The busy season is a time of high stress, but it can also be the perfect opportunity to reflect on what you are doing well and where there is room for improvement. Workflow, team effort, and Docupile were all factors that contributed to my successful year this past tax season.
I try to find new ways to do my job so that I can be with my family during the offseason. Work from home days has been an invaluable way to keep up morale in our department since everyone needs some personal space during this hectic time.
A Team Effort
The busiest season of the year is an opportune time for reflection. The first step to identifying actionable changes requires you to get input from everyone involved in the working process. Reviewing the busy season can provide a productive opportunity for further team-building and good communication.
It may seem that the busiest season is finally over, and you can take a break from meetings. While it's important to have conversations, keep your goal in mind when scheduling these discussions.
"To ensure more than a simple complaint session, firms should identify opportunities for improvement that lead to trust in the staff," according to the CPA Firm Management Association.
You can get feedback from everyone.
Reviewing your office's performance is just one way to make improvement opportunities and identifying what you can do better next time. Although feedback will likely come from a variety of audiences, make sure to also look for ways your company can improve.
To this end, it's a good idea to survey the people who experienced your busy season and find out what caused the most of their pressure. Ask the right questions to get the best feedback and make adjustments as needed, as they can give you insight on which issues are most pressing to address.
Questions that are open-ended are good. These questions end with "why."
What was your most difficult challenge this past busy season?
What changes did we make that worked, and what didn't?
What specific tools would have helped, and how do you think they may have impacted the work?
You must calculate your average workflow and trim it.
Typically, busy seasons point to challenges in using time effectively. Your work weeks might only be 60 hours, but it can feel like you won't get everything done before the deadline.
Now you need to figure out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. Technology can help with the latter. To get the most out of your busy season, think about automation technology and use it where you can.
When you work with a digital file system, then filing and retrieving information for workplace efficiency can help identify wasteful tasks.
A document management system will let you store all your documents. You can find them easily and share them with other people, allowing you to see which ones take the most time and identify the problem.
Make Sure Your Goals Benefit The Customer
No matter what changes you make, things will be OK. Anticipation of your next busy season, it's important to look both inward and at the industry as a whole for ways to improve. Retaining clients may be more challenging than recruiting new ones, but it's critical to long-term success.
During busy seasons, you may not fully meet your customer's needs or put the client's goals first. The focus becomes more difficult when your focus shifts from what clients need to be delivered. When your next busy season is over, spend some time reflecting on what went well and how you can best serve your clients.
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