Creative Hiring Strategies to Recruit Your Bookkeeping Firm’s Dream Team
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You may’ve already noticed this already, but we do things a little differently here at Workflow Queen. We bring a sense of fun and community to the bookkeeping industry (and encourage you to do the same)!
We do this because we’re SUPER passionate about teaching bookkeepers and accountants how to streamline their firms using tech and systems.
But we’re also passionate about hiring people who share that vision, and finding the right candidate isn’t always a breeze.
When it comes time for you to hire a team to support your bookkeeping firm, there’s a few tactics you’ll need to have in place before you actually start your search!
I want you to keep something in mind while reading this blog. We do (and teach) certain practices and tactics because they actually WORK. Some of them might seem unconventional, and that’s okay!
If you think something we suggest is a little out of the box, or would never work for you, I challenge you to ask yourself: Is it weird, or have I convinced myself that the standard way is the “only” way?
I’m not suggesting you try any of these tactics if they don’t feel right for you and your firm, but you also can’t expect different results by doing the same thing over and over again!
Keep reading if you want to learn creative AND effective ways to recruit the best candidates to make up your team.
Why is a Hiring Strategy Important?
Creating a hiring strategy BEFORE you’re ready to hire is sooo important!
Think of it this way...
If someone told you to go buy an outfit for an upcoming event, you’d have some questions first, right?
You’d probably want to know the purpose of the event, the dress code, if it was outdoors, etc.
The same goes for hiring a team member! You can’t just go out searching for someone to hire (no matter how desperate you are) without knowing a few things first.
You’ll need to know things like:
The responsibilities of the role
How many hours they’re required to work
How much you will pay them
Which skills they’ll need to be successful
How you’ll onboard them
How to decide if the candidate is a culture fit
Responsibilities of the Role
Once you decide you’re at capacity as a solo firm owner, hiring a team member is super exciting! It can also be overwhelming, because many firm owners don’t know which tasks to delegate (or how to do so). If you’re a dedicated time-tracker like I am, you can actually pull tasks directly from your time tracking data to create a job description!
Full-Time, Part-Time, or Contractor?
Again, this goes back to your time tracking data. Look over your Clockify time sheets to decide how many tasks you plan to delegate. Then, analyze the data to decide how many hours you’ll need this team member to work each week.
When it comes to deciding if you want to hire an employee or a contractor, think about what you want for your company in the long-term. Do you want to require your whole team to attend team meetings? Do you prefer everyone makes their own schedule, as long as the work gets done? Choose what aligns best with the vision you have for your firm.
I’ve found that hiring employees over contractors works best for my firm, but you get to decide what’s right for you!
Rate of Pay
So, you’ve solidified the role and responsibilities of this new team member, yay! Now you’ll have to decide how much to pay them to do the work! There are several ways to decide on a fair rate for the position, but I always suggest reaching out to an HR company! They will help you make sure you stay in compliance with pay rates and so much more!
Need an HR company? We’re obsessed with Why HR! Reach out to Matt at WhyHR and tell him we sent you!
Determine Skill Requirements
As you build your job description, consider which skills you’ll require for this role. Which ones are non-negotiable? Which skills would you be willing to train? Create a list for each category and add it to your job description!
Onboard Your Team Member
Something firm owners often forget about when they hire a team member is that onboarding isn’t just for clients! It’s SUPER important that you have an efficient onboarding process for your team members as well. Before you actually start looking for candidates, make sure you have an onboarding process in place so they’re not just getting thrown into the fire.
Establish a Solid Company Culture
When you bring on a team member, you’ll need to make sure they embody your company culture! If you haven’t established your vision for the culture and values of your firm yet, we suggest getting crystal clear on those first. That way, when you’re interviewing candidates for any role, you’ll be able to decide if they’d be a good fit based on how you want your team to interact (with each other and your clients!).
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
If you’ve decided that you’re officially READY to hire a team member, it’s time to go out and start recruiting candidates!
One mistake I see firm owners make time and time again? They wait to hire until they are drowning in work. Then they bring on the first person that shows a glimmer of promise, only to be disappointed in their performance.
Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re overwhelmed with work, you hire someone mediocre, and then you’re extra stressed because you feel like a babysitter! Take your time to hire the right person for the job, even if that means it takes a while to find “the one”.
Remember that sometimes, even the best candidates on paper simply aren’t a good fit. If you take on a team member and decide they aren’t right for you, it’s totally okay to part ways. *When parting ways with an employee always do your due diligence to ensure you are meeting HR compliance
But before you do, ask yourself this: Is my team member the problem, or did I fail to provide enough information for them to be successful in their role?
Sometimes it’s simply a matter of training your employee a little more or helping them understand their tasks on a deeper level. I encourage you to go with your gut on this (and set your ego aside).
Our Favorite Unconventional Hiring Tactics
I’ll tell you right now, recruiting candidates for your firm doesn’t have to be boring or painful. Use some creative strategies like these to actually enjoy the hiring process!
Tell Everyone You Know
It’s time to shout it from the rooftops that you’re hiring! I’m not exaggerating when I say EVERYONE!
When Workflow Queen was hiring, we sent out an email to our email list letting them know that we were on the hunt for another unicorn team member!
Now, you might wonder why we’d tell our audience (which pretty much consists of other firm owners) that we’re hiring. We even got one response letting us know that it was “silly” to send it!
But we believe strongly in the three degrees of separation! You never know who someone might know. In fact, I hired my Operations Manager because one of my business coaches knew someone who’d be a great fit (and she was right on the money!).
Don’t assume you only need to post your job description in the most expected places like LinkedIn and Indeed. Post it on your personal social media platforms, and ask your clients for recommendations!
Include a Skills Test
One of our FAVORITE things to include in our hiring process is a skills assessment. Depending on the role you’re trying to fill, you can come up with a few relevant questions to test your candidate’s abilities. We like to let them know that the test isn’t necessarily going to make or break the hire. It’s just to get a sense of how well they know certain tasks that will be included in their role.
Interview Like a Boss
Interview time doesn’t have to be a chore, it fact - it’s actually really fun! In order to host a great interview, you’ll need to:
Listen more than you talk. You’ll never learn enough about the candidate if you’re the one doing most of the talking!
Ask a few “get to know you” questions to break the ice. Where did they grow up? Dog person or cat person?
Find out about their personality and positioning to make sure they’re the right fit for your company culture.
Learn more about their work experience and what lead them to applying for this job.
Surprise them by walking through their assessment responses! Anyone can Google an answer to a question, so asking them to explain how they got there is a great way to find out if they are legit.
If you’re looking for a team player, ask a question about how they might handle a conflict in the workplace. This will help you get an idea of how this candidate would support you and the rest of the team.
Wrap it up by confirming their availability, salary, and give them the chance to ask you any questions!
Record and Repurpose
Recording the interview is SUPER helpful! Doing this allows you to use interviews for things like management training. If you’re starting to prepare one of your team members to move into a leadership role, have them watch your interviews so they can learn how to conduct one themselves.
If you’re stuck deciding between two great candidates, send the recording to a trusted biz bestie! Sometimes the best way to get clarity on a decision is by stepping back and getting a second opinion.
*Important Note: Always ask permission from the interviewee before recording the session for quality and training purposes!
Set Yourself Up for Successful Recruiting
Hiring your dream team and recruiting quality candidates really is a HUGE step to take in your firm! If you’re going about it for the first time, it can be hard to ensure you’re doing all the things in the most effective ways.
Luckily, our group coaching program covers anything and everything you’ll need to know about how to FIND the best candidates, WHEN to start hiring, HOW to decide which one is the right fit, and everything in between!
In the Empowered Company Culture module of Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, you’ll be able to ditch any fear you may have around recruiting and hiring a team to support your firm! We’re sharing alllll our secrets to finding great candidates, efficiently onboarding each team member, and training your team for success.
The best part? You’ll have our team of experts to support you along the way AND a community of firm owner’s going through the same thing as you are!
