Flat company base for quality employee experience

ON A PATH WITH PURPOSE: From left, Richard Generazio, senior audit associate, Elysha Gerlach, tax associate, and Elizabeth Larose, tax associate, are seen in the offices of CBIZ Tofias in Providence. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
ON A PATH WITH PURPOSE: From left, Richard Generazio, senior audit associate, Elysha Gerlach, tax associate, and Elizabeth Larose, tax associate, are seen in the offices of CBIZ Tofias in Providence. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Let’s say there are two islands.

On one, a large accounting firm offering loads of valuable, higher-level experiences and challenges over time; on the other, a smaller firm, where junior team members jump right in as soon as they are onboard, doing different kinds of work with a diverse client base and learning on their way up. CBIZ Tofias is a bridge between these two islands, where employees can get the best of both worlds – their input valued and appreciated – while getting a great education on the industry at the same time.

The CPA firm, which has upwards of 70 employees in Providence, offers tax and financial-planning services to a diverse client base who range from some of the largest public companies in New England, to nonprofits and smaller, family-owned businesses.

Scott Wragg, managing director in charge of CBIZ Tofias’ Providence office, says the firm is, by design, a flat organization, without much middle management.

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“Whenever we have a new engagement and develop an engagement team, we don’t go to a meeting with a client by ourselves,” without newer staffers, he said. “[Junior employees] would be involved in all aspects. We want them to see every part,” he said. “That person would have experiential learning.”

The experiential learning is apparently working.

According to CBIZ Tobias Senior Managing Director Tracy Gallagher, employee turnover is, on average, 25 percent for CPA firms. In 2015, CBIZ Tofias had a turnover rate of just 10 percent. “In order to provide better staff continuity for our clients, we strive to be a preferred employer, working to develop progressive policies on human resources matters and employee benefits,” said Gallagher.

Development of an engaging workplace that puts employees in a prime position for learning and idea generation is a process that sets them up with a wide base of knowledge before they choose their area of concentration, said Wragg. He said that specializing – after a few years of diverse work in the field – makes sense for the employees, the firm and the clients. Experience then grows from an organic, wide perspective.

Another area where CBIZ Tofias works to keep employee satisfaction high is with its flex-time offerings, which have been evolving for the past 10 or 12 years, according to Wragg.

Customized flextime schedules were the result of the realization that the traditional, full-time accounting positions don’t work for everyone, Wragg said. “To fuel growth, we needed more people. A lot of the good ones in the marketplace didn’t fit into our full-time job description.” Now, he said, work arrangements vary greatly from employee to employee.

For instance, where accounting work is at its peak from January to April due to tax season, some employees are full time during the busy period and part time the rest of the year; others work three days a week and work from home; and some work in the office four days a week. What’s important, said Wragg, is that flextime is customizable and suits that particular employee and helps to maintain his or her particular work-life balance.

In addition to great on-the-job training and flextime, health and wellness initiatives also send a message to employees that they are appreciated and valued.

The CBIZ Great Health program rewards employees who take steps to improve their own health with lower health insurance rates. The firm also offers an employee assistance program and a health coach program, according to its website. It offers maternity and paternity leave.

In addition to these benefits of working at CBIZ Tofias, there is another factor which can be difficult to quantify but is nevertheless at play: the overall camaraderie of the workplace. Staff office lunches and early conflict resolution – so potential issues don’t fester – are part of keeping the environment positive and the culture solid.

“There is a great team atmosphere; we are part of a team,” said Wragg. “With colleagues here, there are years-long, deep friendships, and that’s true equally with as many clients, who enjoy working with us because we get to know them,” and get better service as a result of the appreciation the firm shows its team members, he said. n

Employees in R.I.: 64

Senior Managing Director Tracy Gallagher

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