CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS
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Getting it “just right” at Manning Elliott LLP for a smaller operation. “I remind myself of what it was like to be an employee when we were small,” says Aumann, who joined the firm just before it began its growth spurt.
very Friday, except during tax season, Manning Elliott LLP accountant Lyndon Braun stays at home. Not to work from a home office, but to play with his two children under the age of four.
There are few office walls in its Vancouver and Abbotsford offices, a way of breaking down barriers and to encourage interaction in a business where typically six or more professionals serve a single client. “We are a little less formal, a little less structured,” Aumann says.
He cherishes the opportunity. “It shows we have a management that is flexible and progressive,” Braun says. “It also demonstrates that we do more than talk about work-life balance.” In return for the benefit, Braun agrees to take 90 per cent of his salary, a fair deal in his estimation. “The joy is immeasurable,” he says.
Another team-building exercise is monthly social events. Some involve charitable giving. The company has won awards for its United Way participation and last year cracked Canada’s top 50 among more than 16,000 teams in the annual moustache-growing Movember campaign for men’s health. Manning Elliott LLP raised more than $25,000 as partners upped the ante by promising enhanced donations tied to promises of dyeing hair green or shaving off eyebrows for the month.
Braun is not alone. A partner at his Abbotsford, B.C., office used to be at her desk by 6 a.m. so she could leave in the early afternoon to pick up her children from school. “We don’t have rigid office hours,” says Manning Elliott LLP Managing Partner Alden Aumann. “The important thing is that our quality work gets done on time.”
The firm also demonstrates its community engagement by acting for a number of charitable and notfor-profits, either on a pro-bono or reduced-fee basis. “If you don’t do community work you’re not in the right stratosphere,” Aumann says.
“We’re just the right size—big enough to offer diverse opportunities, but small enough to do it properly.”
As well, Manning Elliott LLP offers all employees a Day of Giving when they can take a day off with pay for charitable or community work. Says Braun: “That confirms a real commitment because real dollars are involved.”
– Alden Aumann, Managing Partner
Manning Elliott LLP has become a much larger firm in the past 15 years, expanding from under 40 employees to more than 150. For Aumann, the challenge over those years is to maintain the collegiality and respect for the individual that comes more easily
Another firm commitment to its employees relates to professional development. Manning Elliott LLP picked up the entire tab as Braun went to night school for three years and several retreats to obtain his InDepth Income Tax accreditation. “The
MANNING ELLIOTT LLP HR DIRECTOR ANDREW RASHEED (LEFT) AND MANAGING PARTNER ALDEN AUMANN
155
full-time staff in Canada
36
years, longestserving employee
company was willing to take a chance and make a front-load commitment,” Braun says. “When it comes to picking up new skills, they’re not just saying, ‘Go for it.’ They’re saying, ‘Go for it—and we will help’.” For Aumann, learning never stops. “Professional development is a constant,” he says. Indeed, Manning Elliott LLP mandates that a career plan is part of every employee’s annual performance objectives. Meanwhile, sustaining collegiality depends largely on hiring the right
MANNING ELLIOTT LLP RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF
Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers (2015)
64%
managers are women
1,500
job applications last year
sort of people. “We want passionate, intelligent people who are willing to work hard,” says Braun, who helps in campus recruitment. “Character is key. Grades are important, but more important is success when encountering challenges.” Overall, when it comes to preserving its successful culture, Manning Elliott takes a Goldilocks approach—the porridge is not-too-hot, not-too-cold. “We’re just the right size,” says Aumann. “We’re big enough to offer diverse opportunities, but small enough to do it properly.”