
Offshore outsourcing is no longer a practice limited to few. With the many benefits it offers, it is being used by companies of all sizes globally. Accounting firms have also turned to offshore outsourcing to help them deal with talent shortage to meet their requirements.
While offshore outsourcing certainly helps a firm to elevate efficiency and productivity, it can certainly be difficult to manage employees that work for your firm from another country. While it is challenging to manage remote employees, it can be done with the right approach. If you have a remote accounting team or are thinking about adopting offshore accounting, we have provided you with 5 best practices for managing remote accounting teams and improving efficiency.
Defining your goals
When you set out to work with offshore accounting professionals, you should have a clear picture in your mind about what you expect of them. So it is important to ensure that you recognize your goals and that you communicate these goals to your offshore team. It is only when your offshore employees have a clear understanding of your objective will they be able to produce and deliver the desired outcomes. Define your goals, be specific and leave no room for misunderstandings, whether it is a bookkeeping task or tax preparation.
Maintaining open communication
To follow up with the previous step, establishing effective communication channels becomes necessary. Communication is key for successful offshore outsourcing. Your offshore team is working from another country and if they are not on the same page as you, it can be counterproductive. Collaboration tools can be used between in-house and offshore teams to manage projects efficiently. Regular meetings with your offshore professionals allows you to keep in touch with them and offer assistance if necessary. It also makes them feel part of the team. Consistent communication ensures productivity as well as reduces errors.
It is also important to keep in mind that offshore employees are in a different timezone. So schedule meetings during hours that work for you both. It can certainly be a little challenging but not impossible to work out.
Monitoring performance
Not sure if your offshore accounting employees are producing the desired results? It is natural to be concerned about the quality of work that your employees are producing. To keep a check on the productivity as well as quality of your offshore team, ask for regular updates and reports. Depending on the accounting task that has been outsourced, relevant KPIs and performance metrics should be used to monitor progress and evaluate performance. It will help you to steer your team in the right direction and enhance operational efficiency.
Using the right tools and procedures
Before your offshore team even starts work with you, it is important to ensure that you have discussed the technology that you expect them to work with. Accounting professionals depend on accounting software and tools to streamline their work. So identify and assign these tools to your offshore team and ensure that they use them to get the work done. When the systems between the two teams are compatible it leads to improved productivity.
Providing training and on-boarding
Providing training to your offshore employees during their on-boarding process is an efficient way to introduce your business processes and technology. They can understand your firm operations better and become familiar with the accounting practice. The training helps them to learn new skills as well as improve their current knowledge. Ultimately, it allows your firm to achieve enhanced operational efficiency.
Considering them a part of your team
‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is not something you should be following if you have an offshore team. Always remember that the offshore employees are an extension of your in-house team. The more you make them feel welcomed and involved in your firm, the more likely they are to reciprocate your efforts in their work. Let them know that they are part of your team by keeping them in the loop regarding any updates in the company and asking them for their inputs. A good working relationship with your offshore team inspires confidence in them and leads to a healthy and productive work environment.
To conclude, while establishing and managing a remote accounting team is certainly not easy, it can surely be done if planned well. The above stated points are just a few ways you can manage your offshore accounting team to enhance efficiency and boost productivity. By partnering with trusted service providers such as Atika BPM, you can rely on us for hiring and managing your remote teams effectively.