The accounting profession is in a perpetual state of change, which has been amplified by the coronavirus pandemic. Because of this state of flux, it is important for a manager to know when their team is ready for change and when they definitely are not. In today’s podcast, Liz Uram, owner of The Coach and Mentor Group, provides some details on the signs that a team is resistant to change, including the inability to adjust behavior, employee turnover, and more.

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By: Bill Hayes, Pennsylvania CPA Journal Managing Editor

Podcast Transcript

With the accounting profession consistently evolving, it's important that individual CPAs and teams of CPAs are open to change as well. Today, Liz Uram, owner of The Coach & Mentor Group, joins us to explore signs that teams are not ready for change, such as silence, inability to adjust behavior, and employee turnover. Liz, thanks for joining us today.

Can you give us an idea of some of the factors that are making the current business environment so ripe for change?

[Uram] Currently, we have all kinds of different issues going on that are making everything have to remain fluid and we're having to be aware of change that's coming up. We've got the COVID-19 issue, of course, which has thrown everybody for a loop and turned everything upside down. Everybody's sitting around waiting for guidance, both from a standpoint of when can we get back to work, what's that going to look like? We've had, obviously, the tax deadline extension, which probably put a big wrench in everybody's plans. Everybody's waiting on guidance with things like the PPP loans, the Paycheck Protection Program. There's just so many things going on right now where everybody's in this wait-and-see mode. Everybody is just on the edge of their seat, just waiting to see what's next and where are we going to have to pivot to next.

As our PICPA members know, the CPA environment seems to be in a constant state of change really. Why is it important for CPA firms and their employees to adapt a mindset that allows them to adjust to change on the fly? What does that take?

[Uram] They need to have this mindset because most of the changes that are affecting the CPA firm are mandatory. In other words, they don't have the luxury of opting out and saying, "Nah, I don't think we'll adopt that change." They have to. It's mandatory. It's coming through regulatory arms and saying “This is what has to happen.” One of the most important reasons why it's important that the firms get on board is that their clients are looking to them as the experts. They want to have that assurance, they want the security, as a client, to know that, "I don't know what's going on, but, hey, you are my CPA firm. Tell me what's going on. What do I need to know?" And if a CPA firm does not have the mindset of being on top of it, or adapting to it, well, that can make their clients feel a little bit on edge. It can throw a little uncertainty in there and can create trust issues.

Let's talk about some signs that teams and people may not be ready for change and how they can be addressed. If they are silent about the change, is it dangerous to assume, as it is often said, that silence can be taken as acquiescence? Is that a problem?

[Uram] Yes, that is a huge problem. I'm so glad that you're addressing this question because, oftentimes, we think as leaders, "Okay, good. I announced this change that's going on and nobody had any questions. They didn't say anything about it so I guess everybody's on board." That is almost always the opposite. Silence can often mean denial. There are four stages of the change process that people have to go through in order to finally get to a stage where they accept change, and that starts with denial, right? It's denial, anger, exploration, and acceptance. Oftentimes, leaders will interpret the ... I call it the smile and nod, when they're communicating the change, and the team is just smiling and nodding, and they're thinking, "Oh, great, good. Everybody's on board." Oftentimes, it's not. They're just like, "Okay, here's some new information." Oftentimes, it just means denial. They just go along with it. The leader, then, when they make that assumption, they're going to have some bigger issues down the line.

Speaking of leaders, and dealing with the people reporting to them, how should it be handled if a manager communicates a new approach to a report and it doesn't affect their behavior? They just carry on with the same old, same old.

[Uram] They're going to have to address it, and that is the last thing a lot of leaders want to do, let's face it. We always want to hope that people will get on board without us having to do anything. We hope that, if we ignore it long enough, it'll go away. Or, if we avoid it long enough, people will just get on board on their own. It doesn't work. Leaders have to be, number one, observing and watching out for it to see if people are getting on board. Are they doing what they're supposed to be doing or not? If not, they have to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation. This is critical.

A lot of leaders, what they want to do, and I've done it myself, is we want to send out the generic, broad email to everybody. "Hey, reminder, you're supposed to be doing this now." I've seen this happen over and over, and it doesn't work because the people who aren't doing it are not going to start doing it because a generic email is sent. What it requires is the leader to sit down with the person who's having a hard time getting on board and have a one-on-one conversation with them. It just, basically, would be something like, "I've noticed that you haven't been implementing this new process. What's going on?" It's just very short, sweet, and to the point, but it has to be addressed one-on-one or it will not change. It will not get better on its own.

Clearly, employee turnover is a place you don't want to get to, but it can be a sign that teams, and the people who are still there, aren't ready for change, so what does a firm or an organization have to do before that becomes a serious problem?

[Uram] I think that they really need to create a culture of change management, a culture of good change management. That begins with acknowledging that change happens. Also, part of that is deciding, how are we going to handle change? How are we going to communicate change? Change isn't typically the issue itself, because people understand that change happens, they know that they can't be competitive if they don't get on board with it. Where people have problems, it's with how it's communicated. A company that can create a culture of good communication when it comes to change will make it easier to retain those good employees. It's when employees get taken off guard, when they're the last to know about a change. That's when they become frustrated. That's when trust begins to erode between the leaders and the employees.

So, communicate early and often. People then know that, "Okay, here comes another change, but I trust that my leadership team is going to keep me informed. I trust that I'll be given the tools I need. I trust that I'll be equipped to be able to implement this change when it comes time." It's really just about that open communication, about acknowledging it, and then making sure that people are comfortable with it because they know that, "Hey, it might have some bumps in the road, but that's no big deal because we do this all the time. There's no punishment involved. It's just a way of life, and we're going to deal with it as it comes."

Is there a danger to a manager having to tell employees too many times about a change, and maybe the employees beginning to feel like they've heard it too much, or they need a new voice? What can a manager do to ensure their message is communicated effectively the first time? What do you do if individuals just don't get it after frequent discussion?

[Uram] I think that there's actually a great three-step process that I like to teach when it comes to how often do we communicate, how many times do we keep saying the same thing over and over. The key is this: We don't want to just tell, tell, tell. There's a process. The first process is to inform or to introduce the change, and that's a one-way communication, right?

As early as possible, the leader will want to inform or introduce that. "Hey, there's a change coming. Just FYI, here's something that's coming. More info to come." The second step is to persuade. In other words, sell the idea. Selling the idea of change includes asking questions. That's where we get the buy-in. Many leaders skip this step, especially if it's a mandatory change, "Well, why bother asking people if they have questions? It doesn't matter. It's mandatory. We have to do it anyway." Don't skip this step. The more buy-in you can get, the more energy the people who are going to be impacted will put behind it. Then, after you've introduced it, and then persuaded or sold them on the idea, then instruct.

That's where you give the how-tos, the step-by-step. "Okay, everybody's on board. Here's what we're going to do." But oftentimes, the communication is one way. It's tell, tell, tell, and people get tired of it, you're absolutely right. They don't want to hear the same thing over and over. Involve them in the process. Involve them, and you'll get that buy-in, which is what is really critical. People get energized when they're part of it. Even if, again, it's mandatory. Get them involved in how it will impact them.

What ideas do they have for getting people on board? What ideas do they have for making this change as seamless as possible? It works like magic. Most people just don't take the time to do it, and that's really what the key is, it's time. It takes a little bit more time to get the team involved, but it's well worth it in the end. Because if you have to go back and drag people along, or keep trying to convince them, and have all these difficult conversations afterwards, that takes a lot more time than it does on the front end to involve them and get their ideas.

What would you say are the key traits for managers and supervisors to develop in order to lead their teams successfully through periods of immense change? Whether it's what we're going through now, or what's going to be next?

[Uram] Yeah, because there will be a next. There's always going to be something. I think there are three key characteristics. Communication is the big one. But within that, I would say empathy, patience, and grace. Empathy is so important. Everybody processes change at a different speed. Some people, it impacts them harder than it does other people. Well, maybe this is a change that doesn't impact you as a leader so much, but if it's somebody who is being impacted in their … let's just say, for example, their sense of security is at risk. That can make them have a really strong reaction to this change that's going on because maybe they're worried about their job, and if job security is really important to them, that may have a bigger impact on them. So, empathy is number one.

Patience. People take ... again, they have different speeds for getting on board with change, for processing through that change. Be patient with people, give them the time that they need in order to take the information, to process it internally and then give them grace. One of the worst things I see happen to people who are impacted by change is they get labeled as resistant. Because they take more time, they ask more questions, they might come off as more skeptical, and then they get labeled as resistant. I think that is a huge career-killer for people because everybody's inundated with change all the time. If you are somebody on the team who gets labeled as resistant, your future isn't very bright.

So a leader who can have some grace, understanding that, "Hey, okay, well, maybe they're not resistant; they just have more questions. They need more information. They need a little bit more time to process." That is going to create that culture where people feel they're unafraid to talk about the change, they're unafraid to ask the questions. They're going to feel as though that's a company that they can get behind, that they're allowed the space and the time to process change in their own way. That will really make a big difference on that trust level, and the loyalty to the firm as well.