Do you keep your staff in a back room, well away from clients, or do they have access to clients, and therefore influence over clients’ appreciation of their tax or business affairs?
Have you ever wondered what your staff are saying to clients?
Clients no doubt quiz them, given half a chance, on the basis that talking with them is not as expensive as talking to you, a partner or senior manager. And perhaps they are right in this assumption, at least in respect of cost considerations.
Staff will be anxious to please clients, no-one wants to upset a client, but who sets the ground rules for these exchanges?
Hopefully, you will have trained staff to recognise when to say “can you leave that with me… I’ll get back to you one that one…”. More ambitious staff may want to make a name for themselves, and it’s at this juncture that the scary stuff starts to rear its head; when are clients misinformed by staff, and will you ever get to hear about it until the effects of the inappropriate advice have done their damage.
It would be a brave practitioner that could say with absolute certainty that their staff would never make uninformed suggestions to clients, and yet…
Apart from active interventions, staff training events and one to one coaching etc, regular updates on tax and other issues are a realistic option.
If you would like to see how our online services could help you and your staff keep ahead of changing circumstances, and communicate these to your clients and prospects, get in touch any time for a demonstration.
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