Time is on Their Side
Karen Oman placed a small advertisement in the newspaper eight years ago using only four words to convey her message: "CPAs, get a life!"
"I got a great response," says Oman, the owner of Certes Financial Pros, now a $7.4 million accounting firm in Minneapolis, Minn.
Those interested respondents inspired Oman to strike a work/life equilibrium outside of a large corporation. She decided to build a more balanced (and smaller) business on her own. "I looked at the way the IT industry was outsourcing, and I thought accounting could work the same way," Oman says. "I coupled that with the freedom and flexibility I experienced as a consultant, and I came up with a mission."
By focusing first on the company's 100 employees, Oman has created a welcoming workplace that builds and nurtures loyalty among its CPAs and support staff. "It just costs less to treat employees right," she says, noting her company's below-average turnover rates in the high-stress accounting world. "That's even after hiring 20 new employees last year," she adds.
So how does she do it?
For a start, Oman is constantly asking employees how they like their job. "You have to listen to the answers," she says. "Once you start hearing them, you will realize that there is plenty of space to fulfill their goals and create a better business at the same time."
Oman listened when contracted CPAs and other employees asked for flextime, job sharing and extended vacations. Last year, 15 percent of her staff took the entire summer off, and 70 percent of core employees have home offices. Many don't work on Fridays and some leave early each week. "The cost of saying yes to these things is so small," she says. "Especially when you consider how much you'd save in recruiting, in retention and even in services to the client."
"I always say that when an employee asks you to be flexible, you should multiply their salary by two and see if it's worth it to lose them," Oman says. "Because that's how much it will cost to find someone else to do the job."
Jobs are assigned on a project basis, and Certes CPAs work on a contract basis for long-term assignments. Combine that with the fact that all of Oman's employees are paid an hourly wage – as opposed to a fixed salary, which is the industry standard – and flexibility reigns. Each CPA is in control of how much work they take on and how much they are paid. If an employee can sacrifice a day's (or season's) wages, then they are free to do so. "It forces people to manage their time in a more productive way," says Oman. "It's a win-win for everyone."
In addition to the nontraditional structure of working for Oman, employees are encouraged to use the company's four vacation homes – two by the Gulf of Mexico and two at a lake in Minnesota – for creating family memories. Add that attitude to above-average wages ($35 to $70 per hour depending on experience), pretax day care and medical insurance accounts, and, according to employees, it's a winning combination.
"My life has definitely changed for the better," says Debra Welle, who pared down her workweek from 55 to 45 hours after starting at Certes. She has also been able to take three of the last five summers off to volunteer, teach and be with her children. "And I never have to give up weekends," Welle says.
By giving employees the freedom to control their own schedules and benefits, Oman insists that productivity is on an upward climb. "Productivity is up because everyone is happy," she says. "Our clients are served best when our employee' needs are met."
Company: Certes Financial Pros
Web site: www.certespros.com
Industry: Accounting
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Number of employees: 50
Sales: $7.4 million
