In Florida, Open Ears and Open Doors

One of the most necessary tools in running a successful practice is the communication between employees and their higher-ups. Communication not only ensures that staff and managers are consistently on the same page, but it also invests in your staff by realizing their aspirations and making them a reality.

At South Florida Top 100 Firm Kaufman Rossin, talking with and listening to employeesis at the forefront of firm culture, which helps explain why they ranked No. 1 among large firms on this year’s list of the Best Firms to Work For — a distinction they’ve held several times since the list was created nine years ago. “The work environment hasbeen that [way] for 50 years and it’s reallyin our DNA; it’s not something we reallystarted when it got trendy,” said managing principal Blain Heckaman. “It’s really just about caring for our people and creating a collaborative, nurturing environment thatfocuses on them being successful. We thinkthat leads to our clients’ success and thembeing happy as well.”

Talk the talk

Founded in 1962, Kaufman Rossin was built with a particular focus on employees — running “a people business focused on numbers,” according to their Web site. “This ensures that our clients will get the best possible service, which means success for our business.”

In order to achieve this level of trust, Heckaman believes that providing a direct channel to their staff allows the transparency and empathy needed to create successful careers.

“For us, it starts with communication,” he said. “We’re talking to our employees about their careers and what they want to accomplish in their careers. The last thing you want to hear is somebody [headed] out the door say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize you felt that way about me and my performance.’ It’s really critical to stay ahead of that.”

“We stress that we have an open-door policy — I think a lot of people say those things, but very few actually follow through with what that means,” said human resources manager Joy Batteen. “We do listen to our employees; we want to know what they want to say. We do that through informal and formal practices — we really do live what we say about people.”

Heckaman added that listening is only half the equation, though. Actions still speak louder than words today, as well as being flexible enough to act on your staff’s needs.

“It’s easy to listen, but you also need to react to the ever-changing demands of employees and how they work,” he said. “We’ve been very focused on bringing technology and solutions to areas that are difficult and less enjoyable to work in. We’re changing our work environment to be more open and more collaborative, which is the way people want to work today. You’ve got to listen, but you’ve also got to be able to evolve, and I think for us, if you want to listen to people and help them be successful, you’ve got to engage them and work towards the environment they want, which is ever-changing.”

Power to the people

With a keen eye and open ear for staff, it isn’t too hard to tell why Kaufman & Rossin has created a happy staff that not only likes who they work for, but who they work with.

“I like to tell this story of several years ago, when YouTube videos were big, we just walked around with an iPhone and asked people why they think Kaufman is a great place to work, and literally 95 percent of people said the people,” recalled Batteen. “We didn’t stage or plan it … It was so genuine and great to see that what we say on the outside, people really are living that. It really is the people. I like coming into work because I like what we do and I like the people I work with.”

In turn, Kaufman’s people give back to their communities across South Florida. In addition to the standard Jeans Days, fundraisers and office donations, Heckaman estimated that approximately 100 of the firm’s professionals are serving on boards in community organizations. He said that Kaufman looks to help their people in charitable endeavors as best they can, again, for the good of the firm and those they serve.

“Our financial support follows our people, said Heckaman. “We want our people to be involved with causes that they care about. It puts us in a right place in our community, but also when people are passionate about what they do, it’s effective and a big focus of our organizations. You can be brand-new to the firm and if you have an organization or cause you believe in, we’ll support that.”

This time tomorrow

No firm becomes a Best Firm to Work For by happenstance, so it’s only natural that Kaufman Rossin is still looking for ways to stay successful for years to come.

“We have some of our future leaders involved with programs where they’re tasked to come up with projects that can better the firm, and one of those is the diversity initiative,” added Batteen. “It’s really been surprising and exciting how many people have been involved in all this because we’re focusing on things like work/life balance and career advancement.”

“One of our big focus areas is innovation and working with our line employees on what processes and how they work can be improved to change their work life, with the idea of doing it better, faster, smarter,” said Heckaman. “Work/life balance is so key today and it’s so important to move the dial on how we work, so we can spend less time working and more time living.”