Holy moly, Xerocon is like a rock concert for accountants!
We set off for Aussie, Katrina, Thijs, Suzanne and Lindsay, ready to learn more about Xero over the two-day conference in Brisbane. What we got was so much more! We have come away feeling inspired, excited and keen to share some cutting edge ideas from some of the world’s sharpest thinkers. To get a feel for the event check out this quick video:
Much of the content was focused at accountants and bookkeepers, however, there were also some exceptional transferable ideas we would like to share. We attended many smaller breakout sessions; we thought we would fill you in on one of the most interesting ideas below which is applicable to all businesses.
Creating a learning culture in your business
This session was about how to create a culture of continuous improvement within your business by focusing on learning. We talked about how to assess your learning needs, leading learning from the front, how to grow talent and implementing change. The key takeaways were:
- Growing your business means growing your own and/or your team’s skills. Driving development starts with an environment that allows mistakes. To understand individuals’ areas for development, take stock of strengths and areas for improvement and map a way forward.
- Very few people like change! The trick is to manage change proactively, in a positive way that engages people through the process. This means honest and clear communication, kind feedback and creating the plan to move forward together.
- Why reinvent the wheel when it comes to learning? There are so many resources already available for you, your team and your customers. Check out Xero Central, TED talks and read and read some more! Seek out the information that will arm you to move forward,
We enjoyed this session because each of us love learning. We are naturally curious and like blogs, books, podcasts and more. Fostering a culture of learning in the workplace develops your business as a whole; when everyone is progressing the office feels vibrant and positive. See if you can apply this in your business today, find one thing your team will enjoy learning, the possibilities are endless!
Helping accountants help their clients
We were brought up to date on all the savvy changes to Xero. Much of the content of other sessions was focused on how we can help our clients more effectively and how we can improve as a firm. We learnt about strategy and planning for accounting firms. There was a session about how to help our clients with cashflow planning, goal setting and business drivers. One session was about developing an awareness of the emerging regulatory changes across the region so we stay of top of this for our clients. We learnt about data-automation for efficiency, how to use partner apps and how to use Xero Projects, all good tips and tricks!
So as you can see, it wasn’t all fun and games (it was mostly fun and games and a lot of eating and drinking too) but we knuckled down and did some serious listening. We hope these ideas spark some thinking amongst your team!
More photos of our trip:
