What are the best practices for onboarding and integrating your offshore accounting team with your in-house team?

Introduction:

When it comes to offshoring the accounting team for your accounting firm, ensuring seamless integration with your in-house team is essential. One of the biggest mistakes we observe among business owners is the inadequate onboarding of their offshore team and the lack of integration with their existing local team. The consequences of overlooking these critical steps can range from reduced productivity to cultural misalignments, ultimately impacting the firm's bottom line and operational efficiency.

However, by effectively adopting best practices for onboarding and integration, your firm can save between 25 to 50 percent on salaries, equating to as much as $47,000 per offshore employee. This significant cost-saving opportunity, coupled with the potential for enhanced operational efficiency, underscores the importance of a strategic approach to offshoring. In this blog, we will learn the four best practices to help your firm successfully onboard and integrate your offshore accounting team with an in-house team and achieve the desired results.

4 best practices for onboarding and integrating your offshore accounting team with your in-house team

Here are the four best practices that your firm should adopt for effective onboarding and integration of an offshore accounting team:

Develop a training plan

One of the most important things to do when hiring an offshore accounting team is immediately establishing a connection and providing them with a structured onboarding and training program. A well-defined training plan ensures new team members are fully informed about their responsibilities and feel valued and integrated into the company.

Leaving new employees without guidance or tasks on their first day can create feelings of isolation and a negative first impression. To avoid this, a comprehensive training strategy, typically outlined in an accessible spreadsheet, is key. This strategy should detail:

Training topics: Clearly define the specific subjects or skills to be covered in the training program. This could include company policies, accounting software, and industry-specific regulations.

Scheduled dates and times: Set a realistic timeline for each training topic to ensure new team members have enough time to fully grasp the concepts without feeling overwhelmed.

Required training materials: Include links to, or descriptions of, all necessary training resources. This could range from software tutorials and updates on tax laws to company-specific procedures and policies.

Method of delivery and instructor details: Elaborate on how the training will be delivered (e.g., via live video calls, recorded sessions, or interactive modules) and identify who will conduct each session. Specifying this information is crucial whether it's an in-house accounting manager, an external expert, or through a mentorship arrangement.

This proactive approach ensures that offshore accounting teams are effectively onboarded, making them feel welcomed and adequately prepared to begin their roles. Ultimately, this fosters a productive and positive work environment for all team members.

Implement Key Results Areas (KRAs) for offshore accounting teams

Key Results Areas (KRAs) are vital benchmarks that define the expected outputs or outcomes of a specific role within your organisation. These benchmarks can be quantitative, such as numerical targets, and qualitative, reflecting the quality of work in line with role responsibilities detailed in job descriptions.

For each member of your offshore accounting team, determining their KRAs involves closely examining their assigned tasks and responsibilities. Then, set clear expectations for their productivity over a specified period. For instance, you might expect an offshore accountant to manage several client accounts efficiently monthly or ensure financial reports comply with regulatory standards and corporate policies.

Documenting these KRAs in your firm's process library as a reference point is recommended. A KRA document for each accounting role should clearly outline the service delivery requirements, detailing the tasks and expected outcomes in a straightforward, two-column format.

Having KRAs in place ensures that all team members, regardless of location, are aligned with their roles' expectations. While KRAs might sometimes be overlooked for onshore staff due to direct oversight by managers, they are particularly crucial for managing offshore staff. This structure facilitates understanding job requirements and promotes consistent performance monitoring. Regularly reviewing these KRAs and providing ongoing feedback and support helps maintain high accountability and performance standards within your offshore accounting teams.

Integrate your firm's culture with your offshore accounting team

At this point in establishing an offshore team, your onshore staff mustn't be just aware of but fully comfortable with the collaboration. There might be uncertainties regarding the integration's impact on their roles, which need addressing promptly to avoid any negative perceptions that could complicate the integration process.

A highly effective strategy to ensure a smooth cultural integration is to involve your onshore accounting team directly in the training and supervision of offshore colleagues. This approach facilitates a sense of responsibility and ownership over the integration process and fosters a deeper understanding of the offshore team's capabilities. As a result, your onshore team will quickly appreciate the value and efficiency that the offshore team brings to the organisation, eventually simplifying their workload and enhancing productivity across the board.

By adopting this method, you're not just merging two sets of professionals but blending two cultures into one unified team. This unity is critical for the seamless operation of your accounting firm, ensuring that both onshore and offshore teams work harmoniously towards shared goals and standards.

Regular communication is key

As with any team, regular communication is crucial in fostering strong working relationships and ensuring everyone is on the same page. This applies to both onshore and offshore teams.

To keep all team members informed and up-to-date, consider implementing a weekly or bi-weekly virtual meeting for the entire accounting team. During these meetings, provide updates on company news, address any concerns or challenges, and recognise team members for their achievements.

In addition to regular meetings, encourage open communication channels between team members. This can include a designated group chat or email thread where team members can quickly reach out for support or task clarification.

Effective communication within the team also means providing feedback and addressing any performance issues promptly. This helps maintain high work standards and promotes a continuous improvement culture.

By prioritising regular communication, you can foster a sense of belonging and teamwork within your accounting team, regardless of their location. This is crucial for productivity and overall job satisfaction, leading to better performance outcomes for the firm.

Ending note

Offshore accounting services have increased in popularity due to the high-quality assistance offered to various clients by offshore accounting firms. An accounting firm needs to plan and implement a holistic approach to integrate offshore accounting teams successfully. By following the above mentioned strategies, you can effectively bridge the gap between onshore and offshore accounting teams and improve your accounting firm's overall productivity, efficiency, and success.

At Accxpert, we've been providing Australian accounting firms with offshore staff for several years. 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. We prioritise effective communication and collaboration between your in-house team and offshore team members that ensure a seamless integration and maximum success for your firm.

Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help your accounting firm thrive in an increasingly competitive market. Together, we can build a strong and efficient team that delivers exceptional results for your clients.