Today, we want to follow up last week’s post on renting out your office space by discussing a different type of “subletting.” If you hire employees for the tax season, our guess is that you’ve experienced the frustration that comes with losing employees or being forced to lay them off during the off-season because you simply don’t have enough work for them.
But what if, instead of being stuck in a constant yearly cycle of interviewing and hiring great employees only to inevitably lose them after just a few months, you could find a solution that made you and your employees happy, and created great relationships with other business owners?
You put hours and hours of work in, looking at resumes, interviewing, picking out the perfect employees for your business. You also spend hours and hours working to connect with new clients, to become their trusted, go-to person for their financial needs. Your clients run businesses, and those businesses need help year-round, not just during the tax season.
Now, before you go any further, you’ll want to be sure and talk this over with your potential employees during the interview process. When it comes down to it, this could be a mutually beneficial arrangement, providing opportunities for employees to develop and grow professionally as well as lower employee turnover and happier employees for you.
Your business clients may be in need of help in areas such as bookkeeping and admin, or may even need a part-time CFO. The key here is to keep open communication with your clients and be looking for holes in their business that you may be able to fill. Then, you just have to present it the right way to make it appeal to your clients! Try focusing on these points:
- It’s a time saver. You’re saving them the time it would take them to write and post an ad, schedule and conduct interviews, and train a brand new employee.
- It’s a money saver. Time is money, right? By saving them time, you’re also saving them money. They simply pay the employee’s normal salary plus a one time “finder’s fee” of sorts and they get someone who is ready to jump right into work.
- Your employees already know their business. This isn’t like hiring brand new employees who take time to get the hang of office dynamics and need to learn the ins and outs of your business. Your employees have already had exposure to your clients’ businesses, making this transition that much easier!
- They get help when they need it most. Your clients may have a hard time finding temporary or part-time help but by utilizing your employees, they are able to take advantage of a team that’s ready to work when they need the support most.
- It makes tax season easier. Because their support staff are also your employees, you essentially remove the middle man from tax preparation conversations. Your employees have played an integral role in the day-to-day running of their business, which makes jumping into tax season full force that much easier.
You’ll need to have clear contracts outlined for your employees as well as for the clients “borrowing” them during the off-season. This contract should lay out how long the employee will be available to them, what type of fee you’ll require as well as the salary to be paid to the employee, and any other boundaries you decide to set in order to protect you, your employees, and your clients. For help working out the details, contact us today for a referral to a tax professional who can help.
