The Right Way to Assign Staff Projects
Author: Financial Cents
In this article
The key to effective accounting workflow management starts with juggling and designating projects for your staff. As a leader, your effectiveness in accomplishing this and staying consistent can directly make or break your team’s success, especially as compared to other accounting firms.
That’s why you need to know more about best practices for project management, particularly the task of delegating. Thus, consider this article as your guide to help you assign projects the right way and avoid future heartache.
What Skill Should I Hone to Assign Staff Projects Properly?
If you were to break down the accounting workflow in its basic form, you, as the leader, need to make effective decisions regarding your staff’s capabilities through workload management. It is the process of achieving the right balance between doing enough projects to service your clients and delegating tasks to people you know can handle the pressure within the set deadline. While it may seem straightforward to do this, you may actually have to learn by trial and error until you can get the right pacing for your firm.
You may be interested in learning: Project Management for Accountants: A Definitive Guide.
Why Must I Invest My Time and Energy in Effective Staff Project Assigning?
A study shows that 80 percent of global knowledge workers feel overworked, and thus are close to burning out or quitting their jobs. Furthermore, four out of five or 82 percent of professionals feel less mentally present when under stress. Fortunately, if you focus on properly assigning tasks by distributing the work evenly and finding other ways to regulate healthy workflow management, then you can avoid generalized burnout in your firm and stay productive.
What Must I Do to Assign Projects to My Staff Effectively?
Consider the following tips to become well-oriented with accounting practice management and proper task delegation to regulate quality, client satisfaction, and profitability:
1. Determine the reasonable amount of projects your staff can accomplish within a favorable time frame
The typical accounting workflow for a firm is usually a range of various project briefs, financial statements, and tools. Some of them may even have conflicts in deadlines simply because of lack of foresight, whether it be on your part or the other executives. The good news is that there are ways even around the most complex range of projects to determine the right workload ratio that your team can take on for a predetermined time span.
All you have to do is consolidate your projects and processes that your staff is responsible for and identify which ones are more complex and require cross-functional collaboration. Then, identify the scope and deadline for each project and break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks for your staff. Remember to also prioritize projects based on urgency to avoid falling behind on client’s demands. This process may also take some time to perfect, especially if you lack the tools, like accounting workflow software and other related resources. Thus, consider getting them first to ensure consistency and your firm’s great, professional reputation.
2. Enforce the importance of teamwork culture
Running a successful accounting firm takes the united efforts and individual skills of your employees. Therefore, you have to imbibe that feeling of togetherness, accountability, and being vocal. Otherwise, your firm can collapse under the pressure of taking on projects that you know are not feasible. That’s why having daily check-ins, holding meetings for voicing out concerns, and being receptive to your staff’s feedback on their assignments are necessary checks and balances to sustain a healthy accounting workflow.
Conclusion
While you may already know that running an accounting team and taking on different projects are no easy feats, they are manageable. Fortunately, you now have a better understanding of the importance of assigning tasks and gauging what your team is capable of doing. Just be open to learning through the process and look for other means to improve your streamlined workflow management.
Are you looking for ways to boost your staff? You should consider Financial Cents accounting project management software. With our help, you will meet tight deadlines, stay productive, and collaborate with your team more efficiently. Start your free trial today to have a better idea of our services.
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