them away from tax compliance and audit, tax pros get a lot personal gratification out of doing volunteer work or serving on non-profit Boards. Personal fulfillment can go a long way!

Acknowledgment of significant others

8

When tax pros are working through dinner to get those returns filed or to respond to ad hoc projects that are constantly popping up, the spouse or significant other is picking up the slack or going it alone. A gift, gift certificate, or even a “night out” and thank you to the family support system is a great way to make your team and their families feel appreciated.

Sabbaticals

7

Offer month-long sabbaticals after five years of service, or two months after 10 years of service. I have a colleague right now that is doing her 6 week sabbatical after 10 years of service. She is heading out on a European tour with the hubby. I know…can you spare the employee for a month?!! And, what do you give them after 20 or 30 years? A medal?

Summer hours…

6

Early departure Fridays. Let them beat the heat and avoid some of the summer traffic. Get a start on the week-end. And oh yeah, how about not working all week-end?!

Optional telecommuting

5

This may be difficult in some tax departments where a lot of interaction is required on projects, however there is a lot of time that can be spent more productively via tax pros working from home. I know that I get a lot more done when I am not being constantly interrupted all day!

Lunch & Learn Sessions

4

We used to do these during the Andersen days. They were great. You can have someone from your team or another part of the company (or even someone external) come in and teach a new topic during lunch. It could be related to parts of your company or tax lifecycles, or it could be business or technical skills that folks might like to learn.

Wellness benefits

3

Give your employees either reimbursements or make deals with various fitness facilities or activities to support your employee health and wellness. This could be gym memberships, yoga classes, bicycles, kayaking, running shoes, etc. Be creative and supportive. Lots of studies show that the more exercise your employees get, the less health issues, less stress, and less time out for sick days!

Innovation Days!

2

Set aside specific day(s) each month to focus on innovative ideas to improve the work space or the workflow. Allow folks to take time away from regular duties to brainstorm and come up with new ideas on how to make the company money, reduce ETR, reduce risk, and/or to make employees happy! You will be surprised at what they come up with!

Tax Sensitize your GL!!!!

1

And the number one way to make your tax pros happy…tax sensitize your General Ledger (GL)! Put together the business case and sell it internally. You will keep a lot more employees that way, be more efficient and effective and save the company a ton of money! If you can’t make this happen in the short term, review #’s 10 – 2!

Thank you for reading!For more information, contact me at:

Kelley LearKelley.Lear@redmoonsolutions.com

941-379-7108

www.redmoonsolutions.comblog.redmoonsolutions.com

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