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Coming Full Circle on Wellness: Employee-Centric

The Surgeon General's Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being is a great tool for supporting wellness.

Over the past several weeks we’ve examined the five elements of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being. The Framework was created to give organizations a starting place to create a culture that supports workers as whole individuals, prioritizing overall wellness.

Furthering employee wellness isn’t just the right thing to do for workers – it’s a sensible business strategy as well.

“In addition to the many impacts on the health and well-being of workers themselves, workplace well-being can affect productivity and organizational performance.”¹ Companies making an investment in wellness can enjoy considerable positive outcomes for their efforts; these include higher productivity, lower turnover, improved reputation, and a general boost to the bottom line.

While creating a culture that prizes wellness is a smart choice, it’s not necessarily an easy one. In fact, “Ensuring workplace well-being requires an intentional, ongoing effort by employers and leaders across all levels, with the voices of workers and equity (i.e., a more equitable policy and practice environment) at the center.”¹

Centering the framework around employee’s voices requires providing opportunities for feedback and maintaining an openness to improvement that isn’t tinged by the threat, real or perceived, of retaliation. This kind of culture is “an essential component of healthy organizations.”¹

Employers must be willing to encourage and coach managers to be communicative and compassionate, practicing “human- and wellness-centered leadership by recognizing the connection between individual strengths, growth, and organizational change.”¹

Many firms tout their workers as their most important resource. Putting action and investment to this claim, however, can be less common. Ensuring staff feel they Matter at Work, are Protected from Harm, enjoy Connection and Community with their workmates, are given Opportunities for Growth, and can maximize their Work-Life Harmony is demonstrative of a firm that cares about its employees. Creating this kind of culture shows staff that they are valued and truly recognized as a firm’s top asset.

Bookminders has shared these Framework elements, as identified in 2021 by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, as core components of our culture since our founding in 1991. Flexibility, balance, and opportunity aren’t initiatives we’ve rolled out over the years, they are the cornerstones of our existence. They’re certainly part of the reason 100% of our employees report they are appreciated and enjoy their jobs, are heard and responded to by managers, and find their work interesting and challenging.²

Despite our success, expanding our culture and strengthening our staff is of perpetual importance. Through examining tools like the Surgeon General’s Framework, maintaining an open dialogue for improvement, and adapting to the changing needs of workers, Bookminders will remain employee-focused and employee-centric. We encourage you to consider the same for your organization as you strive for wellness.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Protection from Harm

Ensuring Protection from Harm in the workplace depends on fulfilling the needs of safety and security. This final element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being defines safety as protection “from physical harm, injury, illness, and death.”¹ Security “builds on safety to include financial, and job security, given the negative effects that layoffs and job loss can have on the workers and their families.”¹

Successfully crafting a plan to provide safety and security relies on four primary strategies. These are: prioritizing workplace physical and psychological safety, enabling adequate rest, normalizing and supporting mental health, and ensuring policies further diversity and inclusion.

Prioritizing physical and psychological workplace safety is crucial in appreciating employees as whole individuals and in cultivating an environment where they can reach their full potential.¹ Psychological safety is one’s ability to “speak up without the risk of being punished, retaliated against or humiliated, and without fear of these risks.”¹ In addition to developing their own safety policies and procedures, employers may leverage partnerships like the one Bookminders enjoys with Standing Firm, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting firms with policies and resources that can mitigate partner violence.

Enabling adequate rest and normalizing/supporting mental health are also important elements in providing for Protection from Harm. Research shows that fatigue reduces productivity and workers with sufficient rest time are less likely to experience injury and illness.¹

Making space for adequate rest time can be difficult when schedules are strenuous or rigid. To combat this, employers should consider offering greater flexibility in scheduling and workload so employees can choose what works best for them. Bookminders employees have benefited greatly from this approach. In our last bi-annual survey, 100% of our employees reported that their manager’s expectations were realistic and 100% stated they were comfortable requesting changes to their workload.²

Normalizing mental health requires “validating challenges, communicating mental health and well-being as priorities, and offering both support and prevention services.” In addition to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and insurance-related resources, employers should consider extending tools that contribute to daily wellness. As an example, Bookminders offers free premium Calm memberships to all employees and up to five of their family members. This sleep and relaxation app provides tools to enhance rest, stress management, mindfulness, and movement.

Implementing policies that extend diversity and inclusion are the final strategy in ensuring worker safety and security. “In inclusive workplace cultures all workers…feel safe to be authentic and express their feelings because they trust that their coworkers welcome and value their unique perspectives.”¹ Bookminders employees identify communication, strong core values, and caring managers as corporate strengths and place our company in the top 1% of accounting/bookkeeping firms for inclusivity. This feedback suggests that work cultures rooted in strong values and guided by caring managers have an advantage in crafting policies that foster inclusion.

Learn how Bookminders Accountants like Jennifer and Wendy have leveraged our flexible work culture to create schedules that support balance and wellness in their lives. In next week’s final Wellness installment, we’ll discuss the importance of centering the Framework on Worker Voice and Equity and the potential impact strengthening employee wellness could have on your business.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)

Connection and Community

Creating Connection and Community in the workplace improves social connectivity, allowing for the development of “supportive relationships” not limited to “close family and friends”.¹ These connections improve one’s engagement in the workplace and, given the significant time spent working, can have a large impact on overall health and well-being.

The Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being indicates that delivering Connection and Community relies on fulfilling the needs of social support and belonging.

In this context, social support refers to the “relationships and networks that can offer physical and psychological help, such as emotional support, informational support, and advice.” Belonging is “the feeling of being an accepted member of a group, or of connectedness given one’s interpersonal relationships.”¹There are several leading strategies available to fulfill the needs of social support and belonging.

Creating an inclusive culture where positive relationships render assistance and reassurance is a key approach. In these environments, all staff receive needed resources and are given opportunities to provide feedback without risk of negative perceptions or consequences. Bookminders’ staff benefit from this type of culture on a daily basis. In fact, 99% of employees indicate they are provided with the tools needed for success³ and, in a third-party administered survey, staff feedback placed Bookminders in the top 1% in Accounting/Bookkeeping for inclusivity.²

Imbuing trust in the workplace is another way to promote support and belonging, reduce stress, and improve employee performance.¹Through clear and consistent communication, individuals feel well-informed, connected, and regarded as a whole person by their employer rather than just a set of skills and abilities. Bookminders’ leadership team can speak to the success of this approach. Our staff report they “are kept well-informed about important decisions,” resulting in “confidence in the leadership,” and conviction that the company is “going in the right direction”.²

Lastly, fostering collaboration and teamwork creates a sense of belonging and expands the impact of the work support system. Employers are encouraged to structure teams and collaborations with intention and purpose, fully resourcing staff with the right tools and processes to support success.

The rise of hybrid and remote work has created barriers to team and interdepartmental collaboration. Bookminders has demonstrated how these barriers can be overcome, ensuring a productive, remote-first collaborative environment since 1991. Our employee feedback places Bookminders in the top 1% for interdepartmental collaboration, innovation, and efficiency across all benchmarked Accounting/Bookkeeping firms.²

Uncover why Laura, Francoise, and Pam feel supported and remain connected to our Bookminders community, no matter where life has taken them! Next week, we’ll examine the final element of the Framework, Protection from Harm.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Opportunity for Growth

The Opportunity for Growth element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being is dependent on fulfilling the needs of learning and accomplishment. In this Framework, “learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills in the workplace” and accomplishment provides a “sense of competence that reduces stress, anxiety, and self-doubt.”¹

Learning and accomplishment are well-supported when employers offer appropriate training, share well-timed and relevant feedback, and identify “clear, equitable pathways for career advancement.”¹ Bookminders understands that, through proper training, staff are assured that leadership cares about their success and is willing to make the investment to support it. In an anonymous, third-party survey, our employee feedback placed Bookminders in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for both providing formal training and for “enabling employees to work at their full potential.”²

Eliciting feedback is crucial for both employee and company growth. Through risk-free opportunities to share mutual feedback, employees are able to capitalize on their strengths and mitigate weaknesses, while employers receive insight into the perceived effectiveness of tools and resources. Bookminders provides multiple avenues for individual and group feedback internally and through an external, third-party managed platform. In our bi-annual internal staff survey, 100% of employees report they receive timely and useful feedback from their manager, are provided with the resources to easily get answers to questions, and feel their manager is understanding of mistakes and helps to course correct.³

The last strategy to support the Opportunity for Growth element is the provision of fair and accessible advancement opportunities. Remote work can expand these prospects among individuals for whom the traditional, full-time in-office structure is not ideal.

Bookminders was founded with a remote-first mentality in 1991, well before work-from-home was recognized as a business norm. Our platform, resources, and tools have been structured to enable employees to capitalize on advancement opportunities offered within their client portfolio, through special teams and projects, and through the ascension to senior and management roles. In fact, 100% of our employees feel they are provided with opportunities to grow their client portfolio, if they so choose.³ Staff feedback has placed Bookminders in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for both “supporting professional development” and “employee motivation to give their best.”²

Discover how Melanie, Vanessa and Karen have each leveraged their Opportunities for Growth with Bookminders. In our next Wellness installment, we’ll explore Connection and Community.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Mattering at Work

Meaning and dignity are central to the Mattering at Work element of the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being. In this component, dignity refers to the “sense of being respected and valued” while meaning is defined as “the broader purpose and significance of one’s work”¹

The Framework further identifies four strategies an employer can use to cultivate dignity and meaning in their workplace.

These strategies include compensating fairly for work completed, communicating and including workers in decision making, building a culture of recognition and thanks, and reinforcing how an individual’s work supports the organization’s mission.

Bookminders’ unique compensation structure ensures that our accountants are rewarded for accuracy and efficiency, and it places the power to scale their wages and workload in their hands. In fact, 100% of our employees report they have the opportunity to change the size and structure of their client portfolio to increase compensation.² Additionally, in an anonymous, third-party survey, Bookminders placed in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms for fair compensation.³

Internal communications within bookminders is appropriate and effective, as confirmed by 100% of our staff.² Through transparent, timely information, our leadership ensures that staff know how the work they are doing furthers our business objectives. Furthermore, 100% of our employees report that Bookminders considers the well-being of all employees when making company decisions.²

Finally, ensuring staff feel seen, heard, and valued is core to the Bookminders culture. 100% of our staff report the work they do is appreciated by their manager and clients, that their manager listens and effectively responds to their concerns, has realistic expectations of them, and is committed to helping them succeed.² When benchmarked against other Accounting/Bookkeeping firms, our employee feedback placed bookminders in the top 1% for ensuring that staff are well-informed and diverse points of view are encouraged.³Perhaps our success in these areas is the reason Bookminders ranks in the top 1% of Accounting/Bookkeeping firms in terms of providing meaningful work.³

Read why Erica and Bob feel that their work at Bookminders has led to an increased sense of significance and value. Next week we’ll examine how learning and accomplishment create an Opportunity for Growth.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)
Bookminders Culture Badges and Statistics Awarded by Energage Top Workplaces Survey. https://bookminders.com/top-workplaces-awards/ (2022)

Work-Life Harmony

The Surgeon General identifies flexibility and autonomy as integral to successfully providing the Framework’s element of Work-Life Harmony. As referenced in this Framework, flexibility is the “ability of workers to work when and where is best for them” and autonomy is the degree to which an employee has “control over when, where, and how they do their work.”¹

Our staff have always benefited from an employee-centric culture built on the concepts of flexibility and work-life balance. In fact, 96% of our employees identify flexibility as the top benefit of working at Bookminders and 95% report they are comfortable adjusting their workload both up and down to best fit their life.

Through our core value of supported autonomy, Bookminders sets employees up for success. Staff have extensive control over their work and access to crucial support, resources, and guidance. 100% of our employees report they are appreciated by their manager and clients, 99% report they are provided with the tools to be successful and 100% agree they are able to easily get answers when questions arise.²

Bookminders believes that providing support is foundational to an employee having the ability to exercise their autonomy. While delivering our services does require staff to adhere to certain work methodologies and security policies, our employees are otherwise free to determine how, when, and where they work and what clients they add to their portfolio. Bookminders’ staff are treated like the professionals they are, knowing they are trusted and valued by their manager, coworkers, and clients.

Read Lisa’s story about Creating Harmony with Bookminders and stay tuned for the next Newsminders Wellness installment, Mattering at Work.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Bookminders Bi-Annual Employee Survey Results (2021)

Building a Culture that Prioritizes Employee Wellness

Over the past several years workers have reassessed what they value most from their employer while at the same time companies have examined how best to attract and retain employees. On both counts, initiatives that buoy mental and physical wellness have received renewed investment and emphasis. In fact, 62% of workers polled listed access to employee wellness benefits as a deciding factor when applying for a new job.”¹

In the accounting industry, where work requiring long hours and inflexible schedules seems unavoidable, successfully pairing work and wellness can be particularly elusive.

Despite the difficulties in obtaining this balance, firms must craft an environment where employee wellness is both possible and actively supported. Their very ability to continue operating depends on it.

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that “More than 300,000 U.S. accountants and auditors have left their jobs in the past two years, a 17% decline, and the dwindling number of college students coming into the field can’t fill the gap.”² Stress, long hours, and inflexible scheduling are among the top causes for accountants calling it quits.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Year after year, the Journal of Accountancy has identified finding and retaining talent as one of the top issues facing the industry.³ Firms that prioritize employee wellness have the best chance at closing the talent gap.

Identifying the components that lead to wellness are key to crafting a culture that enables it. The 2022 Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being Report names five essential qualities that, when centered on providing the employee with a proper voice, are meant to provide a foundation for employee wellness. The Framework’s five elements are: Opportunity for Growth, Mattering at Work, Work-Life Harmony, Connection & Community, and Protection from Harm.⁴ These foundational concepts are already quite familiar to Bookminders’ employees as they are also core components of our company culture!

Over the next several Newsminders installments, we’ll share how Bookminders’ values align with each of these wellness components. Through this knowledge share, we hope to provide potential applicants with greater insight into our culture while assisting our audit partners in examining how they can prioritize wellness at their firms.

Check back for the next installment in this series: Work-Life Harmony

Sources:

Meister, J. (2021, December 20). The Future of Work: Offering Employee Well-Being Benefits can Stem The Great Resignation. Forbes. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2021/12/16/the-future-of-work-offering-employee-well-being-benefits-can-stem-the-great-resignation/?sh=43bee10e5a1f
McCullough, B. (2022, December 28). Why so Many Accountants are Quitting. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-so-many-accountants-are-quitting-11672236016
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Workplace Mental Health & Well-being: Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being – Current Priorities of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
Journal of Accountancy Issues – Magazine Archives. Journal of Accountancy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/

Bookminders Awarded 2022 Best of King of Prussia Award

Bookminders is pleased to announce that we have been named a 2022 Best of King of Prussia honoree in the Bookkeeping Service category by the King of Prussia Award Program.

Adapted from the 2022 Best of King of Prussia Award program press release:

Each year, the King of Prussia Award Program identifies “companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category”. Best of King of Prussia honorees “enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community. These exceptional companies help make the King of Prussia area a great place to live, work and play.”

Read the full press release here.

Bookminders Philadelphia, currently led by Lisa Wentz, Director of Operations for Philadelphia and South Jersey, opened in 2006. Thank you to Lisa and our entire Bookminders Philadelphia team for continually providing excellent service to our clients. Well done!

Studio 512: Outsourced Accounting with Bookminders

Our team was back in the studio with Co-Host Rosie Newberry this past week. CEO Jessica Minkus and Director of Business Development Pamela Falkner Hartigan explored what makes outsourced accounting so attractive and what clients can expect when onboarding with Bookminders.

Visit Studio 512’s website or review the segment highlights:

Rosie asked why businesses and nonprofits choose to outsource accounting rather than hiring internally: Jessica explained that when factoring in the costs of salary and benefits, training, employee turnover, and limited access to expertise, outsourced accounting is often the stronger choice. “Leadership doesn’t have to manage the HR responsibilities of hiring an employee. They should get redundancy and an entire company of experts, not just one or two people. And, depending on the outsourced firm, there may be hosting as well meaning they take responsibility for security of the financial information.”

Pam described how Bookminders’ holistic approach to analyzing and building out client services has placed Bookminders above other outsourcing options: “At the very start of onboarding, we review each client’s process for efficiencies, design the accounting system, and manage it from start to finish.” She details the array of professionals that each client has access to: “They’ll have an onboarding accountant, an ongoing accountant, and a client relations manager all of whom are supported by the operations and management team.”

Jessica notes that Bookminders’ Quality Assurance department, led and staffed by senior staff, ensures that financials are accurate and complete. “We also continually review the file for process improvements to ensure that all clients receive a consistent, high-level of service. Not only do we manage clients’ financial info, we provide a secure, cloud-based platform so they can access their information from anywhere.”

Lastly, Rosie asked Pam what a prospective client can expect when they reach out to Bookminders: “They’ll talk to a member of our business development team. The conversation will be around whether a partnership would be mutually beneficial. If not, we often are able to refer them elsewhere.” If a client does move on to the next step, “Bookminders bills volumetrically. We will look at their activity and accounting needs to prepare the best possible estimate for our service, which is usually within a 10% variance.” After moving forward, the BD team facilitates a smooth handoff to the operations team. “That starts at the initial client meeting, throughout onboarding and even after.”

Outsourced accounting firms like Bookminders provide affordable access to many experts.

Tagged With: accounting, finance, outsourced bookkeeping

Studio 512: Why Nonprofits Partner with Bookminders

Bookminders CEO Jessica Minkus and Director of Business Development Pamela Falkner Hartigan joined Studio 512 Co-Host Rosie Newberry to discuss why nonprofit organizations choose to partner with Bookminders.

Visit Studio 512’s website or review the segment highlights:

Jessica spoke to some of the challenges nonprofits face such as the limited funds for operations personnel and general administration: “Even if organizations can get this type of funding, it’s typically not enough to afford an experienced, nonprofit accountant. There could be a lot of turnover in the position.” Jessica explained that this turnover and the need to wear multiple hats results in many staff being in the accounting system which can result in inconsistent and inaccurate financials.

Pam described another challenge in the sector, fiscal visibility: “[Nonprofits must] report back to funders how the money is being used. The effort required to track multiple funding sources is a large ask. The funders really want to know how the money is being spent, especially when there are restrictions around that. In addition, [nonprofits] must report back to their board and their program managers.”

Rosie asked what makes Bookminders so attractive to nonprofits. Jessica explained that Bookminders’ accountants typically have 10-15 years of experience prior to joining the company. Further, “the quality of our staff is just something that nonprofits can’t afford for full-time or even part-time. In addition, we train a second person on the account so there’s that redundancy.”

Pam noted that Bookminders staff “build in another layer to the internal controls and the separation of duties” which the limited staff, typical of many nonprofits, can lack.

Jessica reviewed how Bookminders helps nonprofits meet the various tracking requirements: “In real time, we are tracking all of their programs, administrative, and fundraising financial activities. At the same time, we are also tracking their use of with and without donor restricted funds.”

Pam explained why accountants are eager to refer their nonprofit clients to Bookminders: “It’s definitely the quality of service! It doesn’t matter which staff is assigned to the account, the quality of service is going to be the same [because we are] accurate, consistent, and organized.” Pam further explains that the year-end package sent to the auditor “makes the audit start process so much easier and their time more productive.”

The segment concluded with Jessica describing the company’s nonprofit experience: “Bookminders has been working with nonprofits for over 30 years, half of our clients are nonprofit clients. About 25% of our referrals come from existing and previous clients. When executive directors or board treasurers move from one organization to another, they often bring us in [at the new org].”

Bookminders tracks programs, financial activities and un- and restricted donor funds