Quick Tip to consider before hiring an Offshore staff
It's no surprise that CPAs and Accounting firms are turning to offshore staffing firms to help them deal with unavoidable staffing issues especially post-pandemic. Before Pandemic about 6.2% of the firms used offshore staffing! Post Pandemic that number has significantly increased to 41.3%, the reason being the big push towards outsourcing for accountants.
As more and more firms are adapting to building offshore staff teams, We bring you here,
Best Practice for Interviewing Offshore Staff
- Make It a two-way communication process: Let it not be a question-answer session, regardless of how eager you are to learn more about the applicant, the candidate is equally curious and may have questions, so encourage them to ask.
- English is 2nd Language in India:- English is a second language in India and typically people speak with a different accent. So if during your communication you are not able to understand/comprehend something you can always tell them to repeat themselves.
- Examine Your Ideal Candidate: Make sure you know your CV well before interviewing and have questions ready based on his experience/skillset which is briefed in his/her CV. Consider the prior experience of working with an Accounting firm.
- Right Evaluation of Technical Skills: Audit, Accounting, Tax or Customer Service, whatever roles you are looking for, in your firm. Make certain that they have the experience and knowledge that your role needs.
- Communication: Always keep cultural and educational differences in mind when developing offshore accounting teams that will benefit both you and your employees. Understanding the difficulties will assist you in forging and maintaining a positive relationship with the offshore team. Communication that is effective, consistent, and transparent is essential for increasing productivity and efficiency.
- Good Communicators v/s Excellent Communicators: Depending on the role please evaluate the need for communication skills. People who are in client-facing roles need excellent communication skills and hence that #1 requirement. However if the role would just require communication within a team, then even average/good communication skills are enough but do evaluate them on technical skills as that is important.
- Make Sure you conduct a Test: Before interviewing any candidate, you must conduct a test by providing a project or assignment and evaluate. Tests are the greatest approach to filter the best candidates and will save you a lot of time. In Processes, 5 tests should be conducted:
- Logical Reasoning
- Mathematics
- Data Interpretation
- Excel and Computer Testing
- English Speaking (verbal and written)
Make sure these tests do not exceed more than 2 hours.
- Make Them Comfortable: It has been observed that there is a certain level of inherent fear in offshore staff. So make sure you encourage them to ask questions and if you don’t understand ask them to repeat themselves and make them feel comfortable.
- Prior Experience of Working with Accounting firms: Prior experience in the accounting industry or such accounting outsourcing firms is important as it will help them in catching up in roles quicker.
Additionally, several large firms establish their own offices in offshore places such as India. When it involves outsourcing for accounting firms, India has been the foremost favored destination, and after all the explanations for this accounting area. India is the second home to tech giants, second home to fortune 500 companies, second home to accounting tech giants. Most commonly spoken language by Indian workforce, British influence & knowledge-driven economy. That’s why accounting outsourcing firms are accelerating in India. Some of the common examples of big-shot Indian CEOs in top multinationals.
- Arvind Krishna, CEO IBM
- Sundar Pichai, CEO Google
- Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
- Shantanu Narayan, CEO Adobe
- Ajaypal Banga, CEO Mastercard
- Rajeev Suri, Former CEO Nokia
Outsourcing for accounting firms is not just a trend and should thus be included as a competent part of the business strategy, but it is intricate and will only deliver effective results when devised by professionals with considerable knowledge and demonstrable experience, which is why you will see an increasing number of accounting firms are opting for outsourced accounting services in India. With offshore team management, many businesses stand to improve their revenues. Just follow these best practices to hire and manage a dedicated team of professionals remotely.
Entigrity™ is a trusted offshore staffing partner to over 500+ accountants, CPAs, and tax firms across the US and Canada. Our flexible and transparent hiring model helps firms of all sizes hire staff for accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation, or any other task for 75% less cost. As a firm 'run by accountants, for the accountants', Entigrity captures the hiring needs of accounting firms most precisely, providing staff that works directly under your control and management, still, you are left with least to worry about compliance, payroll taxes, overheads or any other benefits
About The Author
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Christopher Rivera
Christopher Rivera, Chris serves as a Director of Client Relations and Business Development at Entigrity. He is an expert at leading and managing teams actively from the front. His expertise in sales, training, coaching, mentoring and influencing combined with his competitive nature makes him a strong leader. Chris has traveled through the length and width of the country and has spoken with more than five thousand CPAs, understanding their challenges and limitations. On the grounds of that, he can now easily provide opinions and solutions that can be immensely helpful to the professionals. He has also represented Entigrity at a number of major accounting conferences and networking events.
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