Bookminders’ Chief Executive Officer Jessica Minkus sat down with NBC-KXAN Studio 512’s Rosie Newberry to discuss how and why our company has built an employee-centered remote-first team.
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Jessica recounted how the company was founded on a culture of remote-work and flexibility in 1991 and has continued to remain centered around these principles: “Putting the employee and their need for flexibility first is still the top priority today. We provide a supportive, non-competitive environment where we all are dedicated to each other’s success and providing an excellent product.”
Rosie and Jessica discussed how prioritizing flexibility and remote work provide support without micromanagement: “Our staff primarily work from their private home-office. Outside of the dedicated weekly client meetings with their clients, when they work is up to them,” says Minkus. “Our employees are professionals, they know the deadline they need to meet and the quality expectations. They don’t need permission to do whatever else they need or want to do throughout the day. “
“One of the features that makes remote-first possible is our secure, cloud-based environment…We’ve been perfecting this for decades and will continue to refine it to make the platform as efficient and accessible as possible.”
Referencing the results of Bookminders’ most recent blind, biannual employee survey, Jessica reports, “100% of our employees reported feeling supported and listened to by management with the vast majority citing flexibility as the top benefit of Bookminders. Our team knows they have the autonomy to schedule their work around their life, not the other way around.”
When asked to further describe Bookminders staff, Jessica reviewed the general background of employees and their motivation for joining the team: “All of our staff have a degree in accounting or finance and a minimum of 5 years’ experience, but the majority have about 10-15 years…Our primarily female workforce has worked in public accounting – they’ve been CFOs, controllers, or accounting managers. In addition to accounting expertise, they have great customer service skills and the confidence to be a trusted resource for our clients.”
“They come to us because they value work-life balance, they need optimal flexibility but want to be professionally engaged and challenged. Here, they can grow and develop even though they choose to work part-time. We’re also extremely supportive of life changes. It’s really easy for staff to throttle work up or down. 100% of our employees report that they are satisfied with their job, which leads to fantastic employee retention. Right now, half of our staff have been with us for 5 years or more and 25% over 10, and we even have a handful that have been here for more than 20 years.”
