Hopeful

One conversation in particular, with a senior audit associate, sticks out to me. When asked about how things were going at her firm, she had many positive things to say, and ended with how much she was looking forward to her upcoming performance review. She said “I hope I get promoted to Manager this year.” To be honest, it struck me as a bit odd. Shouldn’t she have a pretty good idea if she was going to be promoted? I asked her if she was really just hopeful, or if she was expecting it. To which she replied, “I don’t know if I’ll be promoted or not, we haven’t talked about it”.

Expectant

Another recent conversation was around a manager who left a firm because they were not promoted. This manager was expecting to be promoted to senior manager, believing that they had been manager long enough and that it would just happen. The Partner thought they had conveyed what it would take to get to that level. However, it is now clear that the conversations were not direct enough. The manager’s expectation was not met, and they left seeking clarity elsewhere.

Shared Responsibility

Unfortunately, these situations are typical at many firms. From staff level on up through Senior Manager, there can be a communication gap when it comes to potential promotions. I believe the responsibility for this gap goes both ways. It is crucial for firm leaders to make it clear, what it takes to get to the next level. It is also important for professionals to take responsibility for their career trajectory and 1) make it known they are interested in promotion, and 2) ask what it takes to get there.

Firms that stand out, have ongoing conversations between professionals and their managers, not just at performance review time, but throughout the year. For more insight on how to make performance reviews more effective, see Guy Gage’s article in the Journal of Accountancy from May 2023.