Recently, I read a quote that caught my attention and it was “The two things in life you are in control of is your attitude and your effort”. January is the perfect time for refreshing the minds of your tax organization that each of us is in control of our attitude and effort. This is the opportune time to help your team get on track with their goals for the year. The best strategy to employ for getting your team on track is to identify what will motivate every unique person in your tax organization.
People are extremely motivated to achieve if this means they can get what they want and need! After asking thousands of tax professionals what motivated them to stay and succeed with a tax organization or conversely leave a tax organization, I identified triggers for motivation. The most important thing to remember is people in your organization have different needs. In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow was best known for creating a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs: self-actualization needs; self-esteem needs; belonging needs; security needs; and physiological needs. I am going to break down the 5 needs people in a tax organization display according to Maslow’s theory and my experience. When you identify the individual needs of your tax team and work with them fulfilling their desires, the result is increased motivation and productivity in your tax organization.
Self-Actualization: People want to achieve their individual potential. If you are a VP Tax and you are staying with your company until you retire; you are obviously doing a career block for anyone reporting to you. Why not sit down with your senior direct reports and tell them you are not going anywhere but you want to make certain they reach their full career potential. Over the years, I have observed extraordinary tax leaders who look out for others career path in their tax organization even when they wanted to keep that Tax Director forever. Great tax leaders are helping the next generation succeed beyond their own personal needs in running a tax department. When people know you are looking out for them they will be motivated.
Self-Esteem: A very powerful motivator is praise for a job well done. Ask your team about a project or goal they have this year; help them reach it and praise them often for staying the course. Remember people are human and will make many mistakes before they have success. Encourage them!
Belongingness: People like to feel part of the group. Remember when the new person starts to engage them with others on the team even if they are not working on the same project together. Creating an atmosphere of working as a team on multiple projects benefits the entire organization. Take great care of that quiet person who sits in the corner working the spreadsheets and not saying much to anyone. Take them for a walk to get coffee together and you will make them feel a greater sense of belonging on your team. You will be surprised at what you learn.
Security: Security means different things to different people. For instance, security for someone may be a mom or dad who needs flexible hours while raising children; security may mean keeping people more informed when their company is acquired; security may mean they need to take time off for health reasons(personal or family), etc..
Physiological: Their basic human needs are being met, they can pay bills, make a mortgage payment, buy food, etc…
5 Questions You Should Ask (You Will Know How To Respond)
1. Where do you see yourself and career 5 years from now? ( If they say they want to lead a tax organization, encourage and support them)
2. What is one goal you would like to accomplish for your tax career this year?( Select a project you can follow along with them this year)
3. Do you feel a sense of community on the tax team or like you are often alone on projects?
4. If you could change one thing about your job what would it be? ( More flexible hours; more room for advancement)
5. What can I do to make this job for meaningful for you this year? ( You know it provides food and shelter)
Your attitude and effort and caring about the people on your team will show when you ask them these 5 questions.
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Kat Jennings, TaxConnections, CEO and Founder and Advisory Team provides three areas of services: 1) Internationally recognized, retained executive search services for multinational corporations, public accounting firms, and law firms; 2) Introductions of sellers to buyers of small and medium size accounting firms; and 3) Provide brand building and education services that support and prepare accounting firm owners to buy/sell an accounting practice. We focus on educating the journey to sell a practice and how to increase firm revenue prior to any sale. Our program ensures you start years prior to a sale by learning what is expected of you during the selling process, and introducing firm Partners to cross selling opportunities that are easy to implement and reduce your workload at the same time. We introduce you to value added connections to smartly grow revenue in your accounting practice.
Kat Jennings has been retained by organizations worldwide to locate tax professionals with highly specialized tax knowledge and expertise. She has a thorough understanding of the tax business community, with a proven record of stellar performances matching professionals with organizations. Bringing two parties together to work successfully is the art of understanding personalities, cultural fit, expectations by both parties, flexible or inflexible work environments, understanding what drives and motivates each party, and revolves around the personality and ethics of each executive team.
Kat is a widely recognized expert in high level, tax executive search, as well as connecting buyers and sellers of accounting firms. TaxConnections provides and educates small to medium size accounting firms owners and Partners how to prepare and sell their firms so they can build a succession plan for their retirement. With larger firms seeking to acquire smaller accounting practices, there is a real need to help firm owners prepare to be acquired. Most firm owners are unaware they are not ready to sell when they decide to retire. TaxConnections educates firm owners’ what they need to do years in advance of selling an accounting firm practice.
Senior tax executives expect the utmost privacy when being introduced to multinational organizations about a new tax opportunity under consideration. Having said that, companies searching for a new head of tax expecting tax executive candidates to submit their resume through a resume portal, will never see a full slate of outstanding tax executives available due to a candidates’ desire for greater privacy. This is why privacy focused Uber Tax Recruiters consistently outperform in-house recruiters on tax executive searches.
We offer our clients a Performance Retainer Agreement arrangement so their HR department can still recruit and compete with the tax candidates we present on Head of Tax searches. The client pays us a partial fee upfront, and if they find a candidate they deem better than we introduce to them, we forfeit the final fee. Most of the time, they love and prefer our private introductions to tax executive candidates better than what they source through their own resume portals.
When we represent selling/buying small to medium-sized firms, firm owners/partners also demand greater privacy when considering the sale of their practice. TaxConnections provides a safe place to discuss their business needs, elevate their practices’ online reputation, and increase revenue through new streams of business development by outsourcing work and partnering with other firms. Over three decades, we have worked tirelessly to build relationships between firm owners most organizations rarely have access to in the world of tax. There are numerous possibilities you may never have considered previously to bolster the value of your practice and service offerings.
As a globally recognized consultant to multinational organizations, accounting firms, and law firms searching for tax expertise, Kat has been retained by public accounting firms, law firms, and corporations worldwide including Apple Computer, AC Neilson, Accenture, Agilent Technologies, Allergan, Alza, American Express, American Media, Aon, Baker & McKenzie, Barclays Bank, Bechtel, Cargill, Carl Zieuss Vision, Century Aluminum, Chevron, Clorox, Citigroup, Commercials Metals, Constellation Energy, Countrywide, Del Monte, Deloitte Touche, DFS, DLA Piper, E&J Gallo Winery, Electronic Arts, Ernst &Young, Fox Entertainment, Fremont Investments, General Electric,General Motors, Herbalife, Hewlett Packard, Hyatt, Intel, Jones Lang LaSalle, Kimco Realty, KLA Tencor, Koch Industries, KPMG, Levi Strauss, Liberty Mutual, LKQ, Loews, Logitech, Lucas Film, Maersk, McKesson, Nalco, Newell Rubbermaid, Nissan, Oracle, Orbitax, Pacific Gas & Electric, PwC, QAD, SAIC, SanDisk, Sanmina, Sempra Energy, SONY, Synopsys, Ticketmaster, Trimble Navigation, Toyota, Univar, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Vertex, Yahoo, Xilinx, and many more not listed here.
Contact Kat at 858,999.0053 Office/858.232.4415 Cell or kat@taxconnections.com to request a private consultation regarding the sale of your practice, adding top talent to your organization, or merging your practice with another firm owner with a book of business. The possibilities are endless; if you have a dream of a new vision for your professional life; we will scout opportunities throughout the market to make it happen.
1 comment on “5 Questions You Should Ask Of Everyone In Your Tax Department In January”
Interesting and educational article.
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