{"id":21630,"date":"2020-11-09T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=21630"},"modified":"2021-01-08T08:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T14:14:08","slug":"hiring-and-managing-talent-for-tax-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/hiring-and-managing-talent-for-tax-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring and managing talent for tax season"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many things about 2020 that we won\u2019t miss. COVID-19<\/a> resulted in health, business, and economic challenges that continue to evolve. In response, individuals and businesses have reimagined their path forward, and determined new strategies for operating, including hiring and managing talent for tax season.<\/p>\n

We often hear that necessity is the mother of invention, and that couldn\u2019t be truer, especially when considering new ways of engaging team members. Stay-at-home orders meant that we were living at work<\/a> via the office\/guest room, while many began homeschooling almost overnight. Fortunately, in the public\u2019s interest, tax and accounting practitioners were considered essential during the extended tax season. The ability to continue working outside their offices required new processes and technologies to handle the increased workload.<\/p>\n

For example, cloud solutions<\/a> enabled artificial intelligence-driven tax preparation, secure transmissions, and confidentiality of client information. For many firms, the transition from on-premise to the cloud represented a significant shift in mindset. The benefits of technology were underscored during COVID-19, even though we had the most unusual tax season<\/a> many of us can remember. Deadlines were met, and clients received above and beyond service.<\/p>\n

As we look to the upcoming tax season, it\u2019s time to consider the full benefits of technology, and new ways of hiring and managing talented team members. In quite a few cases, while firms used technology to process returns from multiple virtual locations, the \u201cessential\u201d designation was used to work with socially distanced<\/a> team members in the office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the often-lamented long hours of tax season did not significantly decrease, despite the use of technology. As a result, tax season hours are yet another reason we must continue to advance our technology approach, adoption, and usage across all aspects of the practice. The very thought of 60 hours each week is enough to dissuade prospective hires, and perhaps discourage existing team members from returning. If this isn\u2019t difficult enough, the perspectives on tax season hours permeates across all segments of the profession, and is a reason students state about not choosing public accounting. Without key changes in hours, we will find it increasingly difficult to hire high performing talent. If team members are able to work flexible hours, from remote and virtual locations, there could be less pressure on some to complete the tax season workload.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also no surprise there are increasingly scarce team members where tax firms \u2013 big and small \u2013 are looking for similar skillsets. This means that tax professionals can be choosy about where they work. According to Adzuna<\/a>, there is a 600 percent increase in jobseeker inquiries that include the words \u201cremote,\u201d \u201ctelecommute,\u201d or \u201cwork from home.\u201d Offering virtual and remote options is an undeniable competitive differentiator.<\/p>\n

With technology, not only would remote team members that are out of the commuting area be considered, but local team members would be able to work virtually<\/a>. Team members in lower cost of living geographies, as well as areas that may have more talent for hire, would also benefit by leveraging technology in administrative processes, such as human resources.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a win across the board, if we can determine creative ways to improve the reputation and feedback about the profession. Consider hiring remote and virtual team members who can access your firm\u2019s system based on flexibility and according to workload. This is not nearly as challenging as it may appear:<\/p>\n