To Hang on to Your Rising Stars, Let Them Know What to Expect
Source: AICPA CPA Insider
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Jennifer Wilson.
As the economy starts to rise, firms run the risk of having their most valuable people leave to seek meaningful career growth and financial opportunities elsewhere. It doesn't have to be that way. Differentiate your firm by providing clear answers to the dozen most pressing questions asked by top talent:
- What do you see as my future with the firm?
- What do you expect the timing of my admission to partner to be?
- What specific deliverables or results do I need to produce to be a candidate for partner and by when?
- How do I stack up compared to others I might perceive to also be in the queue?
- What programs or activities should I expect to participate in to help me develop and prepare me to act as a partner?
- What are the differences in the levels of partner? If we have a nonequity partner or principal, how does it differ from equity partner?
- Will I be admitted as a nonequity partner or principal or an equity partner?
- When you admit me as a partner, what are the specific buy-in requirements?
- How does the buy-in process compare to other firms'?
- If there is a buy-in to become a partner, has the firm modeled the equity buy-in process along with the equity buy-out or retirement buyouts?
- What agreements will I be asked to sign as I become a partner?
- How will we monitor my progress toward partner?
Don't wait until your firm's path is perfectly paved with the "right" programs and processes. Engage your best and brightest in a dialogue centered on these 12 questions and secure your firm's future today.
For the complete article, read "What's your firm's path to partner?"
From AICPA CPA Insider, November 12, 2012, http://www.CPA2biz.com.