How to Recruit Remote Workers to Your Accounting & Finance Positions

Hiring accounting and finance employees in a tight labor market isn’t easy. Since candidates expect a lot from their employers, you need to work hard to encourage them to join your team. One perk to attract accounting and finance candidates is offering remote work options. This widens your candidate pool to include significantly more candidates.

Here are four tips for recruiting remote workers to your accounting and finance positions.

Show Support for Remote Workers

Demonstrate throughout your recruiting process how you support remote workers. Highlight on your career page how you include remote accounting and finance workers in your company based on the role and team needs. Label your job openings as remote-eligible. Include in the job description details about what working remotely actually looks like. Mention questions to expect during an interview for a remote position. Share stories of how remote workers actively embrace your flexible work culture. Help candidates see themselves working remotely and being fully supported by your organization.

Be Authentic

Show candidates that the flexible culture they learn about during the recruiting process matches the reality of working remotely for your company. Describe specific ways remote workers are included in team activities and supported as valuable employees. Demonstrate how the messages you communicate through your employer brand match with how your business operates. This may include enforcing key policies, processes, and tools similar to those involving onsite employees. Mention a method such as Slack that remote workers use to communicate with their team. Provide targeted perks to support productivity and inclusion for remote workers. For instance, if onsite employees have a snack wall, offer remote workers a monthly subscription snack box.

Highlight Required Skills

Point out the necessary skills to work remotely. Strong communication, collaboration, and organization skills are required. Excellent time management, self-discipline, and accountability skills are essential. Use pre-employment tests to evaluate these skills. Determine candidates’ comfort level with video chatting, which many meetings and collaborations will require to connect remote team members. Find out whether candidates have an internet connection with a certain speed or a specific brand of laptop to complete their work. If not, you can provide the necessary items if those candidates get hired.

Offer a Paid Trial

Instead of extending a job offer to desired candidates, extend a contract for a trial period. Include how long the trial period is how the candidate will be compensated and other pre-agreed conditions. Assign actual work to see how skilled a candidate is, how well they learn, and how seamlessly they fit into your culture. When the trial period ends, decide whether to permanently hire the candidate.

Source Remote Accounting and Finance Workers

Source remote workers through Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. As a leading Chicago employment agency, we reduce your time spent on recruiting, evaluating, screening, and interviewing candidates. Find out more today.

 

Easy Tips to Start an Employee Referral Program

Employee referrals are one of the most effective methods for sourcing employees. Your top employees have similarly qualified connections who blend with company culture. As a result, tapping into their networks is in your best interest.

Follow these tips to start an employee referral program for your company.

Determine Your Hiring Needs

Figure out your current staffing needs, employee motivation, and company culture. Focus on which types of positions you need to fill, including whether some are harder to fill than others. Find out what your employees like most about your company and the work they perform. Determine what motivates your team to finish their tasks. Ask how they would describe company culture, such as traditional or progressive, formal or casual. You need this information to showcase what you’re looking for and why candidates want to work for you.

Set Hiring Goals

Create specific, measurable, time-restricted hiring goals. You may want to bring in a specific percentage of qualified candidates or aim for a few candidates increased by a certain factor. Or, you could focus on reducing your hiring costs by a set percentage in a certain amount of time. Provide the staff, time, and monetary resources required to pursue these goals. Assign an employee to lead your employee referral program and delegate tasks. Track your success and make the required adjustments.

Explain Job Requirements

Let employees know exactly what you’re looking for in candidates so they can refer connections. This is especially important if the openings are in other job functions or departments. Provide links to job descriptions in emails asking for referrals. Highlight what you’re not looking for to narrow your requirements further.

Select Rewards

Decide how to reward employees for referring candidates who accept a job offer. Although you may choose to give cash, find out what motivates employees to refer connections. They might prefer additional vacation days, tickets to a concert or sporting event, a gift card, or gym membership.

Provide Regular Updates

Keep employees in the loop as to where referrals are in the recruitment process. They’ll be more inclined to refer candidates in the future. Even when a candidate isn’t chosen for an interview, send the employee a thank-you email. Encourage them to continue to refer candidates.

Maintain Simplicity

Keep your employee referral program simple. Use HR software to automate the process. You might use email templates with social media links for employees to share when you need an opening filled. When a connection applies for a position, the program tracks which employee referred the candidate. Create rules for what happens if more than one employee refers the same candidate, how long a new hire must remain for an employee to receive an award, and other pertinent information.

Find Accounting and Finance Candidates

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Is Your Office in Need of a Little Bit of Love? 4 Signs Employee Morale is Low

Low morale reduces productivity and performance. When employees are not engaged, they often miss deadlines and turn in subpar work. Team members may show up for work less often or leave the company. As a result, you’re forced to spend more time hiring new employees. If you don’t improve the underlying causes of the situation, nothing will improve long-term. Here are three signs employee morale is low and what to do about it.

Increased Absenteeism

If employees call in sick more often or don’t show up for work, morale is low. They may perform the same tasks day after day and lose engagement. Staff might stop being inspired by their projects and view them as a series of to-dos before the weekend. Losing motivation behind work activities decreases productivity. Employees could be stressed and unsure of how to handle it. This can result in anger, depression, high blood pressure or poor immune function. To combat increased absenteeism, inspire your team to get back their motivation to complete their work. Remind them why they do what they do. Meet with each teammate every week to talk about their goals. Find out why those goals matter so you know how to keep your team engaged. If a team member needs help to reignite their passion for the company mission, determine outside projects they can work on. Allow team members to set their hours or work remotely as much as possible.

High Turnover

If you experience a substantial level of employee turnover, morale is low. Employees typically quit because something that used to keep them working no longer has the same effect. Perhaps they’re not having fun, are uninspired or aren’t developing relationships with coworkers. Keep in mind that when one staff member quits, it’s common for others to follow suit. To reduce high turnover, focus on collaboration. Implement tools and strategies to encourage colleagues to complete tasks together. Because people like to work with friends, they’ll get to know each other and have an increased reason to stay with your company.

Reduced Productivity

If employees are less productive than usual, morale is low. Perhaps you’ve been adding to team members’ workloads without providing the resources needed to fulfill the responsibilities. Maybe you’ve been micromanaging to ensure things get done on time. These actions make work less fulfilling and more of a chore, reducing interest in completing projects on time. To combat reduced productivity, provide your team autonomy. Placeless emphasis on how to do something as long as the goal is reached. Encourage teammates to be involved in making decisions. Remind your staff why their roles are important and the ways they add value to the organization.

Hire Motivated Accounting and Finance Professionals

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Should I Hire Someone Who’s Always Been a Temporary Employee?

When you come across a resume from an accounting or finance professional who’s worked only temporary positions, you might dismiss the candidate as not being focused or serious about having a regular job. However, it’s in your company’s best interest to stop and consider what knowledge, skills, and experience the candidate may have gained from their time with each employer. Odds are the candidate has exactly what you need to fill your open role. Here are four reasons why.

They Fill Skills Gaps

Temporary employees can fill the skills gaps in your organization. These short-term workers deal with short-term problems while nurturing long-term solutions in practically every industry and field. Temporary employees can fill staffing needs that other workers cannot. This is especially important when you don’t have time to find qualified candidates to complete a project or fill a niche position. Because an experienced temp already demonstrated they have the skills and experience necessary to excel in a role, they’ll be able to add value to your organization.

They Enjoy Their Work

Temporary employees are passionate about what they do. They enjoy having opportunities to grow and build their career. Because temps have to prove themselves every time they start working at a new company, their motivation level and willingness to go the extra mile are high. Temporary employees know how to set and achieve individual and team goals that add value to an organization. Even if they don’t have the exact hard skills needed to excel in your open position, temps’ desire to learn can make them well-qualified to fill the role. You may be able to set a trial period to see how their passion translates into value for your company.

They Provide a Fresh Perspective

Temporary employees bring your organization ideas to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Because they worked at a variety of companies, temps may be able to take on additional projects while fulfilling their main responsibilities. For instance, temporary employees could use their downtime to update your website or filing system. Or, you could ask them to complete other tasks related to their strengths and interests. The extra help you receive will be a welcome bonus.

They Quickly Onboard

Temporary employees know how to begin producing when working at a new company quickly. Their agility to learn job responsibilities and blend with culture makes them well equipped to begin benefitting the organization in less time than other workers. Requiring less time for onboarding and training means increased productivity and reaching business objectives.

Hire Top Accounting and Finance Employees

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Are You Meeting Finance Candidates’ Pay Expectations?

Part of the challenge in hiring finance candidates is meeting their pay expectations. Although many candidates have realistic ideas of pay ranges, some expectations may be too high or too low. Rather than turning to other candidates for interviews, take the time to decide whether a candidate whose pay expectations are outside your range may be worth considering after all. Here are some ways to do so.

What to Do When Pay Expectations Are Too High

If a candidate’s pay expectations are beyond your range, you want to avoid wasting anyone’s time by keeping them interested in the role. However, don’t give up on pursuing the candidate. Instead, send the candidate an email thanking them for their interest in the position. Let the candidate know their target salary is outside your range for the position. Share that if the candidate’s target isn’t firm, you’d like to discuss the role further. Otherwise, you don’t want to waste their time. Provide your pay range so the candidate can decide how to proceed. They might be able to go a bit lower in their pay expectations.

What to Do When Pay Expectations Are Too Low

If a candidate’s pay expectations are well below your range, you might be tempted to think the candidate won’t be a good fit for the position. However, keep in mind that previous pay is not an indication of a candidate’s true value. Because it’s hard to know which pay range is appropriate for a certain role, companies don’t always properly compensate employees. As a result, being paid below-market-rate doesn’t mean you should dismiss the candidate. Instead, find out whether they can perform the work according to expectations. Or, rather than asking about pay expectations, tell candidates your range upfront. Let them know that pay depends on specific skills and experience, then ask whether they’re still interested in the role.

How to Provide Context Before Discussing Pay Expectations

If your company doesn’t like including pay expectations in job postings, and some overqualified candidates may be looking for higher pay than you’re offering, you might dismiss the thought of calling them for an interview. However, consider meeting with overqualified candidates to discuss details of the role and benefits. Since they know little about the position before talking with you, they don’t understand the responsibilities, pressures, hours, or other information that affects pay expectations. After gaining a better understanding of these factors, candidates are in a better position to decide what their pay expectations should be and whether to move ahead in the recruiting process.

Set Reasonable Pay Expectations

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4 Reasons Employee Retention Should Be a Top Priority in 2020

Given the costs involved with recruiting, employee retention needs to be among your biggest priorities. An effective retention plan fosters engagement, creates an authentic company culture, and shows you value what your employees care about most. Here are four reasons employee retention needs to be a top priority in 2020.

Employee Retention Conserves Resources

Retaining employees saves time and money. With the salary spent on HR and other departments involved in the hiring process, as well as the reduced productivity and output a new hire brings to a role, you could spend 6-9 months’ salary each time you replace a salaried employee. Even worse, replacing high-level employees can cost in excess of 150% of their salary. More hours spent advertising openings, reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates, and contacting references means less time for other tasks.

Supported Employees Remain Loyal

When you provide employee support as part of your retention plan, staff remain loyal to your company longer. Team members who feel valued, appreciated, and connected to your organization are less likely to leave when recruiters call or opportunities come up. Supported employees feel trusted, autonomous and engaged. They’re responsible for making a variety of decisions, receive constructive real-time feedback and have their contributions recognized. Staff who have support are well compensated, listened to and offered ongoing professional development opportunities. They’re treated with respect, offered opportunities to advance and given challenges to move their career forward.

Employee Turnover Is Contagious

When one employee leaves, others may feel encouraged to follow suit. This is especially true if a new hire starts work and finds out team members have been around for a short period of time. If the staff doesn’t stay very long, new hires might not feel encouraged to stay either. Because people are social creatures, we talk about almost everything. If there are significant issues affecting your team’s cohesion, teammates will discuss it. As problems increase in size because they’re not dealt with, employees feel encouraged to leave for a better work environment. In contrast, being welcomed to the team by employees who’ve been with the company for years and love working for you provide new hires confidence that they made the right decision in coming to work for the business.

Employees Get Stressed by Turnover

Turnover is stressful on your team. This is especially detrimental when teammates’ friends leave the company. Team members often leave because they miss working with people that they spend time with outside the office. Having significant numbers of employees leave affects collaboration and culture. Teammates feel stressed because of pressure to take on additional responsibilities, resulting in less time to perform their own work. To combat this issue, offer remote work options, additional paid time off, and other methods for reducing stress.

Hire Top Accounting and Finance Employees

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How Do You Calculate the ROI on Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement may be defined as proactively and passionately adding value while aligning with the company mission. Engaged employees demonstrate their commitment through their hard work, communication and body language. Because engagement impacts your bottom line through higher productivity and less turnover and absenteeism, knowing what a fully engaged team can do for your business is essential. Here’s how to calculate your ROI on employee engagement.

Reasons Employee Engagement Matters

Engaged employees are more focused and efficient than nonengaged employees. Engaged staff openly communicate about experiences, triumphs and challenges. They genuinely care about their work and don’t let anything stand in their way of attaining success. Engaged employees appreciate receiving feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so they can improve their performance.

Calculate Your ROI on Employee Engagement

To determine your ROI on employee engagement, begin by calculating your revenue per employee, which measures how efficiently you utilize your employees. Divide your annual company revenue by your average number of employees. For example, if your annual revenue is $31,550,000 and your average number of employees is 29, $31,550,000/29 means you earn approximately $1,087,931 in revenue per employee.

Next, determine your cost of absenteeism per employee. For instance, if your absenteeism per employee averages out to be 1.2% of total working days (3 days per year), take 1.2% of revenue per employee and add 1.2% of average employee salary. Based on the previous example, if your revenue per employee is $1,087,931 and average employee salary is $61,812, $1,087,931 x 1.2% = approximately $13,055 and $61,812 x 1.2% = approximately $742. Adding $13,055 + $742 means your cost of absenteeism per employee is $13,797.

Then, calculate your turnover rate by dividing the number of employees who left during the year by the average number of employees during the year. Based on the previous example, if your number of employees who left during the year is 11 and average number of employees during the year was 129, 11/129 means your turnover rate is 8.5%.

Next, determine your total cost of employee turnover by multiplying the average cost to replace an employee by the number of employees who quit or were fired last year. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, it costs 6-9 months of an employee’s salary to replace that employee. Nine months’ salary was used for this formula. So, $61,812/12 = $5,151 per month in salary; $5,151 x 9 = $46,359 for nine months’ salary. So, on average, if your cost to replace an employee is $46,359 and 11 employees quit or were fired last year, $46,359 x 11 = $509,949 in employee turnover.

Determine Your Total ROI

Finally, determine your total ROI value, which is the amount of revenue added due to a 20% increase in employee productivity, plus the money saved from a 41% reduction in absenteeism and 40% decrease in turnover. Based on the previous example, an increase in revenue would bring in an additional $28,068,594 ($1,087,931 x 20% = $217,586; $217,586 x 129 = $28,068,594). A reduction in absenteeism would save you $1,050,060 ($13,797 – 41% = $8,140; $8,140 x 129 = $1,050,060). A decrease in turnover would result in an additional $305,969 in revenue ($509,949 – 40% = $305,969).

Hire Engaged Employees

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The Top Technologies Impacting the Accounting Industry

With increasing regulation and client demands, your company may be automating its time-consuming tasks. Using technology to perform repetitive, low-value tasks frees up time for accountants to add increased value to the organization. Here are four top technologies impacting the accounting industry.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes large volumes of data at high speed and uses machine learning to make predictions about the data. AI helps accountants increase productivity and accuracy while decreasing costs. For instance, automating administrative tasks that involve data handling and processing increases compliance. The technology can quickly generate a tax report with guaranteed accuracy. AI can recognize and categorize data from various sources for the right accounting head. Accountants use the technology for monthly or quarterly close procedures, procurement, accounts payable and receivable, audit and expense management. AI chatbots can quickly answer questions about bill due dates, current account balances and the status on accounts.

Robotic Process Automation

Robotic process automation (RPA) uses software tools to transform the audit process from a handmade process to an assembly line process. Rather than using a variety of computer-dependent tools and processes linked by manual steps and keystrokes, new software combines such actions into one automated process. RPA automates repetitive tasks like copying and pasting information to improve audit quality, business processes and services provided by public accounting firms. For instance, many tax activities, such as calculating book-tax differences and preparing tax returns, are automated by RPA. Also, revenue audits are automated by software robots performing rules-based functions to execute reconciliations, analytical procedures and dual-purpose procedures.

Cloud Technology

Cloud technology uses accounting software to host data on someone else’s server and make the data available on any device with an internet connection. Accountants access and edit the same files from anywhere at any time. Scanning invoices, purchase orders, account statements and other documents into the cloud makes them available any time from anywhere. Securely storing files in the cloud means reduced cost due to less need for physical storage space. Real-time updates mean accountants access current information to make faster, more informed decisions. Giving accounting teams access to the same information streamlines accounting practices.

Mobile Accounting

Mobile accounting means accounting professionals can input data, update tax information, or run reports from anywhere. Team members can record expenses or payments any time from anywhere and gain updated information on the financial health of the company. Accountants access emails, balance sheets, tax data, files and other information from anywhere. They also can retrieve statements, exchange notes and easily communicate. Plus, accountants create and send invoices, perform bank reconciliations, track time and billable hours, add receipts and submit expenses with mobile technology. Using the right combination of efficient, scalable, secure technologies results in decreased costs, greater financial stability and improved business growth.

Hire Technologically Savvy Accountants

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Want to Be More Profitable: Improve Your Culture!

A profitable company culture requires people, processes and systems to be geared toward optimizing profitability. Each employee must behave in a way that promotes the organization’s financial success. They must understand that their actions determine whether other individuals want to work for the company and whether customers remain loyal. As a result, if you want your company to be more profitable, you need to work on improving its culture. Here’s how.

Leadership

Getting leadership on board with implementing cultural change is one step in transforming the entire organization. You need leadership’s consensus, commitment and support to guide their teams in creating desired change. Share how much more profitable your business can be by developing an attractive culture to increase employee and customer retention.

Desired Outcomes

Working with leadership to clearly define desired outcomes and profitability lets you clarify company goals for cultural change. You need a method for getting teams inspired to create cultural change and determine whether you’re making progress. Making clear progress and achieving small victories improves motivation to continue implementing change. A 1%-3% in a few key metrics can mean a significant increase in your bottom line.

Uniqueness

Establishing a unique culture helps you build a following. As with your employees’ individuality, unique aspects of your culture differentiate your company from the competition. When your culture sounds, feels and is experienced unlike any other, it attracts top talent and customers. Begin identifying your company’s uniqueness by examining your purpose. Focus on why your business exists and whom it serves. Come up with what uniquely differentiates your culture and makes it attractive. Make that obvious in your culture.

Communication

Having leadership communicate the benefits of cultural change to their teams helps get them on board with implementation. Employees need to understand how an improved culture and increased profitability benefit them. They also need their questions and concerns addressed before deciding to move forward. Understanding the expected value to the company and employees increases buy-in for cultural change.

Accountability

Because what is measured is done, you need to hold employees accountable for implementing cultural change. As a result, you must establish a performance management process in line with new cultural expectations. Include clear rewards, recognition and consequences for performance. Also, monitor and measure key performance metrics to determine profitability. Your goal is to improve both at the same time.

Work with a Leading Rolling Meadows Staffing Firm

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Your Ultimate Guide to Year-End Reviews

A year-end review assesses an employee’s performance over time, recognizes achievements and goes over areas for development and improvement. When properly set up and approached as an ongoing conversation, year-end appraisals become part of the continuous performance management system throughout your organization. Your employees and you can reflect on their self-evaluation and your assessment and plan for future development. Here’s your ultimate guide to year-end reviews.

Topics

Talk about a variety of topics in year-end reviews. For instance, discuss how each employee displays company values in their approach to work. Focus on subjects that matter most to your team. Bring up role-related questions that evaluate job-specific competencies relevant for each employee’s level in the company. Discuss company goals to see what was planned and achieved and what went off course. Focus on whether the goals were too easy or difficult, which coaching is needed to improve development and whether the context of the goals is clear and relevant for the business.

Self-Assessment

Provide each employee with a self-assessment well before year-end reviews. Share the information on the self-assessment so employees have time to prepare. They need to know which topics will be addressed so they can add to the discussion.

Collaboration

Encourage an open conversation with each employee. They should have completed a self-assessment that considered peer feedback and recognition received over the last period to provide a balanced picture of performance. Promoting discussion about an employee’s self-assessment encourages autonomy and responsibility going into the talk. You provide coaching and suggestions from your experience to help the employee develop.

Honesty

Allow each employee to acknowledge what they improved without fearing punishment. You’ll promote trust in both you and the company. Point out what’s been going well and specific ways the employee can improve. Celebrate employee wins to show support.

Action Plan

Determine what action each employee should take to improve performance. For instance, share company goals and how they apply to individual staff. Outline steps to achieve them. Offer training and support. Provide clear measurements for success.

Outcomes

Establish what will happen with each employee’s information after year-end reviews. Include who will see the review and what each employee is expected to do. Being transparent about the process and following up on the actions you agreed to take promote trust and respect.

Hire Through a Leading Chicago Employment Agency

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