Username:
Password:
Forgot Password?

Smart teams smart business
Print this Article Print this Article
Email this Article

22 May 2007 
 
A survey conducted by Confident Communications found that last week there were 362 job vacancies for accountants in Australia. With accounting skills shortages to become even more prevalent in the next 10 to 15 years, businesses need to look outside conventional methods to retain and employ good staff.  
 
Ricky Nowak, founder and director of Confident Communications told delegates at the Chartered Accountants Business Forum in Melbourne earlier today that the majority of people are leaving their current roles due to people issues  
 
"Most people I speak to are leaving their current jobs due to issues with people they work with," Nowak said. Creating an environment with smart teams, who communicate effectively, is crucial in retaining staff.  
 
"It takes an estimated 16 months to replace and train a mid level accountant - this increases with salary and seniority. It is beneficial a business perspective to introduce strategies that will attract and retain qualified and content staff," Nowak said.  
 
Nowak says that the key to creating an environment that is conducive with an organisations values is creating effective teams.  
 
Teams that work have:

  • Clear, challenging goals, which everyone understands and wants to achieve
  • Members who are committed by being involved and talking differences through to a consensus
  • Members with a variety of different styles tat complement on another
  • A leader who wins consent by adjusting his or her leadership style to suit the needs of the situation.
    • "A team member must feel welcome, never intimidated by complicated language or actions and encouraged to contribute their ideas without fear of being rejected. They must identify their common goal and purpose - both long and short term and be committed to achieving what they determine are strategic to the success of the company," Nowak said.