The 2024 Election’s Potential Impact on Tax Policy
U.S. election results (and their impacts on tax policy) are always important for business owners and the broader population. However, the 2024...
3 min read
Redpath and Company : February 14, 2023
Sometimes, it’s not about doing more with less; it’s about designing your organization’s finance and accounting teams and processes to maximize the use of your people.
Work is not what it was a few years ago. Keeping top talent is harder than ever. People are less likely to stay in jobs where they are under-utilized or overworked. New approaches to work (e.g., flexible work schedule and hybrid arrangements) and evolving technology mean we should more regularly evaluate our employees’ strengths, roles and responsibilities, career goals, interests, and processes to ensure our teams are best positioned for success.
Optimizing organizational design, responsibilities, and processes can help you get the best possible return on your investment in people. Clearly defined finance and accounting processes, roles, and responsibilities improve efficiencies, increase accountability, reduce redundancies, and improve controls. Done right, these improvements can build job satisfaction and employee loyalty, keeping you from losing valuable employees.
Workload imbalance within your back-office departments such as accounting or payroll is not only inefficient, it can result in missed deadlines, processing errors, under-utilization, or burnout. Overworked teammates may, eventually, start to resent their less-burdened peers when work is not spread equitably among employees. Those with overly light workloads are not earning their pay, plus they’re likely to get bored. Either way, workload inequities can result in turnover and lost momentum.
Refining workforce performance is more important than ever as companies continue to look for ways to conserve cash and work smarter in economic uncertainty. Sure, reducing staff will save money in the short term, but it could also leave your accounting department stretched too thin at a time when you need timely, accurate financials to support strategic planning and organization-wide performance management.
Performance optimization consulting helps strengthen your organization by documenting processes and improving how people work, so you can increase productivity and free up capacity without adding cost. Clearly defined roles, knowing what to expect from co-workers, and buttoned-up processes can increase morale, job satisfaction, and employee commitment–all factors in improving employee retention.
Automation eliminates time-consuming manual tasks that invite mistakes, freeing your team to concentrate on more productive work. Are you using the right tools, software, and systems?
Disparate business processes can be integrated through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that makes data more efficient and error-free. The right software supports process cohesiveness and avoids redundancies. This saves time, increases productivity, and frees up capacity for more value-add activities.
Well-defined accounting processes and workflows clarify responsibilities and eliminate duplicative efforts. They also ensure that proper checks and balances are in place and make hiring and onboarding so much easier.
The processes you establish should be based on best practices but customized to fit your individual needs and operations. This is where experienced consultants can offer valuable insights.
Balancing time and skills among staff will increase efficiency and morale. But that doesn’t mean people should be literally working 100% of the time. Everyone needs breaks, and allotting capacity for personal and professional development builds retention as well as workforce value.
Clearly defined responsibilities provided the foundation for effective performance evaluations. A periodic review of time spent on assigned duties can help balance capacity and establish communication channels for employees to give and receive feedback regarding expectations. It also helps with identifying people who want to grow and take on more responsibility.
Maximizing the power of your people is not only about productivity or doing more with less. It’s also about investing in the growth of your teams, creating connectivity and community within your organization, and developing a culture that differentiates you from the competition while enabling the collective success of your team.
U.S. election results (and their impacts on tax policy) are always important for business owners and the broader population. However, the 2024...
St. Paul, Minnesota (October 1, 2024) – Certified public accounting firm Redpath and Company (Redpath) has promoted Sarah Gengenbach to partner and...
Editor's note: This piece was originally published in 2023 and has been updated to include additional resources.