This is episode 1 of season 2 of the conversation series when Mr. Smith speaks with a client and explains to him about Entigrity’s interview and hiring process.
CPA: Hey so I’m curious to know how do I get started with the interviewing and hiring process?
Ron Smith: Our Account Manager and Resourcing specialist will get in touch with you and help you navigate the hiring of new staff members. The account manager or better known as your ‘Offshoring Success Coach’ will become your new best friend and help you get the most out of your offshoring partnership. With vast experience and subsequent expertise on how to facilitate the best for you on this journey, your accounting manager will be there to guide and assist you every step of the way. They will also be instrumental at bridging the gap between your firm and Entirgrity.
Here is what your Offshoring Success Coach will help you with:
· Onboarding
· Accounting Management
· Queries or Complaints
· Capacity Planning
· Hiring or Expansion or Reduction
· Staff management/feedback
· Work timing changes
· False reporting
· Training
· Leaves, overtime and bonuses
· Pricing/Billing
Have a query or need assistance with an employee grievance? Your account manager is your go-to guy!
CPA: That’s great! So how will my account manager help me during the hiring process?
Ron Smith: Your account manager will be working closely with you to help you get the best possible staff for your offshore team. You will be asked to provide a detailed job description (JD) stating your requirement for the role you wish to hire for. Your account manager will scope out suitable candidates accordingly and together, both of you can pick the best candidate for your Firm.
CPA: Should I draft the JD in a particular way?
Ron Smith: All you need to do is make certain your JD mentions all your requirements in a comprehensive and detailed manner. Articulating a detailed list of requirements will help your account manager a great deal in shortlisting the perfect list of candidates for you.
We recommend including the following in your JD:
Type of work.
Day to day task
Reporting to office manager
Qualification
Experience
Software requisite
Timings specifications
Full-time or Part-time
Future guidance, if any
CPA: We can do that. So, what happens after I send the JD? Could you elaborate on the hiring process?
Ron Smith: We have kept the hiring process fairly simple and efficient. For better understanding we have divided it into five parts.
Resume - After the initial shortlisting of candidates is done by the Account Manager, they will send you their resumes.
Interview - Any candidates you wish to interview, your account manager can set it up. We believe this is a good value addition towards judging their suitability.
Test (Technical or other) - In the next step, you can conduct a written test to gauge their aptitude on technical and accounting knowledge.
Staff confirmation - If any of the candidates have passed your assessment and you wish to hire them, you will be required to officially confirm the same to your account manager.
Onboarding staff - The final step to this entire process is to onboard the staff successfully into your team.
I understand if you find this overwhelming right now, but don’t worry, our sourcing officer and your account manager will be present to guide you through everything. Told you he was your best friend, didn’t I?
CPA: That sounds great.. But what I am a bit apprehensive about is the test part of the entire process.
Ron Smith: That’s understandable. But a test along with virtual evaluation has proven to be the best way for selecting the perfect candidate. A technical test on applications such as quickbooks, excel, etc. or a writing test will help you in evaluating the logical, analytical and articulation skills of the candidate. To make it easier for you, we are happy to help you customize the test as and how you need it.
CPA: Phew! That’s a relief. If I’m correct, Entigrity hires internally as well, right?
Ron Smith: Correct. We definitely do. We hire staff as full-time employees and have successfully built a workforce of over 2,200 accounting professionals. We conduct a robust recruitment process to hire the best accounting professionals in the country. These professionals are selected after a comprehensive background and reference check. This is then followed by a technical and general competency test. We also ascertain whether the selected individual has the communication and interpersonal skills to fit in with the vibrant and dynamic culture of our organization.
CPA: Yes, communication skills matter a lot to our firm. How do you guys evaluate them while recruiting?
Ron Smith: We totally understand the importance of communication skills in offshoring, The English accent in India is considerably different from that of America. There is a huge ecosystem in India that caters to training professionals for positions that require them to have great speaking and communication skills with regards to an American clientele. At Entigrity, while hiring professionals for client facing roles, we make sure that the individual has such good communication skills that they are able to easily mimic an American accent.
CPA: What kind of accounting roles can I hire?
Ron-Smith: You can hire for all the roles mentioned below.
CPA: That’s quite a list! Do you provide staff for non-accounting roles as well?
Ron Smith: We sure do! Have look at the list below:
CPA: I see that there are very few senior level positions available. Why is that?
Ron Smith: Well, despite our best efforts, the current ecosystem in the country just doesn’t provide as many senior profiles as we want. It is pretty difficult to hire highly experienced professionals as they tend to have a high attrition rate. The high demand and low supply makes a senior professional hot property and though this gap is on its way to becoming smaller, currently it doesn't always aid our efforts in hiring many senior professionals.
CPA: So what level of experience should I expect in my perfect candidate?
Ron Smith: In my opinion, someone with 3-5 years of industry experience is your best bet. They possess the basic knowledge and industry experience to quickly assimilate into your firm’s culture and provide the expected output.
CPA: The time difference is quite large between our two countries. I was wondering if there was any possibility for an overlap.
Ron Smith: Yes! I’m happy you asked that question. At Entigrity we make sure that there is an overlap of at least 4-5 hours. Whichever time-zone you belong to, your offshore staff will begin their shift at 1pm your time. Collaboration is the key to success and an overlap in working hours will offer the best opportunity for this.
