Training Tips: Set Up & Execute Learning Programs That Will Pay Off

More and better training can improve productivity and retention at your CPA firm. But how can firms set up a training program? Where should resources be invested? These questions and others were addressed at a session at the AICPA’s Practitioners Symposium in Phoenix by a CPA firm trainer.

What training can do for your firm. It helps if your firm can bring in the expertise of a full-time (or even a part-time trainer), and someone with a teaching background can give your firm the best results, said Linda Steele, director of education and training at Habif Arogeti & Wynne LLP in Atlanta. Steele also does recruiting, conducts extensive training for new hires, runs the mentoring program, and participates in the staffing committee at the approximately 250-person firm. She has recently added some client training services.

The most important contribution of training is to help staff and partners keep up with faster change, especially in technology. A trainer can help to ensure that partners and staff are in the know about and are getting the fullest and most productive use from your systems, procedures, and applications. Everyone needs retraining and reinforcement to keep knowledge up to date and make sure that knowledge "stays put," Steele explained.

CPA firms tend to focus on technical training, which is very important. But consider other areas of training that staff and partners can benefit from. Take a tip from the HAW curriculum, which includes courses as diverse as art classes and grammar in addition to more traditional tracks. Soft skills such as customer service, human relations, marketing, and networking are also important in today’s competitive marketplace.

An in-house trainer can actually save the firm money, since that person can centralize and organize such resources as outside speakers and vendor programs and can acquire resources like DVDs and Webinars. Processes and procedures can be standardized and taught to all. And trainers can track CPE attendance either onsite or through self-study. It is an obvious savings to be able to do a lot of in-house training instead of sending all staff to expensive conferences.
Steele cautions firms to be careful about moving an accountant into a training function, since there may be concerns about the loss of billable time.

Staffing benefits. Training is an excellent way to attract and retain younger staff while giving them top skills. Younger staff are especially eager for training and will "shop" for it when considering CPA firms.

HAW’s staff and partners take full advantage of the opportunity to learn. While 40 hours of CPE is the minimum that is required of them—and they must achieve billable-hours requirements too—the average learning time logged at HAW is 60 to 80 hours each year.

Ongoing input—from evaluation forms to requests for weekly help tips—is key to making sure the program continues to serve the needs of staff and partners, Steele explained. "I need to keep the employees and partners happy." Staff and partners can track their CPE through an education page on the firm’s intranet.

Steele submits reports to the managing partner each month on the courses that were offered. HAW staff and partners could choose from 356 classes last year.

Feedback is helping HAW expand its already impressive training program. Individual training plans are the next area the firm will tackle, with the aim of improving such skills as selling and time management, technical competency, and management ability. The goal is to customize evaluations. A new career-development specialist hired by the firm will use the information to help staff and partners develop their career goals and paths.

Training tips. Here are Steele’s suggestions on training initiatives, useful for a firm of any size:

• Keep it short. Adults learn best in one- to two-hour sessions, so adapt training to that guideline.
• Survey staff and partners to learn what they would like to learn. Then test to establish skills baselines.
• Develop a step-by-step instruction manual. "People want written materials to read along and take notes."
• Aim for sixth-to-eighth-grade level material, since that is the average reading level among adults.
• Update your library. Store books, videos, and other materials for reuse.
• Use in-house resources. Many partners and staff can give presentations on their areas of expertise.
• Share tips throughout the firm. Steele sends out weekly tips that are also forwarded to clients. Her source for these tips is the questions she receives from users.
• Look for thrifty solutions. You can offer lunch and learns or try to take advantage of state educational tax dollars.
• Share training. Team up with another firm to share a trainer if your firm can’t yet afford one of your own. Or you can check your firm association for resources.

For more information:
You can see more details about the training offered at HAW by visiting www.hawcpa.com/services/education_schedule.asp and www.hawcpa.com/services/education_catalog.asp. Telephone: 404-898-7528
From the August 2007 issue of Accounting Office Management & Administration Report.

Copyright © 2007 IOMA, Inc. The Institute of Management and Administration.