Tips to Boost Productivity Without Overloading your Team

Now that technology has allowed accounting firms worldwide to create remote work policies, many firm owners and leaders are thinking about ways to maximize their team’s productivity. Without the time sink of a commute or other distractions present in the modern office, you may expect your team to be able to get more done. One thing is for sure—remote work is much more desirable for prospective employees.

In a competitive hiring world, remote work can give you the edge—but it can also make it tough to find a balance between managing the productivity of your team without putting too much of a burden on them.

Below are our best tips for striking a good balance with team management so that you can get tasks done efficiently so your team doesn't suffer from burnout.

Capacity planning for accounting firms 

Capacity planning describes the process of outlining the specific number of resources available to a firm and then planning the exact way those resources should be allocated. For firms that want to get a true sense of how much work they can take on and when they will need to hire more employees or bring in more resources, capacity planning is a mainstay of their organizational strategy.

On a team level, capacity planning can help your firm get a more exact understanding of how much work each person has right now and what they’re slated to have in the future. Getting a strong bead on this kind of information will help you strike a perfect balance that allows your team to have enough work to keep them fulfilled and productive yet not take on so much that they feel overwhelmed.

If you do happen to run into a situation where one of your team has taken on more than they can handle, successful capacity planning will let you know about this long before it becomes a serious problem that starts to negatively impact your firm’s output.

Incorporate cloud-based tools for remote work teams

While research shows that remote working arrangements in 2024 are the lowest they’ve been since 2020, they’re still prevalent in many of the largest and fastest-growing fields in the world—mostly “white collar” industries like IT, marketing, and insurance. And even if the frequency of remote work has decreased since the start of the pandemic, it’s still several times more common than it was in 2019.

That’s why cloud-based tools are so valuable; with applications that are stored and updated in the cloud—sometimes called “software as a service”—members of your team can share and collaborate on all kinds of files and reports even if they aren’t in the same office.

Some of the most common (and effective) features of cloud-based tools include:

• Asynchronous messaging systems like Slack and Teams, where your employees can communicate with each other from any device
• File sharing systems that allow you to upload important data and keep it safe yet accessible by the right parties
• Time & billing tools that allow your staff to fill out timesheets, upload expense reports, and handle other tasks that will keep your payroll running smoothly

Reward positive outcomes and good performance

Most people working in accounting firms understand the cyclical nature of the business. Either they’ve been around for long enough to pick up on the rhythms, or they’re new but have been told about it for years by their mentors, teachers, and family members. That means they understand that there may be certain periods of the calendar where more hours than normal are needed.

But a tough time is a tough time whether you’re prepared for it or not. If your team has gotten through a difficult period successfully or has hit a specific goal or milestone you set out for them, it’s beneficial to reward them in some way. Something as simple as a company-wide happy hour—in person or virtual—or sending your top performers an e-gift card can be more effective than you’d think at boosting morale and improving employee retention rates.

The size of the gift or reward isn’t as important as the gesture itself. Just knowing that their employer recognizes and appreciates their hard work is a great way to make your team happier and more engaged with their jobs.

Use multifunctional software that makes remote work easier

All employees are used to different digital tools, not only at work but in their personal lives—think of all the different apps a person might use, from social media to food delivery.

Your team is likely used to working with several different platforms, but that doesn’t give your firm license to overwhelm them with software for every role they fulfill at work.

Instead, you should simplify their workloads and minimize administrative delays by allowing your team to use the fewest number of software options possible. To help you streamline your staff’s digital workflow, consider incorporating an accounting firm practice management software platform into the mix.

With this setup, your team can handle tasks like time tracking, sharing files, and updating their timesheets without a new program for each function. This will benefit both your staff and the overall success of your business since giving your team a more streamlined workflow will allow them to get more done without being bogged down in task-switching, making them happier, more productive, and more likely to stay at your firm for the long term.

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