The Garabedian Group: The First Accounting Firm · The Garabedian Group: The First Accounting Firm...

The Garabedian Group:The First Accounting Firmto Implement Results-Only Work Environment

“This is a big decision. We can’t prom-ise this to our people and then back out of it. We’re gonna jump off the cliff and

we’ll either fly... or we’ll fall.”

ALL CONTENT 2013, CULTURE RX. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Aaron Garabedian said those words to Dale Garabedian, his father, right before they made

the call to CultureRx in late 2012 to talk about a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE)

training workshop. They were taking the leap and they had big goals. The lingering

question was whether ROWE could help them achieve their goals and dreams...

The jump off the cliff was just the first step that took them in a surprising and very positive

direction.

“ROWE has changed the entire dynamic of The Garabedian Group. Everyone is enjoying the freedom of autonomy and accountability while continuing to get the stellar results we have always strived for. It works, it is fun and we are much more balanced in our work and personal lives. The word is out that [ROWE] works for TGG; people are calling and asking if we have positions open for them to join the team.”

~Dale J. Garabedian, CPA / President & CEO

INTRODUCTION

Located in Fresno, California, The Garabedian Group offers their clients comprehensive

accounting and financial planning services. The Garabedian Group are leaders in their

industry, having been the first accounting firm in the world to go through ROWE training.

Aaron Garabedian, Business Advisor, was the pioneer in his office who advocated for

changing the way they got work done. Aaron had met a colleague at a CPA firm in Florida

that operated with a more flexible work environment and it intrigued him. He said, how-

ever, that the firm didn’t have the language or system to describe or show them how to

implement such a new work environment. He got started anyway and tried making chang-

es at work, such as flexible work schedules, but there were missing pieces.

Then, he read Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson,

and the ideas in the book really resonated with him. ROWE clarified many of the principles

that were missing from their own do-it-yourself attempts. He convinced the CEO (Dale, his

dad) to engage in a ROWE Team Workshop.

To learn more about Results-Only Work Environment, v is i t us at www.gorowe.com

http://www.gorowe.com/training/team-workshop/

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Work-Sucks-How-Fix/dp/1591842921


But let’s back up. There’s a missing piece to the story. In part, this is Aaron’s story, but it’s

bigger than that. This is a story about CPA Culture.

When Aaron graduated from college, he went to work for one of the biggest accounting

firms in the country. The culture there, he said, was all-consuming. “It’s all about subsum-

ing the individual into the company; everyone working tons of hours, everyone giving all of

their time to the company. That’s accounting culture.”

The game was obvious. You arrive early and leave late. You might only work 5 hours of

those 9-10 hours you put in at the office, but you’re there and committed to the company.

Aaron has a classic story about how one of his coworkers would send hundreds of instant

messages to him in a day. He counted up the amount of time it would take to IM that

much and figured he must spend at least 3-4 hours just messaging. Not even working or

focused on results. Something was wrong with this picture.

CPA Culture


He saw how Dale Garabedian, his father, who then worked at a small accounting firm as a

partner, was part of the culture as well. He noticed at the large firm how, even with all of the

resources and people and money they had, everyone still worked crazy hours and sacrificed

their personal lives and family for the company. It didn’t matter if the company was big or

small, the culture demanded a focus on hours and presenteeism (being physically present

but not actually working).

He was sick of the game and sick of accounting culture. His dad formed a new company,

and Aaron joined him–with an understanding that together they would change things.

Now, The Garabedian Group’s goal is a lofty one: to change the way the accounting industry

operates. Accounting is the oldest operating business model; it’s been around for over 200

years. It’s a generational culture steeped in tradition and slow to change.

The Garabedian Group, along with a cadre

of like-minded CPA firms, is changing the

way they do business. Before implementing

ROWE, The Garabedian Group had transi-

tioned to a value-based pricing model, some-

thing almost unheard of in the accounting

industry. They wanted to focus on results for

their clients, not hours. The focus on billable

hours, Aaron realized, was the thing that was

keeping everyone locked in a game of “who

can put in the most face-time at work.” The

value proposition they wanted to offer clients

would be about achieving agreed upon ex-

pectations and getting results, period.

Value-Based Pricing


The Group had several goals when they entered into ROWE training.

Structure to Value-Based Pricing Model

They wanted to mold operations and corporate culture to fit the new value-based pricing

model. The traditional work environment, and the culture that goes with it, was obviously

broken. A focus on 100% autonomy and accountability was essential to realizing the full

potential of value-based pricing.

Sustainable Growth

As a small firm that began with just three people, they experienced tremendous growth and

tripled their revenue in just a few years. During that time, they had a lot of turnover, some

years as high as 50-60%. They grew from 4 employees to 17. Dale desired to leave a legacy

with his firm and he felt a strong obligation to employees and their families. They believed

ROWE would attract and retain quality staff, as well as create a work environment that would

engage employees to do their most productive work, while not burning out.

Freedom

They wanted to give their staff and leadership the freedom to live life as they pleased as long

as they were meeting the goals of the company. The team loved the idea, but didn’t know

how to implement it. They were stuck in the paradigm of the traditional work culture and

recognized the need for effective training to make ROWE work for them.

Goals for Implementing ROWE


The Garabedian Group faced the typical challenges of CPA Culture like presenteeism,

Sludge, distrust, and engagement--internal challenges. However, client relationships and

customer service were always a strength.

Before ROWE, there was a disconnect between value pricing and how they operated. One

of the missing pieces in their culture, as Aaron admits, was the lack of clear communication

of their vision and expectations. They had failed to make it clear why value pricing was good

for clients and the employees and the company.

The message needed to be loud and clear: You’re not just here to make money for the

owner (a very ingrained mentality in CPA culture which causes a lot of resentment, distrust,

and therefore lower engagement).

The team needed a direct tie to what the organizational goals were and how to achieve

them.

Challenges


Results

Alignment

The biggest impact of ROWE training, Aaron says, is that they were able to fully align all of

their resources so that everyone is working as a team, with clear expectations and shared vi-

sion. They are now creating a culture where it’s not all about money and sacrificing personal

lives for the company. The new organizational goal: “To improve the quality of life for clients

and the team.”

Profitability

And yet, not surprisingly to those who understand the principles of ROWE and intrinsic mo-

tivation, profitability continued to grow. TGG’s motto is that if they make their clients happy,

and the team is healthy, the money will follow. And it has.

Others outside the organization might have expected that they would become stagnant, or

overstaffed, but that is not what happened. TGG is still growing at 10-15% annually. Aaron

admits they could be pushing people harder, demanding more of staff to make more prof-

its...but at what cost? Dale Garabedian, as the owner of his legacy, has vision to say “there’s

more to life than just money. Are we improving quality of life for our clients and for our team?

Measuring by dollars and cents is one metric, but not our only metric.”


Productivity

Productivity skyrocketed. “Actually,” Aaron said, “saying productivity has skyrocketed would

be an understatement.”

Before ROWE, people would be coming in to the office and being present, but not always

working productively. Now their time is their own and work is more focused; social calls,

drivebys, and other time wasters were cut back tremendously once staff knew that they

were being held accountable to results, and only results.

Accountability

Before ROWE, there was a lack of consequences for non-performance because there were

no clear expectations, no shared vision. “When you don’t start at the highest level, people

just do whatever they want to do and make excuses like ‘I wasn’t assigned any work.’” Now

it’s flipped on its head. Everyone knows their goals, guidelines, and expectations through

clear communication, and everyone holds everyone else accountable. They’re now experi-

encing true accountability among coworkers; they don’t come to the boss but go directly to

each other.

Customer service is still excellent, and although customers may not be getting a different

experience, the internal processes have changed dramatically and improved the personal

lives of the team.


Testimonials

“ROWE has allowed me to work on my health and not stress that I am not at work. It has taken a large amount of stress out of my life which has made me more productive and I believe, the entire office more productive. We have even won some awards because of the ROWE system.” Kristina Fabbian / Marketing Director

“We all now have permission to set expectations and give team members the framework in which to be more planful–not only with themselves, but with other team members as well.”

Sonja Fabbian / Business Advisor & Chief Administrator

“My entire career I’ve attempted to achieve the elusive “work-life balance”. I constantly struggled with feelings of guilt. I would feel guilty when I had to be at work when my chil-dren really just needed me home and when I was home I would feel guilty that I should be at work. It was a vicious cycle. Being freed up of the need to be in a physical location from the hours of 8 to 5 I can now balance both aspects of my life much easier. My energy is not wasted on guilt but rather being productive or caring for the needs of my family when the need arises. Both need not happen between the hours of 8 to 5.”

Jennifer McGarry, CPA / Business Advisor & Audit Manager

“ROWE has definitely influenced the culture of the firm. The team definitely seems happier because they are given an opportunity to present their results rather than just their pres-ence.”

Lena Oselsky / Business Advisor & Staff Accountant (new college graduate)


“ROWE is the type of culture you dream of having in any workplace. The freedom has al-lowed our team to be more efficient at work and make more time to enjoy our lives outside of work because we have control over our schedules. At our firm, change is good, and this has been the best change yet!”

Kimberly Lau / Business Advisor & Staff Accountant

“The big underlying issue for me was guilt for not having my butt in the chair. If they can’t see you, you must not be working. BUT, by changing focus to the result... that feeling of guilt is gone.”

Chris Chapman, CPA / Business Advisor & Tax Manager

“ROWE allows for “life” to happen. Everything from assisting family members that would not normally fall under sick or vacation time to taking off half a day to get on the road out of town to avoid traffic. It works for a workable life.”

Shari Hodges / Admin

Since The Garabedian Group implemented ROWE, going to work everyday is not just about getting in your hours from 8:00 to 5:00. It’s not about being at the office because we have to be. We have the ability to work wherever we want, whenever we want as long as we get our work done. In ROWE, we get our work done because we want to be successful and we care about what we do and through that mindset it creates a better quality of life. We see a change in our lives everyday and are grateful for this new and improved work environment.

Ali Byrnes / Business Advisor


Learn more about The Garabedian Group at

www.thegarabediangroup.com

About Results-Only Work Environment

“The Results-Only Work Environment is one of the biggest ideas in talent in the last decade. ROWE is more than a nudge in the direction of more

flexibility and autonomy—it’s a radical shift in the way we think about work, responsibility, and success.”

—Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

Learn more

www.thegarabediangroup.com


Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a management strategy where employees

are evaluated on performance, not presence. In a ROWE, people focus on results and only

results, increasing your organization’s performance while cultivating the right environment for

people to manage all the demands in their lives...including work.

With ROWE:

• Teamwork, morale and engagement soar, which leads to fewer workers feeling

overworked, stressed out or guilty.

• Employees have equal parts autonomy and accountability.

• There is no judgment on how people spend their time, so people at all levels stop wasting

the company’s time and money.

Bottom Line for your Company:

• Increase productivity, innovation & efficiency

• Talent attraction and retention

• Optimization of space

• Elimination of wasteful processes

Get CultureRx training for your team or book a speaker for your next event:

visit gorowe.com/training or gorowe.com/speaking.

http://www.gorowe.com/training

http://www.gorowe.com/speaking

The Garabedian Group: The First Accounting Firm · The Garabedian Group: The First Accounting Firm...

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