New Hire

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#1
NYCCPA  
Posts:
196
Joined:
23-Apr-2021 5:11pm
Location:
NY
Good morning All,

Happy Tax Season!

I was going to title this, 1st hire. But that wouldn't be accurate. I did find and interview an administrative candidate at my old firm many years ago. But back then I was merely a junior accountant. This is, however, my first hire as the interim Tax Partner at a firm. New hire is fresh out of university. She did some tax work while interning in school, but this will be her first gig out of school and in his chosen career path. I look back at my first few days at the firm and think about what I liked, didn't like, and I am trying to adjust from there. Throughout my entire career, I've experienced the sink or swim model of work, that is the "Here is the work, figure out how to get it done, either research, look at prior year workpapers, etc." How can I do things differently? How have you trained new hires? What, if any, good literature/research sources are there? As always, any advice is appreciated immensely.
 

#2
Posts:
3694
Joined:
21-Apr-2014 11:24am
Location:
North Carolina
I can give you a perspective of a trainee. I came to this country with fourteen years of experience in the UK, so I had a grounding in how a tax system operates and good knowledge of what is taught in Accounting 101. My first employer in this country spent a few minutes explaining what a good workpaper should look like and why. As he gave me a new job, he would explain the wrinkles and how it differed from the previous one he had given me. I think it was time well-spent for both of us. He got, at least, a substantially complete body of work and I got a good education. I was there for twelve years and only left because my body could no longer cope with the excruciating commute.
 

#3
Posts:
6043
Joined:
22-Apr-2014 3:06pm
Location:
WA State
Agree with Sumwun...

The most important information a delegator can provide to a delegatee is perspective. How much of this particular project is common and how much is unique. Common items need to be learned well and understood for generalization; unique items need to be noted specifically for that client/project to ensure they are clear for the next person.

I like to give simple projects to new people to ensure they get 'wins' to start. As they show their mastery, increase the complexity and, again, provide perspective on where you expect them to struggle and when/how to ask for assistance. Too many people are left to 'sink' spending hours spinning their wheels when a 10min conversation would have put them on the right track.

Above all, make it clear that you are invested and committed to their success AND act consistent with that. Their success is your success.
~Captcook
 

#4
Posts:
8156
Joined:
4-Mar-2018 9:03pm
Location:
The Office
To tack on to what's already been said with one specific item...after general training and left to their own devices, I find most new associates will either fall into one of two categories regarding asking for help. Either they'll spin their wheels for way too long, or they'll ask for help without spending a second trying to figure it out on their own.

For the former, it can be very inefficient and require assigning workload away from the associate to other staff, which can lead to conflict and lower morale.

For the latter, it's most often because they want to be as efficient as possible and not waste time. However, it can be disruptive to senior staff and managers. And IMO it slows the associate's development when it comes to a firm's software and clients. They're less likely to be good problem solvers.

I find it's helpful to set expectations surrounding this phenomenon. Something like, "If you don't understand something or are stuck, try to figure it out on your own first, but if 15 minutes pass and you're still spinning your wheels let's look at it together."
 

#5
Posts:
524
Joined:
24-Jun-2016 4:01pm
Location:
Working Remotely
The hamster wheel method.

Sit down, show how to enter Sch D into software. Show IRS instructions (highlighted) when and how to attach the 1099 Composite Statement instead of entering detail. Have them enter Sch D for a week.

Then Int and Div. Show how to calculate US Oblig, foreign income, state exempt amounts. Have them enter for 2 weeks.

Then Sch E and A, show how to allocate. 1-2 weeks.

Then Sch C, 1 week.Then C corp, then S Corp, then Partnerships.

Build out, one module at a time. Have them do 3-4 hr CPE before each module start.

Also, don’t let them work remotely first 6 mon- 1 year, they will need help.Wander by about once every 2 hrs the first 2-4 months, to unstuck them.

Get them completely set up on all software, make them have a password list.

And when they start to work remotely (1 day/week at first), tell them how to log on, and any obvious stuff- like if you are working remotely from a computer in the office. tell them the office computer has to be on and screen licked in order to access from home.
 


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