- The way his CPA firm supports a meaningful work-life balance
- How they manage well, even in the busy season
- The importance of a reading program at work
- and so much more!
Key Summary:
We all know of the long, intense days and weekends of the busy season. Having a balance from work and life seems nearly impossible when you are in the thick of it all. Well, Chet and his firm at Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd in McPherson Kansas, have been able to grow their business and make more money while spending less time at work and more time with their families and friends.Supporting A Meaningful Work-Life Balance:
Chet understands that “working too hard for too long is not healthy.”No one wants to spend his or her 30+ year working career entirely at the office. Your family and friends are overlooked, your personal time takes a back seat, and you miss out in general on the joys of life. Chet points out that the internal peer pressures from colleagues and management make it difficult to go against the grain, to demand better for yourself. But that is beginning to change as the next generation of the accounting industry drives new thinking. At Chet’s firm, they are taking their traditional, historic firm and molding it into a new school of accounting approach. Chet says that the “simple answer” to address change is to bring down the hours to a normal 40 to 50 hour workweek schedule and doing it without sacrificing revenue and profit of firm. “The big thing [for them] was fundamentally drawing the proverbial line in the sand,” notes Chet. It is all about making an active choice by saying to yourself: “When it comes for the time to leave, I’m going to leave.” This mindset is important, and the action needs to be supported by the partners who lead by example. “It is not perfect,” admits Chet. “We are not there yet, but we have made great progress over the years. We got really close to drive the hours down to a realistic target.”How To Manage Work/Life Balance During Busy Season
Chet was motivated to start implementing changes within the office and at the two additional offices located in Hutchison and Wichita. Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd is an 80-year old firm with over 70 employees and 6 partners offering general accounting services to their regional manufacturing, service oriented, construction, or agricultural clients. He got the green light from the firm to lead their team on the path towards “fixing busy season.” Yes, it may sound unrealistic: “Fixing busy season,” but he and his team has been making great strides so far. “We have seen a real uptick in culture, in morale, and a decrease in turnover,” says Chet. They even have seen an uptick in client satisfaction. Chet says that “more quality of work going is out the door” due to less stress and anxiety that come from working long hours in the office.So how can you master a work-life balance program within your firm?Well, Chet says it is as simple as:- Forcing themselves to leave work by a certain hour each day
- Finding ways to prioritize their work deliverables and
- Thinking of ways to beefficient in their work process
The Importance Of A Reading Program At Work:
Clients matter. Free time in the office also matters. The way to bridge the two, Chet has found, is through the at-work reading program. The program was implemented just two years ago at his firm and has full support by the partners. Everyone at the firm has the choice to: [Tweet "Read a non-fiction book for the first 15 minutes of the workday in the morning. "]Chet finds that the benefits of reading are tremendous to everyone on the team and to the firm as a whole. He says that reading each day has:- Increased productivity
- Improved client relations
- Enhanced “soft-skills”
- Created a more positive culture
- Taught new concepts
- Encouraged even more reading
- Ask the right questions
- Be empathetic
- Be helpful
- Be active listeners
- Give better constructive feedback
- One Minute Manager
- Power of Choice
- Good to Great
- How Full is Your Bucket
- The Fred Factor
- The Energy Bus
- The No Complaining Rule