5 Tactics for Hiring Remote Employees

The number of employees working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic has been increasing. Odds are your accounting and finance team is included in this group. If so, you must know what to look for when hiring remote employees. Because you cannot oversee a staff member’s work in person, the criteria for hiring are different than when hiring for on-site roles.

Implement these five tips when hiring remote accounting and finance employees.

Understand the Motivation for Remote Work

Find out the reasons for each candidate wanting to work remotely. For instance, they may need flexibility to care for their children or an aging parent. Also, candidates might desire to work for an employer that’s geographically distant without having to relocate. Gaining greater insight into the desire for remote work can help you make more informed hiring decisions.

Emphasize Soft Skills

Focus on the interpersonal skills needed for remote work. For instance, time management, tech knowledge, and communication are important. Self-motivation, organization, and self-sufficiency are important as well. Candidates need to show they can work independently while meeting deadlines.

Set Up Remote Testing

Provide remote testing for the skills needed to complete the work. For instance, assign a short project related to the type of work the candidate would do if hired. Set a deadline to submit their work. See how well each candidate handles potential tech issues, asks questions about the assignment, and produces a finished product. Or, use a web-based platform that lets you customize tests in aptitudes such as auditing or financial analysis.

Provide Flexibility

Provide as much flexibility as possible in your remote work arrangements. For instance, let employees set their own work hours. Completing tasks during peak performance hours keeps them engaged and productive. Also, emphasize the importance of measuring results more than hours worked. When employees finish their tasks on time, they can move on to other projects. This lets them accomplish more throughout the week, resulting in greater achievements, job satisfaction, and employee retention.

Offer Perks

Emphasize the attractive perks your company has to make remote work even more fulfilling. For instance, provide wellness programs that enhance physical, emotional, mental, financial, and professional well-being. Also, offer virtual team-building events such as a happy hour or movie night. Additionally, provide reimbursement for job-related books, seminars, and other professional development. Plus, offer subscriptions for home delivery of meal kits to prepare healthy dinners. Desirable perks can enhance your remote work culture, employee happiness, and productivity.

Partner with a Recruiter

Hiring remote workers involves finding out why candidates want to work from home and whether they have the technical and interpersonal skills required for success. Pointing out the flexibility and perks your company provides for remote workers helps to attract top talent.

When you need to hire remote accounting and finance professionals, talk with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Discover firsthand why we were named on the inaugural Forbes List of America’s Best Recruitment Firms in 2020. Find out more today.

5 Things You Need to Know About Unemployment Claims

With the recession going on because of the coronavirus pandemic, many companies are reducing their workforce in response to changes in operations. As a result, your organization’s unemployment claims may be increasing. If so, your experience ratings are being reevaluated, which can cause your state unemployment tax rates to increase. Therefore, you need to know how you can minimize the impact of unemployment claims on your business.

Discover five ways unemployment claims impact your company and what you can do about it.

Minimize Your Terminations and Reductions in Force

Reduce your number of terminations and reductions in force as much as possible. Some employees who lost a job could claim unemployment benefits if they were terminated due to financial cutbacks, because they weren’t a good fit for the job, or because of a minor incident. These numbers affect your state unemployment tax rates. To avoid termination or reduction, consider a furlough or temporary reduction in hours or pay.

Check Your Base Year Employer Forms

Pay close attention to the Notice to Base Year Employer forms you receive. These come when a former employee becomes separated from their next employer and files for unemployment benefits. The forms show the percentage of their unemployment you’ll be charged unless you respond within 30 days. Your response can limit the number of benefits your company ends up paying.

Your Account May Be Charged for an Employee Who Quits

Be aware that your state unemployment insurance account can be charged for an employee who quits because of reasons attributable to your company. For instance, a change in the worksite may increase the employee’s commute or difficulty of travel. Because the amount of money you pay in unemployment benefits is related to the number of former employees who collect payments after leaving your company, you want to keep this number to a minimum.

Protect Your Company with Documentation

Maintain detailed records on each employee. Clear documentation can prove the validity of your response to an unemployment benefits claim. Your records should include employment policies, job descriptions, contracts, offers, and other job-related information. Have the employee sign every document to show they reviewed and understood the information.

Manage Your Workforce with a Staffing Agency

One of the best ways to manage your fluctuating workforce needs is to partner with a staffing agency. Because the agency bears the liability for temporary and contract employees, it also is responsible for their unemployment benefits. You can blend temporary or contract employees with your full-time staff with no financial impact on your company when they leave.

Hire Accounting and Finance Professionals

Unemployment claims have a significant impact on your company’s bottom line. Implementing the above tips to reduce the expenses related to your unemployment insurance can help your company save money long-term.

When you need help reducing the amount of money your organization spends, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Our staffing consultants can provide innovative and creative solutions that exceed your expectations. Get more information today.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources Wins ClearlyRated’s 2021 Best of Staffing® Talent Diamond Award for Service Excellence

Diamond Award winners have won the Best of Staffing Award for at least five years in a row, consistently earning industry-leading satisfaction scores from their clients and job seekers.

The staff of Casey Accounting & Finance Resources (www.caseyresources.com) is pleased to announce they have earned ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing® Talent Diamond Awards for providing superior service to their job candidates for at least five years in a row. Presented in partnership with presenting sponsor, CareerBuilder, and gold sponsors Indeed and Glassdoor, ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Diamond winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their candidates. This is the sixth consecutive year the company has won the Talent Satisfaction award. Less than 1% of staffing companies earn the Diamond award for Best of Staffing.

Focused on helping companies find the right people for their job openings, Casey Accounting and Finance Resources received a Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are 88.2% for talent satisfaction, far exceeding the industry average of 18%. The NPS question of “how likely is it that you would recommend XYZ company to a friend or colleague?” created by Fred Reichheld determines the tier of how strong your customer service is. Anything above 70% NPS is at the top of the echelon and considered ‘world-class service.’

We want to thank all of our associates and job seekers for trusting our team. We appreciate you and look forward to ongoing partnerships with you.

How Customer-Centricity Factors into Successful Change Management

This is the second of a two-part series of articles on disruption and the importance of customer-centricity. The first part of this series was published in February’s newsletter. In this article, we’ll discuss the best predictors of successful organizational change. But first, let’s summarize the key highlights of last month’s article on How to use Disruption as an Opportunity for Change:
  • Most people are resistant to change, yet great leaders use disruption for capitalizing on change and improving customer-centricity.
  • The ways to prioritize change, and taking challenges, and turning them into opportunities included:
  • Gallup has also identified seven principles leaders can use for effective change management.
    • Clearly articulate the vision for change.
    • Involve the right people: limited vs. broad involvement.
    • Communicate the right information at the right time.
    • Always account for resistance to change.
    • Celebrate short-term wins without declaring premature victory.
    • Effectively anchor the change to the organization.
    • Always plan for change to be “the only constant.”

The Best Predictors of Successful Organizational Change

According to Gallup, the best predictors of successful organizational change are strong leadership and engaged employees. Plenty of articles outline successful organizations that have strong company cultures and strong customer-centric practices. So, how does this help with the change management process? Forrester Research states that to succeed, customer-centricity should be embedded in the way you do business. Therefore customers must be made the focal point of your business strategy and operations. Customer-centric organizations set high expectations for their employees to provide extraordinary experiences to customers, and in turn, customers reward these companies with trust. Customer-centric organizations also collect various data points that help determine ways to provide customers with better and additional services and products that, in turn, make their customers successful. Altogether, this knowledge helps drive decision-making processes, regardless of disruption. We all know that creating a strong customer-centric culture isn’t for the faint of heart, and it requires an ongoing commitment throughout the organization. What customer-centric organizations do well is they continuously build and strengthen customer relationships. So, how have they continued this strong bond during COVID-19, where everything is virtual? Scott Steinberg, a futurist and keynote speaker, offers these best practices to create meaningful relationships from a distance. Here are excerpts from one of his articles. To read the entire article, click here.

1. Create good reasons to be in contact.

Tactical takeaway: Rather than attempt routine check-ins with clients, instead create cleverly-packaged offers that help customers solve pressing problems—then creatively pitch these programs as can’t-miss insights, educational programs, and events.

2. Make a point to show your appreciation.

Tactical takeaway: Create fun, quirky and heartwarming mailers to surprise and delight your customers (and help you stay on their radar) with a message of appreciation or unexpected goodwill and cheer. Or, set up a virtual lunch and send your client’s favorite meal to his or her desk.

3. Become a go-to source of insight and education.

Tactical takeaway: Distill your expertise and insight into articles, guides, e-books, whitepapers, social media posts, videos, and other snackable content that can quickly steer clients towards the answers they need to help deal with ongoing challenges and disruptions.

4. Shine a spotlight on your clients.

Tactical takeaway: Establish partner-focused programs and publishing channels that put customers (and customer stories) front and center to show your appreciation, offer support and build awareness for their hard work and efforts.

5. Source partner feedback and input.

Tactical takeaway: Invite clients to offer feedback and input into the development process, create more opportunities for customers to share their opinion, and look for ways to promote greater ongoing collaboration. Steinberg comments, “The way forward in challenging times is always to work together – and, as ever, you and your customers can continue to do so successfully simply by looking for clever and creative ways to work (albeit digitally for the moment); hand-in-hand.” It’s never too late to lean into improved customer-centricity regardless of disruption. Don’t waste this opportunity to implement some or all these ideas or create your own.