BUSINESS EMPLOYER FOCUS GROUPS

BUSINESS EMPLOYER FOCUS GROUPS

1. 
   For the next minute or so, please think about the tasks, activities, and responsibilities of your employees. What specific skills, competencies, and personal characteristics such as attitude, ethics are required for these positions?
   

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  Tellers – cash handling experience, high school diploma, customer service (outgoing personality).
  
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  Current KCC students are hired as Peak Timers – 19 hours/week – part-time Sat/Sun they can work and go to college. Don’t require computer application skills but it is good that they have it. Will be trained. Employees are bonded.
  
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  Personal Bankers (full-time) – don’t have to have college degree. Look for high school diploma and individuals who are good in sales; they sell products. Computer skills helpful. Word and Excel helpful. Other programs are in house and training is on-the-job. Have to have good customer service skills.
  
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  In the public accountant business – important that employees show up on time, meet basic work hours; Skills – have experience in Quickbooks, be able to answer telephone, work phone system, and have some email capability. Word and Excel also needed. Trained on specific tax program(s).
  
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  Look for general accounting, payroll, and familiarity with taxes. Any tax preparation experience – income and deductions helpful. Ask them if they have online experience, personal tax experiences. Initial responsibility will be to assemble taxes. They will progress to more responsibility as they are trained in-house.
  
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  General accounting knowledge. Good customer service skills a must. Able to deal with people and their financial issues.
  
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  Important that employees recognize everyone makes mistake, work is a learning environment. Try to notice blame making, excuse making; try to emphasize responsibility. We want employees to own their mistakes and learn from them. We model this behavior of self-responsibility and honesty.
  
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  Have strict confidentiality policy. Many clients in different businesses – employees not allowed to share client list or information with anybody. If we find out this was done, you will be fired. Make it clear it the beginning.
  

2. 
   If you have supervised an outstanding employee, based on your experiences, what additional skills or characteristics would you prefer to see in them?
   

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  Mine are students, has not graduated. I look for excellent customer service skills. For KCC student, she has been shopped by a mystery shoppers 3 times in one month and received 100% in all 3 evaluations. She delivered excellent service. From the interview, she was bubbly. This student is a nursing student.
  
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  Teachable.
  
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  Grasp what needs to be done and focus on the task at hand, do it with accuracy; some have better focus on task than others – don’t need a lot of direction, almost a gift or something.
  
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  Technical competence always important. A lot of the younger ones teach us about Word and Excel – they are better at applications and can teach them.
  

3. 
   Think for a moment about the performance of KCC graduates. Now, consider the performance of other non-KCC employees. How well do the KCC graduates perform in comparison to others? In what specific areas, if any, do KCC graduates outperform others? In what areas, if any, do KCC graduates not perform as well?
   

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  KCC graduates vs. other employees: Within the group at KCC you have some better than others. We speak with faculty to consider hiring based on references.
  
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  Some excellent people come out of KCC; looking for the best. They come out of the program well trained.
  
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  Equally. Look at cash handling. For those we hire, they have cash handling experience. Retail experience would be helpful.
  
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  May be good at cash handling but we have to teach sales.
  
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  A sales course would be important.
  
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  In my business customer service is more important than sales; suppose to defer service questions to me. Customer service would be in their favor (even on the telephone) but not essential.
  

4. 
   Based on our discussion, your familiarity with the OAT/ACC programs, and perhaps more importantly, your experience, how might the College improve its courses? Its programs? The performance of its graduates? Are there specific areas you feel that should be changed or modified?
   

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  Think you guys are doing a good job.
  
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  I know for awhile you were heavy into Peach Tree, have to get into Quickbooks. Good to train them on relevant software.
  
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  I like if a person understands nature of computer system, how network works. I wouldn’t put them in charge of installation – too risky but a basic understanding helps. A good understanding of small business computer systems would be great.
  
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  Basic trouble-shooting would be helpful, not necessary to fix big problems but to be able to know when to call for help. Computer knowledge is essential to the success of our business.
  

5. 
   Over time, considering the changing nature and demands of the industry, in your experience, to what extent have KCC student employees or graduates been prepared for these changing demands and responsibilities?
   

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  I kind of go by what I hear at the advisory group – seems to me that they are working to keep the curriculum moving forward & relevant. Basic principles of accounting have not changed.
  
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  They are prepared. If missing skills, we send them to take your OCET computer classes – Word, Excel, Powerpoint beginner and intermediate, Windows, Outlook – start with supervisors and work down. Taken on work time, company pays. Employee receives computer wizard award. Up to them to apply what was learned.
  

6. 
   How well do KCC graduates perform relative to your personal and professional expectations of an entry-level employee?
   

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  Meeting expectations.
  
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  Have surpassed expectations. Able to do more than we expected - beyond the basic tasks.
  

7. 
   In what ways do you foresee the accounting or clerical professional changing in the near future? For example, over the next 3-5 years, what new skills, knowledge, or competence will be required of effective accountant or office administrator? What skills and competencies currently required may not be as important?
   

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  Technology is the big deal. There’s much more going on in our business on the Internet. Everything becoming more online capable. Movement toward the paperless office. Challenges – e-signing taxes, e-file everything (Federal). Take tax returns and scan everything to PDF files on the system.
  
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  Need to learn electronic filing, scanners, Adobe Acrobat PDF files.
  
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  Try to stay in the middle of the pack, smooth the bumps and I follow. Dive in and do it. We no longer offer an alternate to e-filing. They can have a check in mail or electronic deposit. E-filing more secure and accurate.
  
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  If running the firm for next 5 years and sell it, I have to be up with the times.
  
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  Technology skills – need to know how to attach digital photo files.
  

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  10-key essential by touch.
  
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  Shorthand hardly used.
  

8. 
   Employment trends:
   

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  Wife and I and one CPA with 17 yrs of experience. Been there year since last June (Bach in Finance) working towards CPA, taken by correspondence. We reimburse for education. Try to pay them good and keep them. She’s the 3^rd one in about 2 years. Last KCC part-timer left when she graduated, she lived in Hanalei and is working for one of our clients and is doing well.
  
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  Hired one accounting grad who started as a part-timer. She’s still with me. Working up the ladder.
  

9. 
   Do you have problems with the way our graduates are dressing?
   

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  Not the ones that I have now but in the pass. Professional attire means wearing a clean pair of slacks but tops may be too revealing. Ask them to wear a jacket. Have had time to send them home. Or when pants are 4 inches too long. Footwear can be open toe, with a strap.
  
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  Young people in general model their fashion over Britnee Spear which doesn’t work for us. We gave one girl $200 bonus to buy business clothes because we knew she didn’t have money. Must cover tattoos. Young people today have a very casual idea of “business dress.”
  
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  KCC can help us by creating the awareness earlier: Examples – a one day presentation. Similar to reality tv shows, students can do a split screen of themselves, “before” and “after.”
  
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  We want them to dress “neutral” – not make a statement – don’t want to take issues with our clothing. For men, Dockers or cords are appropriate. Want customer to focus on the service we provide, not their clothes.
  

10. 
    Do you have problem with timeliness with coming on time and breaks?
    

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  Not college kids but other employees.
  
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  Students don’t call in sick.
  
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  Want workers there at 8:30 and they generally are there.
  

11. 
    Other:
    

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  Huge demand for IT – computer technology graduates. Small business need good computer guys on island – all over worked.
  
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  We are so reliant on computers to do our job; with sensitive equipment we need computer folks we can trust.
  
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  Drug testing required for employment. Warn students that they must be drug-free.
  
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  May need to tap retirees to fill future positions.
  

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  2 accounting employers attended the focused meeting.
  
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  One employer presently employees current students on a part-time basis.
  
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  The other employer does not have any current graduates at this time but has employed KCC graduates on a part-time basis in the past.
  
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  He has served on Accounting Advisory Group which discusses needs of employers and would be voicing his opinion based on some of their discussions.
  

Submitted by:

Sharon Chiba, Facilitator

Bonnie Honma, Recorder