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.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy HR strategy and workforce planning matters in tax consultants
Some 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 covers setting a yearly rhythm.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Use your own records for a defined period and note gaps in the evidence. The review may take longer if records are incomplete or spread across teams.
- 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.
We set up the interview and hiring process for tax consultants
Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.