Managing an Accounts Team

There is an old Chinese saying that goes like this:

TELL ME AND I WILL REMEMBER FOR AN HOUR; SHOW ME AND I WILL REMEMBER FOR A DAY;

LET ME KNOW HOW TO DO IT AND I WILL REMEMBER FOR EVER

As Accounts Manager in a busy Finance Department managing a team has many everyday challenges. However, at Nayyars I am fortunate to be working with a team that wants to learn, improve and be the best that we can collectively be. I also manage the Apprenticeship programme at Nayyars.

We pride ourselves in giving junior staff their first chance to get on the legal ladder. That has many benefits as they join with boundless energy and a keenness to learn. We can also mould them to work the “Nayyars” way.

We have had some excellent staff progress up the ranks at Nayyars. We have a 100% record of offering our Apprenticeships a full-time job once they complete their programme. A lot of time, effort and energy goes into providing the right training and supervising them. Our end goal is to always have a fully-fledged member of the Team contributing in exactly the same way as the rest.

However, the reality with junior staff is that they are inexperienced. We have to always bear that in mind when giving them tasks to do. There are times when they may do it wrong at first. They are going to make mistakes and you are going to let them. If you are a parent you know how agonising it is when you have a 2-year-old who insists they can pour their own drink then proceed to spill most if it on the table. Your child is going to spill it and yes, the end result is you are going to mop it up.

I have been training staff for over 25 years and know that the spilling process is important. Our staff will (hopefully quickly) progress onto not spilling. I am not saying members of the team are like small children but it is imperative for them to learn the spilling process. I have to make sure I have my cloth ready to mop up after them and after each spilling do not tell them off! In fact, I do the opposite and always try to praise them (Well-done, brilliant job).

I try not to let them see the cloth or the mopping up.

At Nayyars our focus is always on encouragement. We want a happy work environment. There is a “can do” attitude here. It is important that we let staff know that we are pleased with them. If a person does not grow in ability then they end up wilting. People come to work for a whole host of reasons apart from the money and right at the top of their list will be “Praise from the boss”. At Nayyars we know how important it is that we build a good team and encourage them at every opportunity.

Being a manager is all about creating a great team with the smallest resources. Praise is free, Praise is 100% effective and Praise is simple and takes no time to do at all. We try and get everyone involved in the business by providing an open-door policy and lots of social interaction.

This is a team that is growing. We are continually searching for good people to join us. If you would like to join either our Apprenticeship Programme or any of the other roles available then please apply with you CV.

Carolyn Alcroft

Financial Controller