Dealing with Youngsters in CAs Office

This is an article for the relatively senior / older practitioners who find dealing with the staff be they qualified or interns quite challenging as it is for me.

There are many characteristics in people which has not changed:?All want to look good, be acknowledged, carry past baggage, have interest in learning, Urge to personally grow, their expectation to get looked after,  work-life balance, good pay, assurance of continued employment, career growth in firm, opinion of the older generation about new generation & vice versa , follow their Values, want to be listened to ..

There are many characteristics which have changed: ?Smarter, Use of technology, Less disciplined, Expectations have increased, Shortcuts-attention span, Less patience, Increased stress level, Less tolerance, More money-minded, More Competition, Higher Level of Knowledge, Laws changing,  More self-centred with regard to work, higher Self-confidence, nature of business has changed, expertise in Multiple areas needed, Priorities, Less Loyalty, easy approach towards learning, societies progressive thinking, selfishness increased, expectation to grow faster, environment, ethics changes, less ownership, too many diversions, too many choices….

The demography of the population in the world today may be around 18% of elders being active against 60% constituting those born after 1980.

The operational people ( including the qualified) in the CA offices who would probably be constituting 80% of those actual working on the job in audits, assignments, opinions or drafting replies. Those in the older age group may be only 5%.

The understanding of the fact as to how we behaved in the past ( based on our environment) and how subsequent generations are behaving would give us an insight on how we should be behaving if we are to be successful Vs how we are actually behaving.

In earlier generations the elders were respected (no questions asked), believed in hard work and discipline being the way to achieve ones goals, reading and learning from books ( many of us are unable to read form the laptop/ PC and still prefer the book, wanted to help ( as we were helped) and seek help. The post qualification time was a time when it was difficult to have economic success for a few years. Jobs were not easy to come bye and therefore we were risk averse. We believe in doing one thing at a time to get quality services and did not work well with teams. Individual brilliance was a matter to be proud of.

Today the people with us are much smarter in the way they think, they are faster, they have instant access to base information, great at technology ( excel experts), work well as teams, experts ta multi tasking. In general this generation in India was comparatively better off due to economic prosperity and kid gloves treatment. [ Some parents like me were overly strict] Schools are also encouraged to focus on the good and not mistakes. Generally they do not believe in long or fixed working hours. However they may deliver amazing results once they are interested in the work. They have too many choices and distractions which is a fact.

Today in a professional office the success is primarily linked to attracting goods talent, induct them properly ( they need to be clear what a great contribution their efforts will bring) and not be sent immediately for an urgent work or asking them to read the law for months.( we did this in our office for some time- till we realised our folly) It is also more important to highlight what is the expected result rather than give them a elaborate and detailed instructions. They need to be mentored ( what is best for them, how they can empower and enhance themselves, grow on a one to one basis. They need involved workshop based training and knowledge sharing way of learning. They need have more “space” and freedom and to be continuously rewarded for the good work they do. Some of us oldies normally focus on what is not right { as a management by exception MBA philosophy of the earlier times] and this leads to discontent. The results in our office without compromise to the high ethical standards by younger partners [ less than 32 years] is awesome and unbelievable. They got the independence and have showcased what we oldies can learn from them.

Many firms complain that they are a training institute and not a professional firm. However, if we see today, the firms who have structured learning of at least 10% of time on weekly basis get the better talent who are likely to continue for reasonable period time.

Maybe some do’s for being effective with younger professionals are as under:

a.      Understanding them ( some information above) and always getting into their shoes before deciding how to deal with them. Be curious about them. This may lead to an important perception of liking them as against the present day view.

b.     The importance of the work they are doing is to be explained.

c.      More needed to indicate what could the impact of lower quality even if more time is required to achieve that. The advantage of seeking a review or approval from a senior

d.     Seeking their inputs on how the work can be done and putting a process which they own.

e.     Being friendly with them- bossism just does not work.

f.       Look for opportunities to respond positively in order to get good results.

g.      Respect will only come if you are capable and not just by being older or senior.

h.     Relook at elaborate checklist to trim them – look for what is unnecessary.

i.        When you encounter resistance hear them out rather than shutting them out. Sharing why may bring about the desired change.

j.       Focus on their strengths rather than correcting/ improving their weakness ( as perceived )

k.      Look at the results and overlook the process if quality is being delivered.

l.        Finally look at changing yourself, encourage challenge and be a part of their happiness and success.

Maybe some do nots are as important

a.      Do not treat anyone as your subordinate- they are your equal

b.     Do not get insulted- due to their frank style- they may not have any bad intention at all.

c.      Do not impose and use authority

d.     Do not expect them to change

Evolving article. Feedback at [email protected]