{"id":7921,"date":"2020-08-24T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T09:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=7921"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:11:08","slug":"upskilling-staff-practice-key-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/upskilling-staff-practice-key-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Upskilling staff: 7 key areas for your practice’s employees to develop"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUpskilling staff: 7 key areas for your practice’s employees to develop\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tSally Percy<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Upskilling staff is a way for accountancy and bookkeeping practices to gain a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. That’s why it’s important to provide regular training opportunities to your staff, enabling them to keep their skills up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By investing in ongoing development, you’ll give your clients better advice and add value to their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, your staff might learn about the latest changes in accounting standards and tax legislation or acquire specialist expertise<\/a> \u2013 perhaps in research and development tax reliefs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could also win new clients, and generate extra revenue, if you invest in training that enables you to offer additional services such as payroll<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as helping you to grow your practice, upskilling staff can be a means of enabling your practice to operate more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By training your staff to use technological tools, including cloud accounting software<\/a> and practice management software, you can reduce the amount of time they spend on manual tasks<\/a> such as sending out invoices and tracking hours spent on a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also invest in training that helps your staff to collaborate more effectively, so they innovate and come up with new ideas and processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important benefit of upskilling staff is your practice is more likely to attract and retain high-calibre employees as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LinkedIn’s 2<\/a>018 Workplace Learning Report<\/a> found that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free small business toolkit for your clients: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Seven key skills for your staff to develop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Development is a huge area \u2013 so many accountants<\/a> and bookkeepers will often focus on acquiring and maintaining the core technical knowledge that’s relevant to their daily work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, they can also learn other, more general, skills that will help them to be even more effective at their jobs, serve their clients better and enable the practice to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what key skills could your staff develop now? Here are seven to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Soft skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As accountants and bookkeepers are generally renowned for their technical expertise, it’s often their soft skills that set them apart from their competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your practice has staff members with strong soft skills, they’ll be effective at building relationships with each other and with your clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to LinkedIn’s 2020 Workplace Learning Report<\/a>, the most sought-after soft skills are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n