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Millennials Prefer Automation: What This Means for Accountancy Firms

5th Oct 2018
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Pandle is cloud bookkeeping software made with real people in mind.

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The working style of millennials has been the subject of many articles over the past few years. Many conclude that millennials are naturally lazy and unwilling to do what people from different age groups will.

As Pandle was built by millennials, we’d say otherwise. However, there are clear differences in the working style and personal preferences of millennials that needs to be addressed in any market.

Communication preferences

Recent research from software company ABBYY revealed that there is a clear generational divide when it comes to communication preferences in offices.

One in ten millennial workers prefer to delegate verbal communication responsibilities e.g. speaking to customers on phones, over to automation services. On the other hand, only 4% of employees over the age of 55 said that they would do the same.

This shows a gradual move away from traditional communication methods, and a need for alternatives that make use of automation and don’t rely heavily on phone use.

As Generation Z start to join millennials in the workforce, changes to the way we communicate will become more commonplace, especially when these generations become our clients too.

Does automation have a place?

While the research shows a clear move towards automation and non-traditional communication methods, that doesn’t mean we should start delegating everything to AI programmes.

This survey conducted with Boston University found that 90% of respondents still prefer to speak with a real person when they get in contact with a business. So the dreams of passing over all these responsibilities to robots is going to have to wait. Until then, there are alternatives that companies can offer to bridge the gap between now and the future, such as instant messaging.

Many websites have chat features that begin with automated responses and directions to support pages. For more help, the customer will then be forwarded to a real support worker. This cuts down on the amount of time businesses need to set aside to chat with customers and also ensures the advice is more closely tailored to them. It’s a happy medium between automation and speaking with a real person.

Neil Murphy, head of global business development at ABBYY said: “Once staff understand how to work in partnership with robots, they will be able to spend more time adding value to the business where it matters most.”

Adapting your services for millennial clients

Millennials are, or will become, a big part of your client list as more set up their own businesses. That means you’re going to have to take their needs into account or they will go elsewhere.

Opening your firm up to using tools like instant messaging will help modern clients feel catered for and more comfortable coming to you for advice or with problems. Not everyone has a landline to call from these days, so instant messaging can be more convenient and cheaper for your clients.

This is something that millennial accountants will also appreciate as more join the accounting profession.

At Pandle, we have taken these communication preferences on board and built handy solutions into the software. Take a look at our features below.  

Pandle Notes

Pandle Notes was developed to help users and accountants remember conversations with each other or other important developments that need to be taken into account regarding certain transactions.

In Notes, you can create a note, attach it to the transaction it relates to, and tag your client in it or vice versa.

Pandle Notes

Messaging Centre

After the success of our Notes feature, we wanted to go further and built our Messaging Centre earlier this year. We built instant messaging right into Pandle to make it even easier for clients and accountants to collaborate and have lengthier conversations.

This keeps communication within the app without the need to sort through dozens of messy email chains to find what you’re looking for.

Pandle Message Centre

Partner with us

To take full advantage of these features and the potential they offer to your clients, take a look at our partnering options.

We currently offer two options, both allow you to use our software within your firm to switch seamlessly between accounts. However, our Brandle white labelling version goes further and lets you use the software but under your own company branding. Find out more here.

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