The Balancing Act course – invaluable for accountancy induction and probationary periods

The Balancing Act is a fantastic five-day bookkeeping induction course; we know that based on the feedback we regularly receive from employers and employees who have studied the course! However, did you know it is invaluable for accountancy induction and probationary periods?

Accountancy induction

Many employers choose The Balancing Act as part of their recruit’s accountancy induction. The benefits of getting them to complete the course in their first week of employment include:

• Giving them a real-life taster of what is involved with accounting, particularly double-entry bookkeeping.
• Reducing the amount of lost chargeable time from senior members of the team who have to spend time training the students.
• Making trainees focus on the practical aspects of accountancy so they can produce a set of accounts within a week.
• Identifying early in the recruitment process if the trainee has what it takes to become a qualified accountant or bookkeeper.

If having completed The Balancing Act course, it transpires that the recruit doesn’t have what it takes to become an accountant, it presents the perfect opportunity to discuss their future with the firm. If it is decided not to continue their employment, the salary and training costs can be reduced accordingly.

Accountancy probationary periods

If the firm prefers to adopt its in-house process for induction, The Balancing Act course and test can also be a very effective part of the probationary period.

However, the probation element should not be used as a ‘stick’, which could demotivate recruits. The ‘carrot’ approach is usually far more beneficial to both parties.

For many people, an impending exam and the fear of failure increases their focus exponentially as the exam date approaches. However, employers shouldn’t want their recruits to be paralysed by fear!

Using The Balancing Act as part of the probation period, we recommend explaining to recruits that the primary purpose of the course, and the end of course test, is to get them up and running on double entry bookkeeping as quickly and effectively as possible – and that they will find it a blessing when they start to do real work in the office. It will provide the foundation for everything they do in work and their future studies.

Encouragement during the probationary period

To help recruits understand the importance of double entry bookkeeping, consider getting previous students to explain how useful it was. Inspire recruits with the opportunities this quick acquisition of knowledge and skills will provide.

The probationary period is also the recruit’s opportunity to shine, to show how committed they are by really cracking on with the course and completing it on time. If they mess up, they can always have another go. Our clients have always given students a second chance. If they struggle again, the clear implication is that they don’t “get” double entry bookkeeping and accountancy is probably not the career for them. Better to find out in the first fortnight that they are not suited to accounting. There is no shame in changing careers at that point. Better than struggling for months and everyone getting demoralised – and hammering the firm’s recovery rates.

There’s no such thing as failure!

“Failure” in The Balancing Act end of course test is “success” in clarifying career options and providing an early opportunity to start a more suitable career.

However, it is essential to note that the number of non-achievers in our experience is very low – less than 5% – hopefully, this is because our client’s recruitment processes have already weeded out most of those without the aptitude and attitude for this career.

This is where a short bookkeeping aptitude test, such as Accountancy Learning’s ‘Bookkeeping Aptitude Test‘ can be a vital part of the recruitment process. The probation period is an induction, an opportunity to shine and get a head start in one’s career.

Accountancy induction or probation – choose how to use The Balancing Act

There really isn’t a right or wrong way! This article shows that firms use The Balancing Act differently, whether as part of their induction process or through the probationary period. However, for the employer or employee to benefit most from the course, we strongly recommend completing it sooner rather than later in the new recruit’s employment.

See how it works

We have put together a short demonstration video to understand how The Balancing Act can be an invaluable induction and probationary tool. If you have any further questions about the course, please do get in touch.