Payroll Outsourcing Fundamentals: How to Ensure Smooth Onboarding of Your Offshore Staff

The last decade saw the accounting profession undergoing significant transformation. Instead of performing every task internally, lucrative trends such as payroll outsourcing are taking over the industry. This is evident from numerous recent studies conducted by various institutions and accountancy firms to analyse the changing accounting and payroll trends across the globe.

Outsourcing, however, is not just the process of transferring a cumbersome job to skilled and experienced third-party professionals. It comes with a great deal of responsibility for the firm outsourcing its services.

There are numerous UK payroll outsourcing companies that help accountancy practices each step of the way during an outsourcing association. For instance, top outsourcing providers help accountants select the most suitable engagement model for their practice and provide advisory services to facilitate faster growth.

However, once you have selected an outsourcing provider, shortlisted the right candidate for your firm, and signed the deal, the most important job remains – to onboard your offshore resources. This may seem like an easy and no-so-critical task but is, in fact, extremely crucial in facilitating a healthy and long-lasting outsourcing partnership.

So, if you have decided to outsource your payroll and are expecting to onboard your outsourced resource or team soon, here’s a complete guide on effective onboarding that you must keep handy.

Onboarding Tips Every Accountant Must Know

Onboarding isn’t as easy a process as it seems. There is much more to onboarding than just having new resources begin working on your tasks. When you outsource payroll services for accountants, you hire an offshore candidate or team to work for you. Therefore, there are several factors and tips that accountants must remember while onboarding outsourced resources.

Communication

QXAS’s survey titled Payroll Outsourcing Trends 2021 lists open communication as one of the four key pillars of successful payroll outsourcing. The study that involved sixteen UK accountancy practice owners sharing their insights and experiences of outsourcing payroll, charted the potential of effective communication in the success of an outsourcing partnership.

When you outsource your payroll to a third party working out of a delivery centre across borders, you may get the feeling of losing control over critical tasks. The only way to overcome this uncertainty is to communicate with your offshore team regularly.

Just like you, your offshore resources may be in uncharted waters too. They may be unsure about certain tasks or the way your practice functions. This is where communication plays a vital role in the payroll outsourcing process.

Goal and Expectation Setting

The next big thing you must do before your offshore team begins working on your tasks is to set clear goals and expectations. What do you expect from your offshore team? Do you want them to work a certain way and prepare reports in a specific manner?

Although partnering with a top UK payroll outsourcing provider assures experienced and skilled staff with complete knowledge of PAYE and other specialist payroll software, a new resource almost always faces uncertainty. Speak to them before they begin their work and introduce them to your internal team. Brief them about your clients and processes. If possible, help them lay down weekly and monthly goals that can be measured to evaluate their performance.

This will set a clear ground for better work management and eliminate the risk of miscommunication or confusion.

Also Read: Payroll Services for Accountants: What Can You Expect from Your Outsourcing Provider?

Transparency

Transparency is key when you have a team of offshore professionals working for your firm. Distance can create gaps in communication or facilitate miscommunication between teams. Therefore, be transparent and upfront with your offshore payroll team to avoid any confusion.

Do your outsourced payroll resources know your processes in and out? Are they aware of all the crucial internal communication pertaining to payroll in your company? Do you communicate with them about critical announcements, decisions, and wins or losses in your business?

If you answered NO to the above questions, you need a new and more transparent strategy to interact with your offshore payroll team. Outsourcing companies providing payroll services for small businesses and accountants train their resources to take over complex processes efficiently, but it is your responsibility to facilitate communication and make their job easier.

Feedback

How regularly do you talk to your offshore payroll specialists about their performance? Do you review and evaluate their goals from time to time?

Feedback is important for employees to improve their performance and bring efficiency into their work. As much as this rule applies to internal employees, it is crucial when we talk about payroll outsourcing.

Every once in a while, make it a point to review your offshore staff’s performance and provide constructive feedback for development. Help them understand and identify critical areas of improvement that can give a boost to their performance.

Appreciation

Lastly, appreciation goes a long way in boosting an employee’s morale and motivating them to perform better. Whenever your outsourced payroll specialist staff finishes a task within deadlines, reward them with appreciation. It does not have to be fancy and overbearing. A simple thank you email, a note or a card, or discount coupons to their favourite eatery can do the job.

What’s even better, write a positive testimonial for your payroll outsourcing services provider. Recommend their service to a friend or peer. Goodwill can go a long way in helping you strengthen ties with your outsourcing provider and facilitating a successful partnership.

Onboard Like a Pro

Remember that any business partnership can succeed and thrive when both parties put in equal effort to make it work. As much as it is your payroll outsourcing firm’s responsibility to provide you with the best talent in the industry, it is your responsibility to onboard them efficiently and set the right work base for them.

Outsource your complete payroll needs with QXAS and get end-to-end onboarding support from our outsourcing advisors. Click here to get a free trial on our payroll outsourcing services, or call us at +44 208-146-0808 to speak to our outsourcing expert today.