From therapy dogs to smoothie breaks to a marketing CRM, here are some ideas for making accounting busy season less stressful and more fun for your team!
As a leader in your accounting firm, one of your responsibilities is to help your team manage stress during tax season. Luckily, there are a lot of great strategies for doing so. Read on for some of our favorites.
Dress Code Modifications
Making the workplace more comfortable is a pretty common busy-season tactic. One easy way to do this is to allow your staff to dress down. Some firms even go as casual as allowing athleisure wear and flip-flops! Comfortable clothes go a long way in easing the burden of long days in the office.
Free Food
Food is a great motivator, and free food tastes best! Pizza parties are generally a crowd pleaser, but consider going above-and-beyond in this area. This will really make your team feel valued. During the 2019 tax season thus far, we’ve read about firms that have provided:
- Smoothies
- Made-to-order omelets
- Snack baskets
- Ice cream sundae bars
- And more!
Therapy Animals
Studies have shown that the presence of therapy dogs in the workplace can be beneficial. Having a therapy dog around results in a lowered production of cortisol, the stress hormone, in workers. Recently, a firm in Rochester, New York brought in therapy dogs. They successfully helped combat tax-season stress in their accounting firm. “This is a time where everyone is working really hard and we want to make sure you find the time to take a mental break,” explained the firm’s HR manager. “Come down and take a moment to connect to someone in your office and pet a dog for a little bit.”
Mid-Season Happy Hours
Scheduling a fun evening break or two throughout busy season is a great motivator. Let your team know in advance, so they can be looking forward to a fun and relaxing evening away from their desks. Some firms make a calendar of all of the fun events they plan throughout busy season in order to build excitement.
A Marketing CRM
One source of busy-season stress is the lack of time available for maintaining healthy business relationships. It’s frustrating for accounting professionals when they exert effort to build and maintain good contact relationships, only to lose touch during busy season and feel like they have to start over. To alleviate this, consider using a marketing CRM. This type of tool helps your team remain on top of their business development efforts with just a small time commitment.
ABLE Can Help Ease Tax-Season Stress
Built by and for accountants, ABLE makes relationship management and business development a quick and seamless part of its users’ days. In just 15-30 minutes each week ABLE users can
- Share targeted e-newsletters,
- Move forward in their business development efforts, and
- Maintain strong contact relationships.
Interested in learning more? Check out what ABLE users have to say about how the system has been great for their accounting practices. Then sign up for a free, no-obligations demo to get all of your questions answered and learn how ABLE could help your firm stay stress-free!