Who's Really the BOSS?

There may be errors in spelling, grammar, and accuracy in this machine-generated transcript.

Rachel Dillon: Hi, I'm Rachel Dillon, and together with my husband, Marcus Dillon, we lead Who's Really the Boss podcast, where we highlight the joys and challenges of running a business with your spouse or family. Our mission is to strengthen families and businesses by helping listeners avoid the mistakes we have made so they can lead.And live happily ever after.

Rachel Dillon: Welcome back to [00:00:30] another episode of Who's Really the Boss podcast.

Marcus Dillon: Hey, thanks for having me back.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Um, this, I guess episode will be talking about our recent trip to Florida. Um, that was for a work, uh, purpose in that we hosted our mid-year team retreat, and so we have to record the episode because we would talk about it anyway. So it just makes sense to just include it as its own episode [00:01:00] rather than trying to, you know, give a brief little update and then move on to a different topic.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So this was a travel retreat. We as a virtual firm really believe in seeing our people still. And however we can see that our people. So we bring them together at least twice a year. Uh, the last time we did a travel trip like this, uh, was three years ago when DBA turned ten years old. Kind of a celebration, uh, just to share [00:01:30] with the team and their spouses. So, um, three years later, we wanted to do a similar travel trip just because we felt like, um, some new people had come on. Some additional spouses, obviously with those new people, and just get them together in a more ideal setting, a more destination, um, than Katy, Texas, you know, where it typically is. So it was good. Um, I think people question like the role of [00:02:00] retreats, maybe even if you are together every day and not virtual, we still have always believed in retreat, setting, vision, mission values, discussing firm goals, retreats have also been a way for us to be transparent with the team on the goals we're setting and where we're at in those goals. So we covered some of that as well. But it was always it's always good to have people together. So we wanted to to do [00:02:30] something a little bit different than we've done here in the last 2 or 3 years.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, so we took that trip in 2021 to Mexico, where we took the team and their spouses and people. We are now recording in mid 2024, and our team members who went on that trip are still talking about that trip. So it made it an easy yes to think about If we are flying people paying for hotels, people are having to rearrange schedules anyway for us to [00:03:00] do any type of in-person get together. Why bring them to Houston in the middle of the summer, when we could go to the beach in the middle of the summer? And so that was something that we decided on pretty early on. We asked people if they preferred beach or mountains, and we landed on beach was the majority of what people wanted, even though a lot of us actually live in the hot, people still wanted [00:03:30] to go to the, uh, sand, sun, sea. That was kind of preference.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So we polled the audience. Right. So if you're thinking about doing this before you spend a dollar and choose the wrong destination, know what your people like, know what they would see as a a good change compared to where you maybe have a retreat. Um, because there will be cost associated with it. So our whole team, every single one of them had to [00:04:00] travel. Uh, both fly, drive, uh, drive to the airport, you know, and then Uber to the hotel from the airport that they flew into. So travel was a consideration on this retreat for everybody. That's an additional expense. We could have easily had it, um, near where either we live or where other team members live to cut down on some of that travel. But we chose for a variety of reasons. So, uh, why don't we talk a little bit about what that travel look like? And if you're thinking about [00:04:30] doing a trip like this, which we will also talk about the the benefits of this trip even more, what are some of those considerations on just travel?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, considerations for sure are how far are people having to travel to get to the airport, what flights actually leave, um, or have nonstop routes to the destination that you're trying to get to. And then once they arrive at that airport destination, how far, then, is [00:05:00] it to go to the resort, the hotel, conference center, whatever it is that you're going to? We didn't necessarily want people to have a full day of travel, and definitely not more than one day of travel. We didn't want, um, really, We didn't have the ability on this time. We could have to do group transportation from the airport to the hotel, because we left that up to individuals since they were bringing spouses, [00:05:30] since they know what airports are closest to them, and timing as far as for their family and how they were dropping off and coordinating pets and kids. We let people pick kind of. We gave them the airports that were nearest by. We chose a place that had multiple options for close airports with multiple different airlines. Just that way gave everyone options that they didn't have to travel significantly in addition to their flights [00:06:00] that they were taking now. Best laid plans, right? You try that and And then the reality is you cannot control, um, what layovers look like, what delays look like, or if there were a canceled flight or something like that, or even traffic. Once you get there, maybe it's only a ten miles from the airport, but there's major accident or heavy traffic, and now you're still having an hour plus travel from the airport. So those are some things we let our individual [00:06:30] team members book the flights that worked best for themselves and their spouse.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So, um, with having team members from California to Texas to Michigan to Alabama, Colorado, uh, we just could not control that as much as we did three years ago, when most were still in the Houston area. It was just a lot easier to say, hey, show up at this airport and we're all going to fly on the same plane. That that also has some concerns if the plane goes down. Right. But [00:07:00] it's not our problem anymore if we're on that plane. So, um, those were some considerations that we gave up a little bit of control in the travel and seeing now you know how that worked out, I kind of want to get some of that control back on the next one. If you are thinking through travel, I mean, obviously there's always, um, you know, road travel, uh, road trips, I guess, if you will, versus flight. So just factor that into if, if you're going to have, uh, destination retreat of some type, obviously, if you've [00:07:30] planned it out the right way and you know how to do it, it could be tax deductible, all that fun stuff if you're a business owner. But, um, travel is a big expense. The other thing is we were looking through, um, and kind of polling the audience. Um, one is, as you mentioned, we went to Mexico in the past.

Marcus Dillon: And you have to ask, does everybody have a passport because you want the whole team there if possible. And so we did have a few people that did not have passports. So, um, we just made the decision to [00:08:00] kind of keep it domestic and with domestic. We also, uh, also first sought out all inclusive resorts just because we wanted meals, kind of, um, any drinks that that would have been enjoyed all inclusive on something like this is always more ideal. Um, we sought out just US based, all inclusive resorts. There aren't many compared to international all inclusive resorts and so something to keep in mind [00:08:30] there. Um, and then we actually landed on Florida. Um, because there was an all inclusive, um, resort in Destin. And that's how we actually got introduced to the Henderson, um, Beach Resort, I guess, is where we stayed. Uh, there's also a Henderson Beach Inn, which is all inclusive, but it's smaller and could not handle the size of our team with 15 around 15 rooms. So, um, but those are some of the [00:09:00] considerations. So we ultimately were not able to do all inclusive this time around. We will push for all inclusive the second time, uh, here on out, uh, just because it is so much easier than coordinating kind of meals and drinks and all that stuff.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, our team members are already working on passports and making sure that no passports are expired for as early as next year at this time. So looking forward to the next one. Give [00:09:30] some highlights, Marcus of your favorite parts of the retreat, and then we'll talk through specifically the retreat where we actually did the team meeting. Um, what we covered, how it went, why it was so important. Uh, overall, the trip was a huge success. So what were some of the highlights of the fun things or the free time that was mixed in with that trip?

Marcus Dillon: Uh, the number one thing is just seeing people in person. And, uh, part [00:10:00] of that is extending, you know, the DBA team to their spouses. So seeing spouses catching up with them. Um, just getting to know personalities even better than you knew before. Um, and maybe and then maybe meeting spouses for the first time. So, um, there's a lot of that this time around, which, I mean, that's just that's the primary objective. The second thing I would say is like having conversations that may be awkward over [00:10:30] video, like having those in person, like rolling out new bonus, you know, structure, rolling out, um, different goals or, uh, where we're tracking on those goals and being able to answer questions in person was by far way better, um, than it would have been virtually. And then, uh, all the all the fun in between, you know, the the hours spent in the pool or at the beach, um, the boat ride. That was kind of a a little [00:11:00] excursion that we did as a team. Um, those are the things that, you know, for things that really stand out for me as whenever I look back on this. Um, and then the fifth would probably be the, the wrap up dinner, you know, just sending off everybody kind of, uh, speaking to the team, speaking into individual team members, um, in front of their spouses, you know, so they could hear how much they mean to me, to you, to the whole, you know, organization. I think that goes a long way. So those those are five things that [00:11:30] I was able to come up with on the fly.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. No, those are excellent. My favorite part of the whole entire four days. And I think the the one overarching thing that makes it just such a huge success. When we released the team after our meeting for free time, we hadn't really scheduled anything. We gave people the itinerary, um, and the agenda ahead of time. We gave [00:12:00] recommendations as a team. We kind of put together some recommendations of nearby attractions and restaurants, grocery stores, that kind of thing, and just told people you have, you know, a lot of free time with your spouse. A lot of us have kids or, you know, working spouses. So schedules don't always line up. So we wanted to give that time back to the team, a trip for them to spend that time however they wanted. And we came out after eating after our team meeting, [00:12:30] and our whole entire team was out at the beach, sitting in the sand together. So unplanned. Um, just gravitated towards each other multiple times at the pool, same thing. And it wasn't like there was only one pool and there was nothing else to do. Like, of course you meet up with each other. There were three different pools and a beach, plus a ton of other attractions around us in Destin, Florida. So the fact that we all ended up together [00:13:00] in a place, um, really made that special. It really just reminded me that we met some of our team members for the very first time in person at this retreat. We met multiple spouses in person for the very first time at this retreat. And yet it's like have been friends for a long time. The team, you know, as a whole, um, individually, have been friends for a long time, genuinely care about [00:13:30] and like each other, want to spend time together.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And we some of some of the people that have come to DBA over the years were friends first. So like that's, you know, we use that word friends. I know some people are like, your work should not be considered family or friends, but like it, the relationship started off that way. Um, first. So I think it's just easier to continue. Ultimately, it all comes back to culture and we hire and retain people based on like culture fit. Um, [00:14:00] probably more so than like technical, um, capabilities. Uh, so those are the things like when we look at who we're hiring, one of the questions that the team thinks about in those interviews is, could you sit on a beach with this person? Could you go have drinks at the bar with this person, or would you not want to hang out? You know, and it just kind of goes back to, um, small team. Like that's just that's who we are. And those questions definitely come up.

Rachel Dillon: I think that's like [00:14:30] the final deciding factor. Um, after after we've kind of vetted skills and, uh, experience and value that they could bring to the clients and the team. Definitely. The final question is, you know, could you spend would you want to spend a few days off or on vacation with this person? So if we can answer yes to that, it's a yes. It's a yes to the hire for sure.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So, [00:15:00] um, Kurt, you were correct. Like everybody. But one couple ended up on the beach and the other the couple that was not there was, uh, doing, uh, parasailing. Right. Is that the right? Yes.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Maybe that's what brought us to the beach. And it wasn't so coincidental that we were all there. We were all waiting for, um, Holly and Chris to come literally flying by in the air, uh, from where we were set out on the beach. So. [00:15:30] Yeah, that's fun.

Marcus Dillon: But. And that all that to say, like, uh, we wanted to include spouses. We want buy in from the spouses. We want to make sure that, um, if a team member has a bad day, that the spouse is kind of in our, um, like an advocate of us to make sure that, you know, hey, they're listening. And if if there are any words of wisdom they can give because they want to go on the next trip, right? You know, so I think those are some of the comments that we got from spouses after, um, [00:16:00] that were told directly to our team members. Right? Is you can never leave DBA because then it's like me breaking up with DBA. Um, so those are some of the comments. The other cool thing before we get into actually what we what like we covered as a business on the retreat. Um, it was so like good to see that two of like, uh, a team member and spouse, like they never traveled before. So it was a new marriage. They never traveled together before. So [00:16:30] this was like their first trip. And, um, another team member, they haven't traveled together in like 13 or 14 years as a couple because they got pregnant and had kids and just didn't have time for that or made time for that.

Marcus Dillon: And then two others are, you know, in the final stages of a pregnancy, and this is kind of used as a getaway for them prior to, you know, babies coming and a good reset as a couple. Um, so that was awesome to be a part of that, [00:17:00] to provide space for that. And I think everybody enjoyed that. Um, uh, one spouse couldn't come because of just, uh, responsibilities with children and everything at home so that, you know, you kind of have to work through that. But all the team members came, and then one spouse left early to go to a soccer game. You know, a pretty big soccer game in Dallas. Um, so they made the effort to be there the majority of the time. But you kind of work through some of those things. You definitely, uh, want [00:17:30] people, everyone on the team there, because if not, we had that happen before where one of the team members wasn't there on the Mexico trip, and they were definitely missed. You know, I think that's the thing. And they're still on the team. Um, but even that, you know, it's like they missed out on some of those, um, stories that we still tell to this day.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Well, let's get into let's kind of go day by day, but let's definitely camp out on the team meeting part of the retreat. I think [00:18:00] it's important to talk through what we did the first night or upon arrival, because that really set the tone for the time that we spent together as just a team the next morning. So when we arrived the first night again, people were checking in at different times, arriving at different times, and just had a little bit of time to get situated and get settled. Then we scheduled a happy hour meet and greet just later in the evening, a time [00:18:30] we did 8 p.m. that just gave everyone the chance to arrive and get settled and then come together for spouses to meet for us to, you know, give hugs and handshakes in person to those people who we hadn't had that opportunity to do that with yet.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. Just get eyes on people. Um, some people traveled from California to Florida with a layover. Um, I think, uh, Elena was the last to arrive. She had the longest, you know, flights [00:19:00] as well. So some people showed up early that day. Some people showed up the day before. They just. It's it was all over the board. So you want to create a time whenever you can get eyes on people and, you know, just make sure that they made it all right, especially if the next day is more of a hey, our time together is dedicated to like, business or deeper conversations. So, um, yeah, it was a great, um, kickoff, I guess, if you will. Um, we [00:19:30] did it late enough to where we were able to see a great sunset at a rooftop bar at the hotel. Made it real easy for people. Um, whenever you do these type of destination events, you want to center it as much around the hotel or the immediate area if you possibly can, just because you don't want people like renting cars and ubering multiple places if you don't have to. So, um, that's just something to keep in mind whenever you do host these events. And when we do this in in town, so to speak, [00:20:00] as well, we always kind of have a night, um, happy hour or dinner for those team members that are traveling in just to make sure that they know, hey, we're going to start bright and early the next day. Get here, uh, have the day before, be your travel day, and you're not trying to wake up at 4 a.m. to get to town to be, you know, present for a nine. 9 a.m. meeting. So this is something that we do, whether it's local, I guess. Retreat or destination. Retreat.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. [00:20:30] And our team was on best behavior. They knew again, they already knew the schedule for the next day that there was going to be plenty of time to kind of unwind and relax and let loose. But maybe the first night wasn't the best night to, like, go crazy. So they were everybody was on their very best behavior. And we started the next morning early and dedicated that very first morning, which happened to be a Saturday for us. No one complained, no one had any issues [00:21:00] with it. But we started Saturday morning off with breakfast and then our team meeting here was something that we learned more recently is that renting hotel conference rooms are

Rachel Dillon: typically expensive. They typically not necessarily the room charge. Typically they'll actually waive the room charge and, you know, give you such a great deal. What they're charging you is a food and beverage minimum, clearly, [00:21:30] because that's where they're able to make the money. Um, and so on that we learned that if possible, if it works for your team, it's more cost effective actually, to rent a suite if it's large enough for your team and conducive to as far as having like a TV screen of some sort, to be able to display any visual information that you need than it is to have a conference room. The other piece of that [00:22:00] is it's much more, um, like relaxed and intimate of a setting than, you know, kind of a corporate or conference like ballroom type of a setting.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I think I think that's a great point. And, um, obviously our room is is the larger room. So we're the benefit of that, uh, throughout the rest of the stay as well. But it's amazing how far the dollar goes in just a larger room versus that conference room with food and beverage minimums. If [00:22:30] another option is if there's a restaurant closed, you could look at options there if you know the area really well, um, and see if they have a back room that you could kind of be in for a bit. But in this case, like when we were going over things about goals and, uh, different pay structures and things like that, having a nice, comfortable couch, a lot of comfortable chairs, a TV screen that we could actually screencast to was was very helpful. Um, but just everybody able to, [00:23:00] um, you know, kind of not let their guards down but be comfortable enough to, to speak their piece versus just being so business, ey, I guess, you know, with the feel of a conference room.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. And another way really to elevate team members. And I thought about this after though it may feel awkward being taking over someone else's room, but if there is a team member that you wanted to kind of elevate or celebrate, you could always give that team member that room, [00:23:30] that special room, if you wanted. So if you wanted to highlight a birthday or anniversary or some kind of goal that they achieved, you could do that as well. So you just have they just have to be willing to let the whole team into their room. Um, and it's presentable for whenever that meeting time happens.

Marcus Dillon: Well, that would be like so you're saying that we wouldn't get that would be kind of awkward if we, like, roomed with somebody. So that would, uh, you know, be a be a switch.

Rachel Dillon: Have let them have the good room [00:24:00] and we would take a regular room. Um, in that there is.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. That's that's a good thought. The other piece that you look at is we actually prefer hotels in these situations. We've talked to plenty of people, uh, that are like, you should just rent a couple of big Airbnbs or three Airbnbs, Vrbos, whatever. Um, and just kind of, you know, do it that way, which that's great. That's a feel. Um, you and I, you want to talk through, like why we've never considered that, um, and why we've stayed in hotels. [00:24:30]

Rachel Dillon: I think we have talked through this on a previous episode, but I still feel like I'm working when I stay in an Airbnb. I feel like if I'm cooking, which it to me, it's neither here nor there, like, I don't, I can take it or leave it. I don't have like a passion for cooking, but it doesn't. It's not awful. I don't hate it. And so I could do it. Um, but I don't feel like I'm on vacation. It feels like another day if I'm doing laundry or sweeping floors or, um, cooking. [00:25:00] I. That feels like home. So that doesn't really feel like much of a vacation. So at the hotel, when I can leave my room and they come in and they make the bed and clean up the towels and, you know, kind of replace those things that you've used or, you know, I can walk down to any one of the restaurants and have service and walk away and somebody else cleans up the mess after me. I'm choosing that for, you know, a time to relax.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And then it just gives everybody else their own space because [00:25:30] in the Airbnb or Vrbo, our team, we it would have to be a very, very large house, pretty much a mini hotel. Um, and so you don't want to like, um, break up the team into two groups. Like, that would be awkward. Like, I'm going to your house. I'm staying in my house. Um, but then it also like, if you didn't want to hang out with the team, like, you'd pretty much have to be gone all day. So, like, that's something to keep in mind whenever you are considering Airbnb, Vrbo [00:26:00] or hotel slash resort.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So let's talk about the kind of the structure of that team meeting and what we typically this is what we always start with. Now for any retreat, um, is starting with looking back at the goals or the progress towards the goals that we've set for that year or that half year. So if it's a mid-year retreat like the one that we just had, we go back to December [00:26:30] when we set the objectives and goals for the entire year, and we start marking off or reflecting on the progress that we've made and then celebrating those achievements for the ones that have been completed or have made great headway.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Marcus Dillon: And it's it's a slide. So we just start with that slide. It's the slide from the previous retreat. So we just copy and paste whenever you are building out a slide deck. And then obviously you add in animations like check Mark. [00:27:00] That one's done. Uh, let's move on to the next ones that we still have yet to, to kind of go through. So, um, I think we've always done a good job, whether it's mid-year retreat, kind of giving progress on the goals or the things that we've set out to achieve and then year end retreat, obviously it's did we complete these or not? Like this is what we said we would do for the year. Maybe we made a decision like that. This wasn't a priority for this year and we still talk into that. But it is. How do you tie it all together from [00:27:30] the mid-year retreat to the to the annual retreat? And then, you know, even forward, here is the plan that we're going to continue to pursue.

Rachel Dillon: So some of those celebrations and goals that we had made progress on or completed hiring new team members, um, onboarding new clients, we had some career or professional development objectives that we'll talk about. We had whole sections of the team meeting dedicated to [00:28:00] that and some process improvement goals, as well as some objectives that have been we've been talking about and making great progress towards as far as helping the accounting industry and our kind of peer community and network.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, so there was there was a few different things rolled out. I would say we were at the beach like we were in Destin, Florida. We weren't going over anything too heavy or technical. It was also a Saturday morning. We [00:28:30] wanted to keep that comfortable vibe going. Um, so we just we talked about, I don't want to say easy stuff because there wasn't easy stuff like part of it, but, um, but it wasn't like technical, like tax update or anything like that. Um, it's just not not who we are, not who we designed that event to be. So know your setting if you're going to do that. Obviously, if you're doing like education along the way, is this the best use of that time whenever you've got all of your team in [00:29:00] person? Uh, you probably don't want to do things that are just as easy, like virtually. So we had, um, you know, the the comfortable conversations celebrate the wins because we want to celebrate wins in person, right? Give people high fives. And then we also want to talk through any changes, especially changes that are going to have like follow up questions. So beyond the like touching on the goals, kind of the revenue where we were and the different, uh, metrics that we that we got, you know, we [00:29:30] had some big wins that two weeks leading up to that retreat. We actually, um, signed a really big legacy existing client to a CAS engagement, um, Um, and got us really close to almost our annual goal. You know, as far as, like 13 CAS engagements coming in in one fell swoop. Um, that that was a huge win to celebrate with the team, talk through even what onboarding is going to look like for that. So there was just a lot of of good things shared. And [00:30:00] then we led into, uh, a change, uh, from our current bonus structure that we've had. How long had we had that bonus structure in place? Probably five years. Six years?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, since 2018, I think was the first time that a, you know, incentive tied to growing our CAS business was introduced. So that was how our bonus, our previous bonus, um, structure was tied to incentivizing the whole [00:30:30] team for new CAS clients, because we were transforming the firm from a tax heavy kind of compliance deadline driven firm to the relational monthly recurring revenue, um, highly relational client service model. So definitely a transformation was taking place, and we wanted everyone to celebrate in that, because what that looks like for, in case you're wondering, for a team member to get a new client that [00:31:00] looks like more work for them. And so we wanted like, how do we have everybody celebrate in bringing more work into the business? We bonus it, you know, we share in what makes us excited about new having a new client come into the business.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So we can, you know, we we started the journey from, you know, essentially switching from 80% tax revenue to 80% cash revenue about seven years ago, within one year, we knew that we need to change, um, how this [00:31:30] looks and as you mentioned, like this means more work as we're going through this transition if you're serving both annual and monthly clients. So initially six years back we put aside three months of that first, uh, the first three months of that engagement in a boss bonus pool or a cash bonus pool. And then that was paid out three times a year, um, to the team. And their percentage in that bonus pool was either structured based on their role, how much involvement they had in the CAS [00:32:00] business and that transformation, um, what it ultimately did and why why it was successful for a season is it got people excited about the transition, about the transformation. And it tied bonus dollars to that. And so we continued that for six years. It served us really well. Um, over the last, um, probably year or two years, that no longer became an effective, um, I guess incentive is the word for people, [00:32:30] because what we saw is there was lack of control on their compensation, and we always paired that with a merit bonus.

Marcus Dillon: And so there's two parts of the bonus calculation. For us, merit is discretionary. It's based on different, um, uh, metrics, whether it's effectiveness, kind of willingness to jump in, all that good stuff. Uh, I would say it's off the hip a little bit, if you know what I mean. But it's still can be backed up with with effort. So [00:33:00] the boss bonus pool lasted for a bit, but we knew like there was some disconnect, people could not calculate what their bonus was going to be at any at any one point. And um, you know, they didn't have control over the sales process, who we accepted as a client how that was, you know, structured as far as the price, because the price also impacted the bonus pool because three months of that went into the bonus pool. So we scratched our head [00:33:30] for about a year, thought about different things, different ways to incentivize people. And at the same time, we went back to what are we holding ourselves out like? What do we tell clients is our main objective in serving them? And so we started asking really good questions. And you want to share a little bit about what we rolled out in Florida as far as the new bonus pool, the the new bonus plan.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. And I think I mean, you said that we thought about this and took a while to develop [00:34:00] what would be the best next, um, structure for bonus because it impacts people individually and it's messing with their money. I like to say, and any time you do that, there really needs to be a good reason. There needs to be a clearly defined plan in place. And, you know, we need to be able to communicate that effectively with the team so that they understand that we're not doing anything [00:34:30] that's going to be worse for them. We're doing things that ultimately will be better for them. So being able to communicate that, making sure that that is actually true when you're devising these plans is also very important. And so we like to communicate what's staying the same, what's changing and how does that impact them, uh, individually or personally? And so what stayed the same for them, from the old bonus structure to the new [00:35:00] is merit bonus is still a component. So that doesn't change how we determine merit bonus also stays the same. We're looking at effectiveness and um, client satisfaction. We're looking at innovation and new ideas that they have brought, new value that they've brought to processes and other team members. And so that stays the same. The part that changes, instead of incentivizing a new client being brought into the team, we're actually incentivizing [00:35:30] each team member for serving the client well and getting their financial statements out to them by the 15th of the following month. So for every single client that they are able to deliver, um, completed quality work by the 15th of the following month, they receive um, an amount. So we serve our clients in teams of three. That means that the whole team needs to work [00:36:00] together. That means that the whole team receives that amount for serving the client well. And what this really does is it gives a lot of control to each individual person and then the individual teams.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So we as accountants, I'm sure a lot of listeners, we want to get timely, relevant financial data in our clients hands as, as quick as possible. Right. We've held out for most that 15th, um, after the 15th it becomes [00:36:30] kind of stale. You're already halfway through the next month. A lot has happened. So the 15th is our benchmark. Some financials go out way sooner than that. But if they go out past the 15th, you really have to like what's broken as far as process. And um, so we rolled that out, uh, the whole team of three working together in case somebody out or in case there is process improvement, we just wanted everybody to kind of be bought into that. We we believe in team effort over individual effort. And so we just felt like that was [00:37:00] the way to do it. Um, we look at every client. And so just throwing dollars out, it's not large dollars, but $25 per person on that team of three per client. So each client financial that goes out by the 15th, it gets paid $75, $25 a CSM, $25 a controller, $25 CFO. And while that may not seem like a lot, it may be that's equal to like almost one hour or like one hour [00:37:30] of pay for somebody.

Marcus Dillon: So, um, it does impact. And whenever you have 25 clients, it accumulates pretty quick. And we pay that out, um, three times a year. So four months of that, you've earned potentially $100 per client. If that client, you know, is met by, uh, the 15th is sending it out. So that's what we've rolled out. We'll probably have a whole other conversation to let people know how that's going. Uh, and we can even share data on that as we track it. But, [00:38:00] um, we know we can calculate it from an owner perspective. What potential bonus, uh, budget needs to be now and then? The team member can also calculate and and push for, you know, hey, I want this whole bonus. Um, maybe they shoot for 85% or 90% is the goal, because there's always going to be like 1 or 2 clients that it just something is broken in the process and we're okay with it. But when you when you can push out great. And [00:38:30] even on the other side like so that was you know he rolled that out Saturday. Today is actually Thursday. I was in a team meeting with a client and Melissa, who's a CSM on my team, mentioned to the client, hey, like we're going to change up what we issue to you because we've got this new incentive plan at DBA, and I get a little bonus if we issue the financials by the 15th.

Marcus Dillon: So we're going to do your core financials by the 15th. Those are going to go out to you. But some of the budget reports those [00:39:00] are those are probably going to happen after the 15th as close to the 15th as possible. But and I'm okay with that. But those are the conversations like the innovation that's now happening to get timely, relevant financial data out to the clients. Because if that client calls me and says, hey, I want to go over the financials, I'm like, oh crap, where are they? Like, have they been issued? I'm going to go grab that most recent set of financials that have been issued and if they're more than 15 days old, like how helpful is that? If they're 45 days old or 30 days old, it's not helpful at all because [00:39:30] he wants to talk to something that's going on right now or an opportunity in the future. So that's that's one like goal that we've had. And I think team members are already adopting you know it and how they can how they can earn that bonus and calculate it.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. And so we didn't leave anything up to the imagination or have team members trying to crunch numbers in their head. During this conversation we actually put an example. So an example for a client service [00:40:00] manager let's say who has 20 clients every single month. We actually put the calculation of what it would look like if maybe she finished 18 financials by the 15th one month and then had two perfect months, and then maybe only got 15 out the next month, things will happen. Uh, every once in a while, clients will delay something being done, but wanted to show that even with as few as 20 clients per month, you could still have, you know, like $1,800 bonus by the time [00:40:30] we do bonuses three times a year. So within a four month period, it will be significant. Uh, the other thing that we did during this conversation, really to make it relevant and to get feedback like transparent, open feedback, was we did an activity that we just called optimist, pessimist. And so we assigned pairs within the team either to be an optimist and think of two [00:41:00] positive things about the new bonus structure, or to be a pessimist and think of two negative things. And then they had to share them. What this did was it forced people to say out loud any negative thoughts that they potentially.

Rachel Dillon: Had.

Rachel Dillon: And then it gave us the opportunity to talk through it. So one that I think is really funny, and it was actually after the fact, after the activity was done, was one of our team members, Mallory threw out. Really convenient that you change the bonus [00:41:30] structure after signing on 13 new clients, um, in one day, which I'm thankful that she said it out loud because whether people were thinking about it at that moment or maybe like had the light bulb moment somewhere later on, it was perfect timing. And also just goes to show like how relaxed and how open people were to feel like they could say that out loud. Um, because what that led us remember, we already said we were [00:42:00] coming up with this, creating this structure for a year. So the fact that 13 new clients signed, you know, a week before we rolled it out or a couple of days actually, before we rolled it out, um, we had no way of knowing that that was going to happen. Also, if we looked at the alternative and had the four only clients that had signed before that, again, that is why we're trying to make the incentives match the behaviors we want to see. [00:42:30] So we want to match up what we're, um, compensating and rewarding to align with what we're promising clients and what we want to see more of out of our team members.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Marcus Dillon: And so for about six months, we've really seen, like, we really pushed on efficiency and effectiveness within the teams and even monitored how many financials went out before the 15th before he rolled this out, because if nobody was hitting those [00:43:00] metrics, we didn't want it to be, you know, unsuccessful. So we've been pushing on efficiency and getting out financials by the 15th for the last few months is really like, okay, now is the time we can finally roll it out because majority of those are going out. Um, so that was part of it as well. Um, we built this bonus, um, for the majority of our team. So I think this is the other thing to kind of talk through. And that's why the exercise of optimist pessimist [00:43:30] was helpful because we designed this bonus for, um, a CSM or a controller or CFO that that dedicates, you know, a majority of their time to client service because like, that's the majority of our team. We do have a few team members that only have a handful of clients, like five clients. So we did not design a bonus structure for like a few team members. We designed it for the majority of the team, and the [00:44:00] way that we can compensate those team members that do a great job with fewer clients is through the merit bonus. So I would say like that was also some of the ways that we thought through this, because we knew there would be questions about, well, I only have five clients. Is that fair? We also have another client controller who does an amazing job serving some of our large family groups, and she doesn't have, I think she has two CAS clients. So that's that's not fair, you know? And that's why we have merit bonus to kind of true up everything. [00:44:30] So I think the bonus conversation went really well. Um, part of that is, you know, being able to shut up and listen and requiring them to actually speak by the, uh, optimist pessimist game.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: So really focus of that team meeting the whole trip focus was unity because we don't get to spend a lot of time in person together. But the focus of the meeting also was opportunities. [00:45:00] So this is an opportunity to, um, earn more compensation or to be rewarded for the effort that you're giving. The other part of that, and an objective for this year as well, is, uh, providing or making a path for leadership opportunities and career advancement within DBA. So we want to make sure that within our firm we have an amazing team. Um, I always say [00:45:30] we have the best team. And if you have met our team members, I think you probably agree with me. And so making sure that our team does not have to look outside of DBA for additional leadership opportunities, additional compensation opportunities, or just career advancement from, you know, opportunity of what they're working on. And so that is definitely something that we spent quite a bit of time talking about at the team meeting as well.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And so [00:46:00] there was really two things that we rolled out. Um, so we talked about bonus structure first. Um, and then we rolled out these leadership opportunities. And then within leadership you know that we did two. So the first one was subject matter experts. And so we identified that we had a gap in having point a point person on certain things. We started real basic. And we want subject matter expert on accounting tax and payroll. And so with that that's going to be the person if you've got a tax question [00:46:30] or a accounting question or a tax or a payroll question, that's who you go to. Not saying they know all the answers, but they're going to help find it. And then they're also going to be educating the team throughout the process of the year. And with that comes an additional stipend, um, of I believe it's about $900 a year. Not again, not big dollars, but if you're a part time person, like that could be equal to one paycheck or, you know, one week, I guess, [00:47:00] in most scenarios. So, um, but yeah, so we rolled that out. The second opportunity was around onboarding. So we are still growth minded as a firm. Um, part of that is just offsetting, uh, transitions, whether it be churn from clients that just no longer the the skill of our team doesn't match the budget that they have or, um, clients that sell their businesses. So onboarding goes hand in hand with growth. And we took [00:47:30] what used to be the boss bonus pool and kind of incentivizing growth across the whole team to matching that now with the people that are onboarding those new clients.

Marcus Dillon: So with that, we rolled out an additional compensation plan. So this is the third. If you're tracking along right. We change the bonus structure. We did the subject matter expert stipend. And then the third is this onboarding piece. So what we did there is we take 50% of the onboarding fee that [00:48:00] we charge. And sometimes that's negotiated. The team knows whenever they are going into that onboarding, what that is now, and 50% of that onboarding could be paid out to that team. That is onboarding that new client based on how quickly and how effective they are in onboarding that client. And it goes from 50% if it's done within two weeks to 40% in three, 30% in four, and then it goes all the way to where at the end of six weeks, if that client's not [00:48:30] onboarded fully, then there's no bonus to pay out because it's been paid out through payroll. So it's just an incentive, uh, to get back to the team of three. And, uh, Deirdre, who helps onboard, uh, those, those new clients as well. So with that, with that leadership, we needed to know, hey, are you willing to accept new clients? Are you willing to do onboarding? Onboardings? And if so, like, here's an opportunity to lead a part of the onboarding journey for that new client, [00:49:00] because we want them to start that relationship really well.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, I feel like this is the start of a few later episodes. Once we see this was the rollout of all of these new opportunities for our team, and then to see kind of the challenges and the successes of each one of these as we go. I think we could, you know, have future opportunities on future episodes to just kind of go through what it looked like, how it impacted each team member, and then kind of [00:49:30] the success and challenges that we faced. Because going into all of these, we know that there's challenges and we know that there are things that we have to actually experience before we can kind of solve whatever those challenges that come up. We've got lists, long lists, but you kind of have to take a step in the right direction and see in order to know what adjustments need to be made. We know that there will be need adjustments, but we don't know what those are until we actually try it and do it. So instead of, you [00:50:00] know, talking about it and, you know, kind of stressing over it and just thinking about it in all different ways, actually going ahead and just taking that next step and taking action towards what you want to see. The biggest thing with the implementation, what we call it, or onboarding, what it's typically known as is in an accounting firm, we're not just onboarding a tax return for our services. We're onboarding at minimum [00:50:30] uh, accounting file. So whatever they use previously to QuickBooks online definitely tax returns maybe sales tax and also payroll.

Rachel Dillon: And so those are all things that are really important. Uh, and what we've seen is that can drag out for a really long time when you're trying to get that kind of specific, sensitive information from clients, but also if it requires their team to [00:51:00] do things and they're waiting on other people. So there's just a lot of people in the mix during that process. And so what we want to incentivize and reward is streamlining that, um, kind of innovating in those processes to see what can we do ahead of time, what can we do for the client, maybe to make it move faster to get that client into full service? Our teams of three, our each team member, they serve the clients very well. So the sooner [00:51:30] we can get them into their normal monthly service and out of onboarding, the better. So again, kind of just putting that, why would we not incentivize doing exactly what we want to see? And then even kind of having like a sliding scale, um, for that, you know, until we get all the way to, you know, expectation is six weeks. If it's longer than that, we haven't even, you know, delivered on the expectations or the promise we made to [00:52:00] the client. So has to at least be within that window. And the sooner the better. And we are willing to reward each team member for that.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And so we've broken up that onboarding bonus 10% goes to our tax administrator, 40% goes to the CSM, 40% goes to the client controller, and then 10% goes to the CFO. So we know that the CSM and the controller are leading a lot of those efforts. Um, I will say I'll kind of close this part of the conversation with [00:52:30] we've already seen benefits. Um, since we've rolled this out, we actually, um, rolled it out to a team prior to the retreat and said, hey, we're going to talk about this at the retreat, but because you just got a new client, um, we want to to test it on you first and kind of talk through it with them. We start that clock at the client kickoff call with the team. So after sales, we introduced the onboarding or service team in a joint call with the client. And that's when the clock starts. Um, now during [00:53:00] the sales conversation, we may have gotten access to the qbo file. We may have gotten copies of their tax returns. So part of this is what can happen leading up to the kickoff call. And then once the clock starts, that's when the clock starts for the onboarding bonus. Um, so what came out of the conversation was, well, I'm going to go ahead and go into their cube file and like really look at it, really analyze it first.

Marcus Dillon: And then I'm also going to proforma their tax returns. Look at those ahead of the client [00:53:30] kickoff call. And then if there are any changes to whether the tax situation or the chart of accounts, we're going to recommend it at the kickoff call versus at the kickoff call, you say, hey, I'm going to look at this over the next few days. So it's already moved. Uh onboardings. A little bit, you know, from all starting at kickoff call to now, what can you do prior to that? And I think it'll get better. We'll share our experiences on this, I hope, like it's our goal to pay our team [00:54:00] as much as we can. Right. And the way that they do that is through earning it and matching that with what we want to happen. And so we always want the best client service. We want the most effective and fast onboardings that we possibly can because that leads to better service. So if you're kind of scratching your head on how to how to make your employees do what you want them to do, throw some dollars where it matters most.

Rachel Dillon: That's right. If you want to see change, get feedback. [00:54:30] Um, um, really get different results than what you've been been getting previously, throw some money, uh, conversations in there and things change real fast. We said that from clients when we increased prices, they might not ever fill out a feedback survey or an NPS score, but you change the price. They'll definitely give you some feedback right away. Um, related to that price increase, same with the team members. So it's not that we hadn't said financials [00:55:00] are due by the 15th. And whatever you need to do to make that happen, you should do those were things that were said for implementation. It's not that we didn't say we need to get these guys out as quick as possible from implementation to service, However, when we put money behind it, the ideas just came rushing out a lot quicker, um, than when we just said this is something we'd like to see. It just [00:55:30] makes that more of a priority. It just helps connect the dots from, you know, what the owner is thinking to what the team member understands. They understand if it's if dollars are involved, then that means that you really do place importance or priority on that thing.

Marcus Dillon: And if if the client or the new client knows that there's an incentive tied to it for that team member, our client, like they're going to be like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna make Marcus and Rachel [00:56:00] pay out that bonus every single time. So let's do whatever we need to do because they value, you know, the team members, and they're trying to make their life easy too. So that's awesome to see. So that's pretty much everything we covered. Um, obviously we gave a little bit of update on DBA firm and what's rolling out later this year. Um, but but that was pretty much the morning that was covered in four hours. We like that. We did that day one the morning of because any additional conversations, questions or anything could be, [00:56:30] you know, discussed over the next two days when we were still together. And then they could talk to their spouses, explain what was rolled out, the spouse could ask questions. You know, they're they're still talking about it, you know, in the in between. And so that was that was what we had hoped for. Um, so that was the day one. The day two was really much breakfast. And then we treated everybody to a boat trip out to Crab Island. If you're familiar with Dustin, it's just a place where you can be [00:57:00] on a sandbar in the water, kind of enjoying others company. It's, uh, you know, a setting that they probably have more in the Caribbean, uh, too, but it's in Florida, so that was a lot of fun. They now have chickFil A delivery in the water. So that's something that's really unique or fun about Crab Island. Crab Island being a sandbar is that many boats do congregate with a lot of people. And so the entrepreneurs out there brought the stuff to the people. So food, [00:57:30] drinks, uh, t shirts and souvenirs, as well as like some fresh fruit and ice cream, but also chick fil A. We went on a

Rachel Dillon: Sunday, so chick fil A wasn't an option for us, but guaranteed multiple of us would have bought chick fil A just because of the novelty of being able to get chick fil A out in the middle. Is it considered the Gulf right there? It's too pretty. It feels too pretty to be considered the goals. But yeah. Um, yeah. So that was also kind of fun [00:58:00] for that day. Again, it was just a chance for us to all be together. We actually were all on the same boat and then kind of hung out near the boat all together, and then we're able to have just that shared experience. I think that's, you know, what brings a lot of bonding and unity is just having shared experiences. Really good, really bad. Doesn't matter. Just having that, um, shared to be able to talk about it in the future.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. Uh, probably probably, uh, word of caution if you're going to eat like chicken [00:58:30] in shark infested waters, I don't know that that's always the best idea, but, um, it was a really good time. And so after the boat, then we all go back to the hotel. We provided transportation, uh, to and from the boat, obviously, just to make sure everybody got their body got back. Um, so plan for that cost. And then obviously the excursion, if you're going to do something like that. And then we wrapped up the day, um, you know, a lot of us spent time in pools after that or at the beach, but, um, you know, we wrapped up the day with [00:59:00] a nice dinner to kind of send people off because some people started leaving as early as 4 a.m., uh, that Monday after. So, uh, it's the last chance to kind of, uh, spend time with one another as a whole group, um, in the table, you know, in each other's tables. There was like 3 or 4 tables that we had there as well. But it was just a really nice wrap up dinner on the lawn there. And, um, just gives you a chance to tell people how much, how much they mean to you, how much you know, everything like that. And it's always great to do that in front of spouses [00:59:30] if you can.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. And you really had a great idea. Kind of. It was kind of a last minute idea. It wasn't something that we actually planned out, you know, in the months of planning and preparation that went into this, this was kind of a once we got there, really wanted to highlight and celebrate each team member individually in front of the whole team, in their spouse. We we, you, this, you did this. And so I thought it was really [01:00:00] good. But you shared kind of when they started and what they mean to you and the team and the clients for each person. And so just hearing that from you, I know depending on team sizes and different things, personality of the owner, maybe, um, that may or may not be something that's really common. I check in with the team, or the team checks in with me just about every single week. And so they hear from me. They [01:00:30] get affirmations and feedback from me all the time. We have one on ones with different team members and leaders within the organization, and so they get that feedback at least every other week. And so to hear from you directly and for their spouses to hear from you directly, I think was just really impactful for the whole team. You also wrote a handwritten card out to each one of those team members as well, for them to kind of take with them. And [01:01:00] so other than not clarifying ahead of time that there was no money or gift cards in that card, that it was just a gift of words. Um, I think that that was a huge success. And I would say probably one of the things that the team counts as the best part of the trip.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I think so too. And, um, you know, obviously spouses question like, why do y'all do what you do? You know, I think that's part of, um, over [01:01:30] our career, over our, you know, span of business ownership. Anytime people just kind of question, is this for real? Like, what's really going on? Like, that means we're doing something right. You know, I think that's just us coming out, um, living out our faith or the reason why we do this on a day in, day out basis. Not necessarily the dollars or lack of dollars in case of those envelopes. Uh, that that is a part of it all. So, yeah, that dinner will be a highlight. You know, thinking back on this for [01:02:00] a long time and just you've got everybody there, you've got a captive audience, so you might as well, um, use it to the best of your ability. So.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, well, it was an excellent time. Um, any other thoughts around retreat or treating the team? Uh, any opportunities or any other thoughts to share?

Marcus Dillon: So two things like, uh, what we're going to do is we're going to going forward, mid-year retreat could potentially be a travel retreat [01:02:30] if we meet goals from the year before. So if we meet all of our goals and kind of decide as a team like we did a great job. So 2023, we did a great job. So 2024, we had a travel retreat. Same thing if we meet all of our goals 2024 Summer of 2025, which we've already started looking at destinations, there will be a travel retreat and spouses are included in that. So if that's something you want to roll out, like, just budget for it. Um, the budget on this domestic [01:03:00] trip non all inclusive came out about double, uh, what it would have been if it had been in Mexico and in an easy destination in Mexico. Just one flight for most people. So I would say it was about $6,000 per couple. Uh, was the cost of this trip. And and so not small, um, by any means, especially when you have, you know, 14, 15 team members. You know, you double that and that's how many people are in your care. So about $3,000 [01:03:30] per person, $6,000 per couple. And you just the way you're able to do this is just budget for it and put a little bit aside every month, um, to do something special. And for us we could pay that amount in rent to an office building. Or you could do something that your team truly enjoys, like going on a trip once a year and keeping your best people happy. Yeah.

Rachel Dillon: Awesome. Well, thank you for taking me along on the trip. Uh, I had a great time [01:04:00] and looking forward to doing.

Rachel Dillon: That.

Rachel Dillon: Again. Uh, as well as looking forward to our next episode.

Marcus Dillon: All right. Thanks so much.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks for hanging with us to the end of another episode. Leave us a review with your thoughts, comments, and feedback on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. Join us again next week for another great conversation.