Speaking to Public Accountant, Sky Accountants chief executive Jamie Johns said that, in terms of providing support for employees in terms of their mental health, one of the most important things for partners and managers to do is to have monthly catch ups with their direct reports.
He said they should catch up with a one-on-one monthly meeting around how they’re feeling about their job, their career and their future.
“The days where you have the annual performance appraisal are pretty much dead. The modern firm, or the partner or manager, will make a time once a month just solely dedicated for at least half-an hour to catch up with each of their direct reports and find out how they’re feeling and where they’re at mentally,” Mr Johns said.
Mr Johns pointed to the many types of HR-driven cloud software out in the market for small firms and businesses that are aimed at keeping the mental health of employees in check.
He said his firm puts out a questionnaire every week that’s all based around monitoring and measuring employee happiness.
Further, as a mentor for other accountants in helping them grow their business, Mr Johns said it can be a pretty lonely place as an accountant and, in a wider sense, as a small business owner, with many people in the accounting industry being people who are registered tax agents and/or sole traders.
“It can be a lonely place running a business without a mentor or without a sounding board,” Mr Johns said.
“I think a problem shared is a problem halved. You’ve just got to be able to reach out and open up to someone who can be a sounding board.
“Often you’re too close to problems. You need someone with that objective distance to say, ‘Hang on, this is probably what the facts are’.”
