Founded in 2020, Pinnacle Road is a Melbourne-based accounting firm that is driven to do things differently.
Many companies that have transitioned to a 9-day fortnight have done so by reorganising the workweek. This structure requires employees to work the same total hours over nine days instead of ten. Unlike these companies, Pinnacle Road sought to enhance its employee value proposition. The company aimed to reduce working hours by 10% without altering current salaries, thus offering more value to its staff.
“You’d think a 9-day fortnight would be well received by staff. However, when we were already struggling to keep up with our current workload, transitioning to a 9-day fortnight without a clear plan of how we were going to increase productivity added significant stress. To be honest, it felt like a pipedream," explained Managing Partner Jacob Hitchiner.
Understanding the challenges
Pinnacle Road had done some excellent preliminary work in identifying key productivity challenges for staff. “Sticking to deadlines was a significant challenge for our young firm,” explained Partner Steff Anderson. “We found that everyone was easily distracted, and maintaining focus for extended periods was difficult. We were jumping from one task to another without completing them. We would commit to tasks but wouldn't follow through. We had a great team but we lacked accountability and it led to stressful situations. We struggled not just with the deadlines we set ourselves, but also with the actual hard deadlines.”
Steff had seen Kognitive’s work at another accounting firm. Pinnacle Road decided to engage Kognitive to address these challenges and plan a pathway to improved productivity.
Identifying the root causes
“Before jumping into solution mode, it’s essential to gain a holistic understanding of the productivity challenges and ensure we’re addressing root causes,” explained Kognitive Founder and Managing Director, Ethan Glessich. “Therefore, we almost always begin with some form of productivity review, which explores a company’s productivity strengths and improvement opportunities.”
Given the challenges Pinnacle Road had identified, a Focus Review was chosen as the most relevant diagnostic tool to use.
“The findings from the initial review were really insightful,” explained Jacob. “They confirmed many of our suspicions and also revealed some unexpected results. It gave us confidence that the plan Kognitive presented would address the most important areas. For the first time, we started to see a pathway to the 9-day fortnight.”
Beginning the journey
Kognitive developed a six-month comprehensive plan to improve productivity, with a key structure that allowed for the plan to be adjusted along the way to handle unexpected events or adapt to the team’s evolving needs.
“The beginning was really exciting,” Steff noted, “The review had created a lot of positivity and buy-in among the staff. And as it was presented as beneficial for both their personal lives as well the firm’s goals, there was a lot of interest.”
Kognitive started training staff and helped the leadership team refine the internal tools and processes to ensure optimal efficiency.
Iterating to the desired outcome
“For me personally, it was amazing.” Commented Jacob. “My productivity skyrocketed within months, and I was accomplishing more work than I had ever thought possible. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing,” he continued. “Some of the staff didn’t adopt the new tools as we had hoped, and sometimes we experienced a case of two steps forward, one step back.” Jacob’s two-month trip to Europe in the middle of the program further exacerbated these challenges.
“Things never go exactly as planned when implementing change,” explained Kognitive’s Managing Director. “That’s why adopting an iterative approach is essential. It’s also critical to continuously reinvest in strengthening staff buy-in. Managing motivation and expectations is a big part of successful change. Staff need to know it is normal for things not to proceed exactly as planned, but if we keep advancing and improving, we’ll get there.”
Over the subsequent months, with Kognitive’s support, the team began to build a more focus friendly environment. They improved their planning and prioritisation processes, streamlined both their personal and team workflows, and enhanced the efficiency of the associated tools.
Gradually, the firm’s productivity metrics started to increase, and discussions about a launch date for the 9-day fortnight began to emerge.
Pulling the Trigger
On October 2, 2023 Pinnacle Road decided to make the leap to the 9-day fortnight.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, to be honest,” explained Jacob. “I wasn't sure if we were doing the right thing. We were effectively giving every employee a 10% pay raise. I was slightly nervous that it would undo the gains we had achieved.”
But the leap was rewarded. Pinnacle Road’s productivity continued to rise after making the transition. Their recruitment drive also reaped benefits as they began attracting top talent from the Big Four, drawn by the culture, opportunities and attractive structure they had established.
Three months later and the firm is in the strongest position it has ever been. Productivity and profits are up, staff are less stressed and the company is continuing to hire to keep up with the continued growth.
“For me, the biggest gain has not just been in productivity and profitability,” explained Jacob, “but also the impact it has had on our culture and me personally. I feel so much more in control of everything, and I now know with certainty I’m performing at my best. I doubt that without Kognitive’s support, we would have been able to make this transition. I can’t recommend them enough.”
