I am here to ask you one simple question. Do you ever get tired and frustrated with having the same conversation over and over again about the shortage of talent in US public accounting firms?

I know that for myself, it is a conversation that I've been having for almost 10 years. It doesn't ever seem to change or evolve and requires regular discussion but without any new and creative solutions or ideas.

My name is Lindsay Gaal. I am the Global Chief People Officer for Makosi and a former CHRO of a US national public accounting firm. And I am here today to share with you my story about how I started with Makosi, and not only about how I started with them, but how I took my relationship with them from tactical to strategic, and how they became a part of my overall workforce planning strategy.

I started working with Makosi a few years ago, again, as the CHRO of a national public accounting firm. And in that time, when I started, just like most others, I started from a tactical approach; I need X number of consultants, and I need them to help me in January, February, March, and most specifically February and March. I am going to onboard them, train them, off-board them, and then bring them back again the next year.

Over time, I quickly realized that there was more of a strategic approach that I could take there. So, I spent some time working with Darren Isaacs, the CEO, and Co-founder of Makosi, about how we can partner together to better create a strategic workforce planning program between Makosi and my accounting firm. And so, what that evolved into is taking on consultants from Makosi, not only for busy season, but long term. So, with needs in the summer and in the fall for interim planning for the work that they would then do in the following busy season, because the earlier they got on, the more efficient they would be in busy season into a future talent pipeline as well.

So, what that meant for me was bringing them on as consultants into sponsorship for visas, into green card and permanent residency applications. So, I really started to look at Makosi as a talent pipeline for my firm. And when I started to take that approach, I started to release the pressure valves we were facing in the organization, as it related to the shortage of talent in U.S. public accounting firms.

Not only did I release the pressure valve, but I gave my partners an opportunity to be able to go out and develop more business in existing areas, and in new niche areas- all in a way that they weren't able to before.

When you face this talent shortage, your confidence in being able to deliver to existing and new clients is significantly impacted. But when you find ways to resolve those challenges with other, different, and new workforce planning strategies, you can elevate your firm to a whole other level. And it's not just about a contingent workforce or an outsourcing methodology, it is about a variable and complementary workforce that you can implement to improve your organization in more ways than just shortages of talent and scheduling issues. It increases diversity, expands culture, and brings new thoughts into your organization that didn't exist prior to that.

It also gives your existing employees and the new ones the opportunity to develop a curriculum, teach training, coach, and mentor your staff. In other words, at other times they would say, “I'm too busy, I can't take on the non-billable work. I need to focus all my time and energy on the clients because I've scheduled more hours in a week than I have the capacity for.” And we have all seen the negative impact that it could have on our existing workforce.

So, by supplementing your workforce with a variable workforce and a future talent pipeline of known consultants that you have experience with and that you can then bring on full-time, you are not only positively impacting your existing clients, but you can also bring on new clients with some breathing room and you can give an opportunity to your existing and new employees that no other firm has the ability to do.

So, it didn't take me long to realize that you can take a tactical approach and make it far more strategic, by partnering with Makosi and developing that workforce planning strategy. If it’s something you’re interested in learning more about, please feel free to reach out, and we can discuss how I implemented it in my organization, and how it might work within yours.

I am happy to take a chat and we can grab a cup of coffee and connect, because there's so much room to grow and Makosi is here to help you with that.