Does Your Firm Have a Culture of Trust?

Source: Accounting Today

L. Gary Boomer of Boomer Consulting, in Manhattan, Kansas believes the dearth of high quality staff combined with the tendency for accounting services to become commodities is a recipe for a culture without trust. An environment without trust will exacerbate the problem of attracting talented staff.

The following factors affect the level of trust in the firm:

• Staff is more likely to distrust management than vice versa. (Management should support its actions with reasons)
• Because accountants are generally risk averse, and skeptical, they develop trust slowly. (Explain the risks. Communicate)
• People who are not emotionally stable may have difficulty trusting others. (People need coaching and managing)
• People with similar personalities and/or common interests may be more trusting of each other. (Promote teamwork and shared vision)
• People may have less trust in those less capable or those who resist learning and change. (Become a learning organization)
• Good communications encourage trust. (Communicate, communicate)
• Lack of dependability and unpredictability create distrust. (Don’t promise more than you can deliver)

From Accounting Today, November 27, 2006, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004. For the complete article, click on the following link: http://tinyurl.com/yh3wgj