-part of the leadership spotlight series
Have you ever noticed how organizations that lack strong teams suffer from issues that result in thousands of dollars of lost revenue each year? Some of those costly issues are:
1. Employee Turnover. High employee turnover leads to spending too much money on onboarding and training services every year.
2. Organizational Fatigue. Some teams follow too many different opportunities or constantly focus on new goals and metrics temporarily losing sight of the core goals. This lack of steady commitment to long-term goals leads to employee and organizational fatigue and the misuse of costly human resources.
3. Employee Productivity. Stressed, overwhelmed, and dissatisfied employees sometimes adopt unhealthy lifestyles, become chronically ill, and/or experience general fatigue, all of which lead to reduced employee productivity and years of costly medical expenses and sick leaves.
4. Unstable Workforce. Some companies go through a cycle of massive layoffs. Others leave leave unfilled positions “on hold” for years and then jump to the other extreme of suddenly filling all these positions at once and even creating new ones at the same time. This fluctuation creates an unstable workforce with a constantly changing team.
There are thousands of articles examining different leadership and team models. This article focuses on JBS (Jacqueline Business Services) in Massachusetts and its “one team, one dream” approach, which helps the organization avoid these costly pitfalls.
What Is JBS?
JBS (Jacqueline Business Services) started as a tax preparation office in 2006 with only three employees dedicated to helping local residents file their 2005 tax returns. Today, there are 23 people on the JBS team, working together to meet the needs of the Merrimack Valley residents and business owners beyond just personal, business, and corporate tax returns. Current services include corporation paperwork, payroll, bookkeeping, accounting, and general business consulting services.
What stands out about JBS is not it established itself as a 2019 million-dollar business, but how it has grown successfully by focusing on growing its dedicated JBS team – one team with one dream.
The One Team Approach
At JBS, every single person has a clear role on the team. All team members’ ideas and opinions count, and everyone is invited to have an open conversation in a safe environment. When there is something to celebrate, the team celebrates together. When there is an issue at hand, the team solves the problem together. JBS sustains its one team, one dream approach through this transparent and open leadership model that takes into account all the different voices at the table.
When hiring, JBS focuses on individuals who are aligned professionally to the purpose and culture of the organization and can embrace the one team, one dream approach. Once hired, team members learn everything about the business the first year and then develop a specialization within the organization with the support of the other team members who serve as mentors. JBS provides in house professional development, clear succession planning, and promotion opportunities from within the organization.
Year-round team building is a critical part of the One Team, One Dream philosophy. The team participates in non-work-related activities that help members “burn off steam,” destress, and bond. Team members might see a game in Boston, have a Sunday barbecue, watch the finale of a television series, or celebrate a birthday on any given weekend. This fun, family-oriented team-building approach has helped all the team members quickly adapt to JBS and become part of the JBS family.
The One Dream Approach
The JBS team members choose and commit to annual goals aligned to the JBS mission statement. These goals guide the daily, weekly, and monthly activities and decisions made in the JBS office.
When the mutually agreed upon goals are finalized, the key performance indicators (KPI) are clearly laid out for the team members so that they can track progress on goals together in an open and transparent manner. Depending on the year’s goals, those KPIs could include the number of served customers, completed tax returns, payroll clients, and consulting contracts. Overall revenue is seen as a product of the team’s success at meeting its goals as measured by the KPIs.
Clear goals and KPIs combined with the one team, one dream approach, create a healthy competition among the team members as they see their individual and shared contributions towards the mutually agreed upon goals. Annual business awards and bonuses are based on the contributions to the goals and KPIs as well.
Sustainable Employee Design to Meet Community and Business Needs
With tax preparation as a primary function, the JBS team design allows the organization to meet customers’ needs during high and low seasons without having to cut hours or lay people off. This design means that the JBS team is made up of year-round team members and seasonal team members.
Year-Round Team
JBS has a core team of dedicated individuals who work year-round on tax preparation services as well as the newer services, including corporation paperwork, bookkeeping, payroll, and general business consulting.
Tax Season (Seasonal Team)
January through April is tax season, and the busiest four months for the company. During this time, the seasonal core team is activated to ensure that JBS meets all its clients’ needs. The seasonal team is made up of dedicated individuals who have part-time or full-time jobs in other organizations but value the JBS model and are loyal to the company and the community it serves. This core team looks forward to the 3- or 4-month work period with schedules designed around their current work and personal schedules.
Results of the JBS Team Approach
Employee Retention
JBS definitely does not have a revolving door of employees. New team members have been added either to sustain the JBS growth or to replace team members who have moved on to open their own businesses. This level of employee retention saves the company thousands of dollars a year in onboarding and training costs.
Steady Business Growth
By focusing on the “one team, one dream” approach and working on mutually agreed upon goals that are clear, attainable, and timely, JBS has seen steady growth each and every year. The team is invested in the future of JBS and the community it serves. Therefore, the team continuously looks for ways to contribute to the growth of the organization and how its impact the community through its expanded services.
A Replicable Model
The one team, one dream approach is the key ingredient in JBS’ growth over the years and will continue to be the ingredient that transforms the organization and all its team members. The approach is simple but effective and can be replicated easily by other teams and organizations across different fields.
