Create a Long-Term Tech Strategy in a Hybrid Firm
How well did your firm’s accounting technology support your team and clients during the pandemic? In many accounting firms, the technology plan quickly shifted to what can best be described as “snatch and grab” in March of 2020. Of course, doing the best you can during a worldwide pandemic isn’t a good long-term strategy. And going back to 2019’s technology plan isn’t an option.
Consider these statistics from the Work From Home Policies and Practices survey conducted by executive compensation firm Pearl Meyer in February and March of 2021:
33 percent of the U.S.-based workforce will work remotely post-pandemic
80 percent of organizations say their shift to remote work during the pandemic was successful
40 percent reported an increase in productivity
36 percent of organizations have decided to reduce the number and/or size of their offices or facilities
In August of this year, Joe Ballantyne, co-founder and VO of Sales of Suralink joined Boomer Consulting, Inc. for a webinar to discuss strategic plans for remote technology and help firms identify the tools that will make us successful.
Lessons Learned from 2020
For years, accounting firm leaders resisted the growing remote work trend. It was common to hear things like, “Well, that might work in other industries, but not public accounting,” or “Our clients would never go for that.” Of course, when the pandemic forced their hands, those same firm leaders were simply forced to make it work.
Some of the lessons learned from the experience include:
The future is in the cloud. Firms that had already invested in cloud-based technology were better prepared to transition to remote work. However, those that had to figure out how to adapt their on-site solutions had a much tougher time.
Digital workflows are better than “paperless” workflows. Firms that thought they had paperless workflows realized just how much they relied on paper when people weren’t in the office to open mail, collect client documents and pass files between team members. Paperless isn’t necessarily paper-free.
Technology supports hiring and business development. Prior to the pandemic, business development and hiring generally depended on geography. Now that firms have figured out how to handle these tasks virtually, their growth and talent strategies can expand worldwide.
Assessing Your Existing Technology
Since remote and hybrid work is here to stay, it’s time to look and what has and hasn’t worked in the past year and a half and look for opportunities to improve. Consider these four areas.
1. Scalability
As 2020 demonstrated, your firm’s technology needs can change quickly. So, firms need to invest in solutions that can scale up or down as their needs change.
2. Client Experience
Technology isn’t the solution to delivering a great client experience, but it is an enabler. According to PWC, 82% of U.S. customers want more human interaction in the future. We need to focus on technology that supports human interaction seamlessly across platforms.
3. Having Enough of the Right Equipment
Having employees “check out” laptops and other remote-friendly equipment is a thing of the past, and asking employees to use their own hardware for work is risky — not to mention a support nightmare.
The firm needs to have enough laptops, docking stations, monitors and other equipment to support everyone in the firm no matter where they’re working on any given day. If you want to allow some level of customization, consider offering employees a menu of acceptable options, such as one large monitor or two smaller monitors. This gives employees some control over the equipment in their homes while also giving your IT department the ability to support it.
4. Licenses
Prior to the pandemic, firms might cut costs by having employees share licenses for software and VPNs. However, this is not efficient in a remote or hybrid environment, and it presents a huge security risk.
So, what is your firm’s technology plan moving forward? Now is not the time to become complacent about the tools and software you use to support your team and clients. Reflect on what went well and what needs improvement. Create goals to minimize the barriers employees face when working remotely and clients face when interacting with your firm and you’ll be better prepared for whatever the future holds.