The idea of remote working has had its own share of popularity in almost every trade. The same is the case with accounting. More CPAs and professional accountants today are seen preferring remote working employees over the fully-employed ones. But, why is remoting working such a hit? Well, who would not want to save a large amount of money that goes into managing employees, building and maintaining infrastructure, and paying rent for the office space when you can have the same productivity at a minimal expense?
However, as I always say, there is no free lunch. Remote working may be all goody-two-shoes of an idea, but it comes with its own set of concerns. Thus, the best thing to do before hiring remote staff is to take a run-through of these affairs before acting upon the plan of hiring remote employees for your accounting firm. Should you be concerned about migrating into the cloud? Of course, not. But, what is so bad about taking precautions instead of making alterations later?
So, here’s what you must do when working with a remote team:
Do not underestimate the power of interviews
Interviewing a candidate is important. It doesn’t matter if you are hiring a local candidate or a remote one, face-to-face interaction is important in either case. Your personal evaluation of whether the candidate meets your criteria and is fit for the position cannot be replaced. So, to ensure that you are making the right judgment and that you know your prospective employee’s skills and experience well, you can either administer a video call or a telephonic interview and evaluate.
Let them know your expectations
Hiring a remote employee nowhere implies that they are any less part of your firm as the local ones are. Your remote employee has as much right to know your expectations in detail as any other employee. So, you need to make it a point that you communicate what you expect of them, give them clarity about what you want, and how they can do it.
Ensure the office hours overlap
Since you are hiring a remote employee, there can be some or maybe a lot of difference in your respective time zones. In that case, you must try to overlap your office hours with theirs. Having at least a couple of hours a day overlapping with your remote employees is not only possible, but it will also help you keep track of the progress easily. Finding a few hours common with them will make sure that the roadblocks are identified and resolved, queries are answered, progress is monitored, and allow everyone to be on the same page. Hence, streamlining the work process irrespective of the location differences.
Real-time communication is important
Due to the difference in location, and time-zone too in some cases, real-time conversations may not be as feasible. However, both the employer and their remote employees can develop a culture of conversing via chat. This ensures that everything is on the record, primary concerns are clearly placed in writing, and written reminders are sent to simplify the process. There are several online applications available for employees to keep in touch via chat.
Leverage the cloud for better productivity
When we are talking about remote working, cloud technology cannot take a backseat. In fact, the cloud has managed to make remote-working a real possibility. Several businesses have found their calling in the cloud and accounting firms, too, have made the move. With everything stored at a centralized platform, it is easy to keep track of the tasks that are ongoing, that need to be done, and those already taken care of. In fact, the cloud also allows multiple users to collaborate in real-time, no matter where they are or what device they are on. Such flexibility and freedom to add or remove users from a particular set of data helps business owners to get things done instantly and securely.
Value your remote staff just as much
One common mistake that you may be making while hiring a remote employee is treating them as a temporary solution. This, however, is really not the case. It takes a lot of effort in finding an employee who comes with the right experience and knowledge in your particular field. Retaining your skilled remote employees will only help them understand your needs better, understanding responsibilities, and take ownership of their work. They can prove themselves reliable and you can leverage having them. In the meantime, give them time to grasp on things, understand the process, motivate them to learn and progress, and make them feel welcomed.
Regular meetings can be helpful
Online meetings are just as productive. Cultivate a practice of conducting regular meetings with your remote employees to keep yourself up-to-date with the daily progress. You can discuss the daily updates with them, let them know and understand any changes in the process, take up their doubts and clear them, and review the progress since the previous meeting. Meetings are a great way of sharing ideas, providing tips, and clearing doubts, and your remote employees deserve it just as much.
In Conclusion
If your goal is to hire a remote staff who can work according to your expectations, you need to make sure that they know it. Unilateral efforts, where only the employee is trying to fulfill your expectations without knowing what is required of them may not be as fruitful. Thus, it becomes the employer’s responsibility to make sure that the expectations are clearly stated. Including the practice mentioned above into your daily ritual can help to have a productive relationship with your remotely located employees.
Author Bio
Alice Wright is well skilled in all forms of Quickbooks Hosting Help and has also written several blogs & articles. She basically writes about Sage Hosting, sage 50 hosting and so on.
