NEIL WARREN CONSIDERS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORD ‘TEAM’ FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK IN TAX
I am going to start this article with a confession: I have not applied for a job or been interviewed for a job since I joined Customs and Excise in 1983. When I left C&E in 1997, to become self-employed, I strangely did not interview myself.
This was probably a good thing because I would have definitely asked if too much sport and not enough work would reduce my chargeable hours by an excessive amount. An honest answer to that question and I might not have given myself the job!
But over the years, when I have seen adverts for tax jobs in the press or other media, I have always been fascinated by the requirement that an applicant ‘must be a team player,’ or ‘must have a proven ability to work as a team member,’ or ‘should recognise the importance of the team ethos’.
At times, I have found the emphasis on the word ‘team’ to be the most prominent feature of a job advert, sometimes written in bigger print than the technical skills and academic qualifications needed for the post in question. In some instances, it is almost a case of ‘team player essential – knowledge of tax useful’.
But – as mentioned above – having not applied for a job since 1983, I have never been able to attend a job interview and ask the interviewer (if that is the done thing) what specific qualities make someone in the tax world a strong team player. So, in the absence of direct experience, I thought I would test the waters a bit and ask some of our tax experts what they think makes a good team member.
Skills and styles
Peter Rayney is a well known author and lecturer in tax, and has just set up his own tax consultancy practice, having worked for many years as BDO’s national tax technical partner. He took great pleasure in creating a technical team to support the needs of a fast growing practice. He says: ‘team building takes time but can pay terrific dividends.
Like a quality football team, everyone has their own special skills and preferred working styles and it is important that they “play” in the right position.
My problem is that I definitely lean toward the technical and creative stuff and it is quite easy to let the day to day admin slip. So for me it is absolutely essential that I have a good “sweeper” to deal with administrative responsibilities to ensure that I meet my deadlines’.
Peter’s references to football reminded me of a few sides over the years that have often punched well above their weight due to team effort and achieved excellent results. Does anyone go back far enough to remember the Wimbledon team of the 1980s … they had a brilliant team spirit and won the FA Cup in 1988 by beating Liverpool (a Manchester United supporter can always remember a bad Liverpool defeat!).
Abilities & limitations
Simon Groom is head of tax training at Tolley, part of LexisNexis, so he is well qualified to comment on the ‘team’ concept. He told Taxation 2: ‘in my mind, teamwork is all about everyone knowing their own abilities and limitations and working together to maximise those abilities and minimise the limitations for the benefit of the team. It’s about having a diverse group of people bringing different things to the party’.
My own love of sport means that I have been a team player in a variety of pursuits – football and cricket being the main ones. But does a good batsman at cricket need to be a ‘team man’?
In fact, some of the greatest cricketers in history have been very self-motivated individuals who have bypassed the team approach. Geoff Boycott of Yorkshire is probably a good example of individual excellence prevailing over team togetherness.
Player qualities
I thought it would be sensible to get some ideas from a recruitment expert, who has the important role of trying to fit square pegs into square holes when it comes to tax placements.
I spoke to Alison Tait, a director of Georgiana Head Recruitment Ltd, who very helpfully gave an excellent summary of team player qualities. These are shown in the separate Box.
When I spoke to Alison, she didn’t mention any vacancies for Manchester United supporters who do a bit of VAT work in between matches … so it looks as if I will be self-employed for a little while longer.
Pegs and holes
Talking of pegs and holes, it’s probably stating the obvious that the person who is building a team should recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the various team members. Of course, this is particularly true regarding technical abilities, as explained by Peter Gravestock, a past president of the Association of Taxation Technicians.
‘As a general practitioner, I have always been very conscious of the complexity and spread of taxation over many facets. In order to give the best advice to a client all of the many aspects of taxation must be covered, so it is necessary to build a team that has different specialisms.
‘It is important to recognise that those involved with international and large business clients will have a different view as to the areas that are most important to their organisation compared to those who deal with small/medium-sized enterprises.
'Depending upon the size of your own organisation it may be that many “members” of the team will be external consultants, whereas in a large firm the expertise will be “in house”. In all circumstances, it is essential to know the areas covered by the team members and proceed accordingly, but without a team, an individual is restricted to providing advice in the limited area covered by one’s own experience and specialised knowledge.’
Peter’s comment about smaller firms acquiring ‘team’ expertise through external specialists is something I can relate to through my own VAT consultancy work for many small accountancy practices. And to their credit, many of these firms help to make me feel a part of their team, normally through an invitation to a social event or a big feast at their Christmas lunch (which is why I do lots of exercise in December!)
Give examples
As an aside, I sometimes get CVs sent to me from young students or school leavers looking for employment in the world of tax and accountancy and I often notice that they include a comment along the lines of ‘I am a strong team player’.
I feel that it would give the prospective employer a deeper insight into the character of the budding employee if this sentence could be extended to give more meaning. For example: ‘I am a strong team player and lead a team of people at my local girl guides or boy scouts club’ would be more specific and definitely more impressive.
My conclusion is that the topic of team work and team players is definitely a subject I could easily write another 1,000 words on if space allowed (and if the editors allowed their ‘team’ of writers to take an extended run over a couple more pages). It is a fascinating and very relevant topic and one that will probably become even more important in the years ahead when remote working, desk sharing and flexible hours become more prominent.
In fact, why don’t you be a good team player today and send a friendly text to a colleague you have not seen for a few weeks, perhaps because they have been involved in a lengthy compliance review at the premises of a client? I am sure they will appreciate the gesture.
Now I must draw this article to a close because I need to put on my team hat and sort out a cup of tea and biscuit for everyone in my office. Hang on a second, that’s only me. Perhaps I’d better try to encourage my ‘team’. I think that maybe I’d better make it two biscuits.
