Staffing During Tax Season: 4 Ways to Prepare Your Business
It’s a tough time of year for everyone, but it’s especially scary if you’re running a business—of course we’re talking about tax season. A lot of fearful questions come to mind: Did I make any errors on my return? Will I be audited? Did I maximize my deductions and credits? Am I keeping up with the latest changes to tax law? And underneath all those questions is the roiling anxiety over the time and resources that divert focus from daily operations.
Some extra help around the office can go a long way in streamlining your tax season workflow. By planning and strategizing your staffing needs, leveraging technology, and prioritizing employee well-being, you can turn tax season from terrible to terrific in terms of growth and efficiency. Let’s get into some tips for handling tax season internally, and then break down our advice for staffing during tax season.
Technology and Outsourcing
Leveraging technology in the form of the latest tax preparation software can streamline the tax filing process, reducing the likelihood of errors that might lead to audits. Also consider outsourcing routine transactional tasks to short-term staffing solutions (more on that later) so you can free up your core team to focus on more complex tax-related issues, ensuring compliance with the latest tax laws and regulations. This strategic use of technology and outsourcing enhances operational efficiency and accuracy—two goals of the utmost importance this time of year.
Employee Well-being
Prioritizing employee well-being is essential (we even wrote a guide about it), especially during stressful periods like tax season. Implementing measures to prevent burnout, such as limiting overtime and encouraging breaks for self-care, can maintain morale and productivity. Offering stress-relief activities and ensuring a supportive work environment are key to keeping the team focused and efficient. Tax time places a burden on everyone, however indirectly, so recognizing the hard work of your staff can foster a positive atmosphere and employee loyalty.
Roles and Responsibilities
Stop and think about your favorite sports team—they probably have an identity that hinges on each athlete playing to his or her strengths. A team with no identity or hierarchy tends to become pretty dysfunctional pretty quick. In the same way, clear definition of roles and responsibilities at your business is vital for a smooth tax season. Understanding the unique contributions of roles such as CPAs, tax analysts, and accounting clerks allows for a more targeted approach to hiring. This strategic alignment of skills and responsibilities enhances your team’s ability to manage the season’s demands effectively.
Strategize for Seasonal Tax Season Hiring
Let’s say you’ve followed every suggestion on this list, but tax season still fills you with a sense of impending doom. It may be time to consider utilizing a strategic mix of temporary workers and full-time staff. This approach not only addresses the immediate need for specialized skills but also provides a cost-effective solution to handle the surge in workload. Implementing a robust planning process that includes analyzing past tax seasons for error rates and employee feedback can significantly reduce the chances of overlooking deductions and credits, optimizing tax liabilities in the process.
Seasonal hiring during tax season offers several benefits, including the flexibility to scale workforce according to workload, access to specialized skills for specific tax-related tasks, and the ability to manage costs effectively. Who can argue with that? Temporary hires can provide relief to full-time employees, squelching burnout before it happens and sending productivity through the roof—truly a slam dunk in terms of a morale boost. Additionally, effective temporary staffing during tax season allows your business to trial-run workers for potential long-term roles, adding value beyond the immediate tax season.
It’s time to take the fear out of tax season. Ideally, your business would have a plan in place well before this spooky time of year arrives. But if you find yourself in a jam, a dependable accounting staffing firm like Concero can be your lifeline. We can outfit your business with the exact roles and strategies you need to transform tax season into an opportunity for operational improvement and strategic growth.
We have the accounting staff you need to thrive this tax season. Get connected with Concero today.
