Not your average tech stack article, here are three perspectives to consider for the new year. Firms require technology for efficiency and growth in the future. As technology, access and options continue to evolve, decisions around technology are more than just picking efficient software.
These tips will help you consider your tech goals with more clarity:
1. You need a team perspective
Creative strategy is best developed with the culmination of many minds. When considering technology changes don’t skip the step that requires you to go to the front lines to determine what your firm needs most. This could be your staff or your clients, or both.
Taking the time to solicit everyone’s feedback on what they need to perform more effectively, what would make their lives easier, and what would provide added convenience to them is going to spawn a productive conversation. Not only can this be used to help more clearly identify areas of opportunity for technological efficiency, but it can also help you start a short list of how to improve in other areas.
2. Don’t take steady revenue for granted
Switching to flat fees, value-priced basing, or other billing methodologies other than hourly can create the opportunity for us to become complacent when it comes to analyzing job efficiency. I have witnessed firms loosen up their commitment to tracking hours and job profitability, assuming that the overall profit will speak for itself.
This does nothing to help you identify clear inefficiencies. The pain point here becomes when the overall profit falls short of our needs or goals, you have no data points to help you get back on track. Don’t fail to dive deep into the true profitability of even flat-fee or value-priced jobs.
3. Face your failures
The road to success isn’t flat, nor is it a perfectly straight, steadily increasing line. Failing to fail sometimes throughout the growth process probably means you’re significantly underperforming and not really growing. Success and growth both produce plenty of opportunities to stumble along the way.
Don’t be afraid to ask your clients where you dropped the ball this past year. The answers may surprise you and likely will generate an opportunity to improve your client service that you did not necessarily consider because it is difficult to understand 100% of our client’s needs all the time.
Technology offerings seem to spring up consistently now, whether they address taxes, bookkeeping automation or opportunities to manage your to-do list. Taking the time to hear feedback and really assess the data of your firm needs to help save you time and money on implementing a desirable product and one that will actually help you to effect change in your firm.
