Love Your People? Implement Pipeline Meetings to Reduce Staff Burnout.

For so many firms, the stress of having more work than people has become overwhelming. Traditionally, a surplus of work was a good problem to have, but let’s be honest; it is the root cause of burnout. More and more people in the accounting industry are looking for other opportunities or leaving the profession altogether. There are several reasons for this messy situation and several ways to get out of the mess. One of the more creative solutions is through pipeline meetings.   

What is a pipeline meeting? Essentially, a pipeline meeting allows firms to focus on pipeline management and forecasting. In these meetings, firm leadership discusses their pipeline, i.e., opportunities the firm is pursuing or has recently won or lost and why. So, how does this help the current workload stress on firms?   

Capacity Planning/Hiring 

First and foremost, if firms are not tracking and reviewing their pipeline, there is no line of sight on what business is coming in the door and when to expect it. Workload volume is worse than ever, so when staff hears you’re still looking to grow and bring on more work, it can cause them to think twice about their current role.  

Wouldn’t it help to know that you could potentially have $1M of work coming to you over the next 3 months so you could start the hiring process now? This is a real scenario for one of our clients. Without pipeline management, this work would have added additional stress to their current staff during the hiring process.   

Additionally, some firms are implementing a one-in and one-out policy due to capacity constraints.  While no one wants to turn away a good client, they are trying to be realistic about the workload and pressure facing current staff. Therefore, they are making sure that to bring in that ideal client, they are looking at what D clients they would need to get rid of to serve that work.   

Getting a line of sight on new work will be the secret weapon for firms weathering capacity issues in the near and long term. It will allow you to continue growing AND keep your people happy because you are hiring proactively.   

Forecasting Revenue 

It’s funny to think that most accounting firms do not have an accurate forecast of expected revenue when day in and day out, they consult businesses on their numbers. The typical revenue forecast is last year plus a certain percentage based on what has happened in recent years. Unfortunately, this formula doesn’t always result in an accurate depiction of future revenue. Look at the last year, for example. Many firms are seeing record growth that could not have been anticipated with a prior year + % formula.   

Focusing on Ideal Clients 

When you incorporate a pipeline management process, you can focus on bringing in the types of clients you want and optimize your revenue generation activities. Many firms are going through a culling process to get rid of clients that don’t fit their business model. Whether outside the firm’s expertise, cost-sensitive, or just hard to work with, the wrong fit is a drag on your staff and bottom line. What if you could avoid bringing those clients on in the first place?   

When you discuss open opportunities in your pipeline meeting, you can address ill-fitting client pursuits before signing them as a client. A secondary benefit, these conversations help maintain the integrity of your pricing. When someone outside the pursuit is quoting the work, there’s less risk of discounting the services to win the client.  

For firms looking to incorporate pipeline meetings into their sales process, we recommend the following topics for discussion:  

1. Pipeline: Review currently open and closed opportunities, including forecasted revenue and how it compares to goals and targets.  

1. Wins: Celebrate recent wins and share stories of how they were won, so others can learn from their success.  

1. Losses: There is just as much to learn from lost opportunities.  

1. What is working and what is not.  

1. Business Development: Seasoned rainmakers should use these meetings as an educational opportunity to help others improve their pursuits.   

Being intentional with your growth efforts begins with bringing these conversations to the forefront. Through monthly pipeline meetings, you can ease the fears of your sellers by normalizing business development and sales conversations. If you consistently meet on your pipeline, you will control growth by pursuing the right opportunities at the right times. You will also take better care of your people.