Train Your Team to Serve with Excellence

Source: AICPA CPA Insider

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Jennifer Crevar Warren.

Client retention is a top concern for many firms, according to the 2011 PCPS CPA Firm Top Issues Survey. What can you do to keep more clients?

One positive step is to put a client bill of rights in place.

What Is a Client Bill of Rights?

Simply defined, it is a document that outlines what clients will receive from your firm. Unlike a personalized engagement letter it contains specific deliverables for the client such as:

• You will always be treated in a professional and courteous manner.
• You will receive clear and timely answers to your questions.
• You will have access to a service team that will take a proactive approach to your situation.
• You will receive work on time.
• Your phone calls and e-mails will be returned by the end of the business day.
• You will be billed in a prompt manner.
• You will receive a clear explanation of how your fees are calculated.

How to Get Started?

Here are some steps to develop a bill of rights (“BOR”) for your clients:

• Define what outstanding client service means in your firm.
• Identify the goals you expect your team to achieve when serving your clients.
• Outline assistance that the leadership team will provide to help employees put these new rules in place, such as training, coaching, mentoring.
• Present the BOR to everyone in your firm.
• Add it to your firm's website and brochures.
• Develop a regular training session to introduce it to new employees.
• Introduce it to all prospective clients during your meetings.
• Include the BOR in your proposals.

For the complete article, read “Do You Have a Client Bill of Rights?”

From AICPA CPA Insider, September 12, 2011, http://www.CPA2biz.com.