Creating a Workplace That No One Wants To Leave - Is It Possible?

By now, you’ve likely heard about the phenomenon known as the “Great Resignation”, the global workplace walkout that’s been taking place across industries since mid to late 2020. But while it’s no doubt happening, it’s not so much a resignation as it is a reshuffling.?

Employees, tired and burnt out before the chaos of 2020 even landed, have been abandoning their posts in pursuit of greener pastures and greater happiness, and the accounting industry has been no exception.?

Why has this been happening? COVID aside, the data suggests multiple factors are driving the global mass exodus and migration within the world of work but a major contributing factor is toxic or negative workplace culture. This makes sense, given just how much workplace and company culture can shape an employee’s experience.?

If firm owners are serious about securing their workforce and retaining talent, they need to examine their firm structures and make changes where necessary. Banking on legacy hierarchies, structure and processes is no longer an option.

What worked before the pandemic doesn’t necessarily work now and many employees are actively seeking out firms and businesses instilling positive post-pandemic structural and managerial changes for the better.?

But what exactly needs to change to help with employee retention? And is it even possible to create a workplace that no one will ever want to leave?

Employee Satisfaction and Workplace Culture are Intrinsically Linked

The accounting industry had a retention problem that predated any 2020/2021 shake-ups. Retiring CPAs, a significant drop in accountancy graduation rates as well as notoriously demanding career and schedule requirements that result in high-stress levels, burnout, and a poor work-life balance created a perfect storm of compounding issues, leaving the industry’s growth and stability in the balance.?

For many CPAs and firm employees, the COVID pandemic and resulting stress of lockdowns, remote work challenges, and health and safety concerns were just the final nails in the proverbial career coffin.?

But, on a larger scale beyond the accounting industry, employee dissatisfaction and unhappiness are motivating people to job-jump, switch careers, start their own businesses and pursue professional avenues that bring them more happiness and fulfillment.?

In a recent study analyzing the underlying motivations causing high employee turnover, it was found that a toxic workplace was 10.4 times more likely to drive an employee to quit than compensation.?

This, of course, doesn’t paint the picture of every employee’s experience. Fair and competitive compensation is indeed important. But it’s telling that company and workplace culture ranked higher compared to compensation and pay.?

A firms’ company culture and practices matter to employees. Employees want to feel valued, respected, and appreciated and thus firm owners should be aligning workplace culture with these emotive goalposts.?

In the past, many companies have understandably misidentified employee entertainment with employee satisfaction, and implemented systems catering to employee entertainment as a means of building company culture.?

But, while they are nice incentives, offering perks like free coffee or pizza on Fridays does not mean a firm has the right kind of company culture. And it won’t guarantee employees’ happiness or prevent them from walking out the door.?

If you want to build a workplace culture that speaks to your employees and makes them happy you need to work at improving the heart of workplace culture - relationships and how you manage them.?

How to Build a Firm Culture That Employees Will Actually Like

There’s no universal standard when it comes to creating the ideal kind of workplace for your firm or practice. Your firm’s size, structure, number of employees, and clientele will all play a role in writing your own playbook for a thriving workplace culture. There are, however, a few guidelines that you can operate from to steer your restructuring in the right direction.?

Listen to your employees

Employees are walking out because, on a base level, they feel they’re not being heard by their companies. Transparency and open communication are paramount to the success of any business, not just an accounting firm.?

Make sure you have communication lines in place that allow employees to talk honestly about what’s working for them and what’s not. More often than not, simply being heard can make a huge difference to the happiness and mental wellbeing of an employee, even if it’s something that can’t be changed.

If it is something that can be changed, such as the way an employee wants to be supervised or managed, then change it.?

Make your staff the center of your decisions

This ties in with the above point. Listen to your employees and, wherever possible, try to accommodate them and factor them into your decision-making. Of course, you won’t always be able to say yes, but simply showing your workforce that you’re listening on the other end of the line and taking their requests and feedback seriously will go a long way in reinforcing their value and sense of purpose at your firm.?

Have a clear set of values - and abide by them

Without values guiding how everyone at the firm operates and interacts with each other, it’s going to be difficult to delineate what’s acceptable and what’s not in the workplace.?

The values you decide on will be up to you - but make sure your employees know what they are. They will help to govern their habits and interactions within the workplace, as well as yours.?

Nurture your employees’ professional development

In today’s world, job insecurity and the advancement of automation are weighing more heavily on the minds of our employees compared to previous generations. On top of this, millennial and, particularly, Gen Z employees highly value learning new skills as part of their career development.?

To help minimize employee turnover and help provide a sense of purpose in the workplace, offer reskilling and upskilling to employees as part of their professional development. At this past Digital Now Conference, I came across an upskilling platform, Learnin, which looks quite promising. Instead of viewing this as a business expense, consider it an investment in your firm’s future and its talent and capabilities.?

Acknowledge that you might not always get it right

At the end of the day, creating a utopian workplace that no employee will ever want to leave is a monumental, if not impossible, task. At some point, someone will eventually leave for whatever reason, no matter how ideal your workplace environment and ethos are.?

Remember that your employees aren’t looking for and don’t expect perfection, so don’t set yourself up for failure by setting the goalposts impossibly high. Sometimes you may make mistakes in how a situation or a decision is handled and that’s ok.?

Rather focus on consistent improvement instead of striving for perfection in the workplace. Working to consistently improve your workplace culture means you’re making progress - progress your employees will see and appreciate.?