Navigating change
Q Employees will join a firm because they connect with the culture and people. Mergers can create a very different organization. How did you guide your team through the changes?
A The key to success is to find the similarities in the other group and lean into that. Nothing is going to align fully. But often there is great synergy between the two combining groups and if you can focus on all the things that do align it makes it easier. Often we have far more in common than we are different and focusing our energy there creates resilience on the team.
Q What did your team do to keep clients at the forefront of your work while the organization was changing?
A We work so closely with our clients, often daily and weekly, that there wasn’t a lot of time to get distracted. Our client work became a source of grounding and familiarity within the team since none of it changed. It became easy to focus on that and let the other things that were a little more chaotic even out. Everyone kept their same clients and service teams. That part of the transition was a comfort given all the other changes.
Q What has it been like combining technology?
A This has been a simultaneously simple and complex process. We had overwhelming alignment in the tech stack across our accounting services groups, so that has been simple. The complex part is the administrative work to combine separate instances of each software by the prior firm into one cohesive set of consoles under the new firm. The key to success here is good strategy and supportive relationships with our software partners. They have helped us with resources and access to shoulder the workload of pulling several different tech practices into one.
Q What are the essential elements of successful change management for a CAS practice
A Transparency is key to helping folks feel confident during times of change. Sharing information as much, early, and often as you can in the process allows the team to absorb the changes without making up rumors or stories. It’s equally important to share what you don’t know, or what is still being decided in the process. Clarity about who is making decisions and setting expectations for when information might be available helps too. The uncertainty of the process is often what drives people to leave during times of change. As much as possible provide as much certainty to help with that uneasiness that comes during immense change.
See the full interview with Becky at Intuit’s Firm of the Future website, including what team communication looked like during the change and how she has grown as a leader.
