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BRIDGING THE GAP By Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP November 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 21 A Simple Approach to Training W hile you certainly have to take into account learning styles, I would l i k e t o s h a r e a s i m p l e t r a i n i n g approach t hat I lea r ned f rom my pa r t ner, Dust i n Hostet ler. It is a proven process that has been used successfully by our clients and in a v a r iet y of profession s out side of accounting. It engages employees and ensures efective learning from Day One. The Traditional Approach Historically, firms take a catch-all approach to new h i re t ra i n i ng. A group of new employees or interns enters the frm at some point in the year and spends two days to a week in o r i e n t a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g . T h e presenter(s) typically goes through every sofware program in the frm and provides a high-level walkthrough of the actual work that you may be performing. Whether it's a tax return or an audit engagement, it is essentially a high- level look at the process. Unfortu - nately, most of t hat t ra i n i ng a nd lea r n i ng is goi ng r ig ht over t hei r heads. And in that group environment you don't always have the trust and the engagement necessary to feel comfort- able asking questions. This signifi- cantly restricts their learning because they're afraid of asking a dumb ques- tion. A lot of that time ends up being wasted. If this sounds like your approach to new hire training, don't stop doing it, just take it a step further. Tere is value i n t he g roup lea r n i ng approac h , especially to set a foundation around sofware programs and processes. You just can't expect them to get every- thing they need to function at a high level. T h is is where t he fou r-step approach comes in. The Four Step Approach Afer you get through the initial ori- entation and general group learning, a new employee's frst four projects should be done collaboratively with a more experienced team member. To illustrate the approach, we'll assume a senior is training a new hire at the staf level on tax return preparation. Step 1: I Do, You Watch In this step the senior is in the driver's seat and the staf is along for the ride. Te senior walks through every phase of the process: how the process works and the tools used; how client infor- mat ion is received; how we send information to the client; what our work papers look like; how we begin reviewing or inputing the numbers; all the way through the process to a completed ta x return. During this time the staf person is watching and should be diligently taking notes. Step 2: I Do, You Help In this step the senior stays in the driver's seat and goes through the entire preparation process. A s the senior is preparing the return he or she is asking the staf person questions to see what they remember while also soliciting their help at various points. Te senior may ask, where can I fnd these client source documents? How do we organize and bookmark this workpaper? W here do I input this number into the tax program? Step 3: You Do, I Help In this step the staf takes control of the wheel and is now the driver. Te senior is there to ofer assistance but the staf is going to prepare the entire return. Te senior's roll is to help and quickly get them back on-track if they deviate from the process or make a m ista ke. T h is prov ides rea l-t i me learning through instant feedback. Step 4: You Do, I Watch Similar to step 3, the staf is driving the process from start to fnish. Te senior is watching and remaining silent unless there is an imminent crash on the horizon. In that case, they provide a gentle nudge but they are essentially leting the staf prepare the entire return. Slow Down to Go Fast Firms that have invested the up-front time required for this approach have recognized tremendous benefits in terms of staf competence and produc- tivity. One of Dustin's recent clients told him that during this past busy season their interns were operating at the level of two-year staff. Slowing down on the front end to spend the time to train and develop your new hires with this collaborative approach will lead to big gains in the future. Slow down to go fast - you have to invest time to save time. Jim Boomer is a shareholder and the CIO for Boomer Consulting , Inc. He is the director of the Boomer Technology Circles™ and an expert on managing technology within an accounting frm. He also serves as a strategic planning and technology consultant and frm adviser in the areas of performance and risk management. In addition, Jim is leading a new program, Te Producer Circle, in collaboration with CPA2BIZ and the AICPA. jim.boomer@cpapracticeadvisor.com E ffective and efficient new hire training i s the goal for most frms. We want a methodology or delivery method that sticks with employees early and ofen. Te luxury of unlimited time to train and retrain over and over until the employee gets it is not aforded to most of us. We need to put the time in up-front to ensure achievement of a baseline competence.