Itโs safe to say that the cloud has had a transformative effect on the accounting industry.
Despite this, there are still some who have their doubtsโwhether this is due to security, thinking itโs overly complicated, or simply not understanding its many benefits.
To mull over how to build a cloud-friendly culture at your firm, Lauren Harvey, Managing Director of Full Stop Accountants, and Nadine Chetty, co-founder at Ecomm Accounting Solutions, chaired an Orange Select Discussion with our partners.
It was a great discussion, with plenty of great contributions. Here are our pick of recommendations on how to foster a cloud-friendly culture with staff and clients.
How do you convince a client that the cloud is not the โbig bad placeโ?
Shaleen Christie hit the nail on the head with this comment, describing how many clients initially feel about the cloud. However, Lauren was quick to dispel this common myth.
โFor us, this was always about focusing on the positives of this much more โjoined-upโ way of working, and the time savings and efficiencies that will be visible almost instantaneouslyโ states Lauren. Once you do that, โTo be honest, this conversation soon disappears.โ
For some, the very phrase โthe cloudโ seems to put them off. According to Steve Maginnity, โI no longer point out that things are cloud-basedโrather, I just say this is the software you will be usingโฆ the fact that itโs the cloud doesnโt even come up. Secondly when a client does interject, I politely explain that things like their Gmail account are cloud, and they have been using cloud software for years.โ
Any tips on dealing with older clients who are set in their ways?
For Nadine, itโs all about education: โI always show them how easy it is to use the mobile appsโthat normally works. But you also need to make the decision that if a client does not want to change their ways, you might need to part ways. Itโs difficult, but to grow your business it has to be done. With Receipt Bank, we show them how easy it is to take picturesโolder folks are always taking pictures of their grandkids, so it should really be a piece of cake for them.โ
On the other hand, Andy Branson, Director at WBD Accountants Limited, takes a more personal approach: โWe try to find out what is important to each individual and then explain how using cloud solutions helps meet their needs.โ
Clients would rather just collect all their documents in a box and bring them to meโany advice on how to convince them to change?
It can be hard when certain clients are so set in their ways. Are there any instances where itโs worth just relenting and letting them dictate terms? For Lauren, this is an absolute no-no.
โFirst and foremost, be clear on the process that works for you and stick to itโ.
Nadine focuses on making the clientโs lives as simple as possible, โWe only introduce the relevant apps to our clients. They donโt need to know about the apps we use internally if theyโre not actually physically using them.โ
Even when she does need to educate her clients, itโs usually โa painless and enjoyable experienceโโbut she stresses that โPatience is definitely keyโ.
Lastly, itโs worth highlighting your expertiseโLauren finds it helpful to remind clients that their preference for using the cloud comes from their vast experience of working with hundreds of clients.
How do you get reluctant team members on board?
Emily Deakin raised the point that certain, more senior staff members may well say โIf it ainโt broke, donโt fix itโ when asked to suddenly migrate to using the cloud.
In reply, Damien Greathead was quick to point out that it is in fact broken:
Manual processes are time-consuming and limit our ability to provide a valuable service to our clients. Our clients will leave if they donโt feel like theyโre getting value. Unfortunately, a client leaving is a lagging indicatorโonce theyโve left, thereโs very little we can do to win them back.
Nadineโs approach is to employ a tech-savvy bunch from the get-go, and hopefully therefore sidestep these issues.
But this obviously doesnโt work with existing employeesโso how can you ease their transition, building a firm-wide cloud-friendly culture in the process?
According to Lauren, โTraining seems an obvious oneโbut more than that, itโs getting them to see the bigger picture (like with your clients) and what is possible with the time savings. For us, this has meant salary increases, increased responsibility, closing the office for two days for Xerocon, more training, etc.โ
Most of all, โMake sure the training works for themโtime, place, and contentโ.
In short, itโs about being clear on your businessโs purpose and how your team will benefit from this unified way of working.
We hope that youโve learned some valuable ways to help build a cloud-friendly culture at your firm. A massive thanks not just to Lauren and Nadine but to all our partners for their invaluable insightsโit was great to discuss this issue at length.
Want to hear more about important industry issues from our partners? Join the next Orange Select Discussion from the 12thโ22nd November.