HR strategy and workforce planning for Tax consultants: staffing for a season without losing the skill
Tax work is uneven by nature. A workforce plan shows how many hands the practice needs each month, who stays all year and when to start hiring, so the next season is not a scramble.
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Share your requirementsWhy HR strategy and workforce planning matters in tax consultants
Many tax practices decide staffing a fortnight before the rush. Advertisements go out late, new joiners reach a desk when files are already piling up, and the principal trains them during the busiest weeks. By the time they are useful, the peak is over.
A workforce plan works back from the file count. It lists the work in each month, the number of preparers, reviewers and desk staff needed, and the date by which each must be in place. Then it marks which roles are core and which are seasonal, and plans the retention of both.
How to set it up
1. Count last year's work by month
Pull the number of files, notices and walk-ins for each month, split by client type if you can. Estimate what changed this year.
2. Convert work into roles
Decide how many files a preparer and a reviewer can finish in a week, and work out roles needed in each month.
3. Mark core and seasonal roles
Decide who must be on the payroll all year and where seasonal help is sensible. Plan work for the core in the quiet months.
4. Set hiring dates
Work back from the peak, allowing time for search, joining and training. Ask last year's good seasonal staff first.
5. Review in the quiet months
Compare the plan with the actual season, note the gaps and adjust. The HR process consulting service can help set a yearly rhythm.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Find the month when the highest number of files arrived and count the people available.
- See when last year's seasonal hires were advertised and when they started.
- List which staff have no useful work in the quiet months.
- Check whether last year's best seasonal people were invited back.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach HR strategy and workforce planning in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Several months ahead. Once the current season ends, review it while memory is fresh and set hiring dates for the next one.
Offering returning staff a clear, fair arrangement helps them come back. Take advice from a qualified professional on how seasonal terms should be written.
Review of past files, client advisory work, planning, learning sessions and building the backups for expert tasks. Plan this in advance so quiet does not mean idle.