{"id":7660,"date":"2021-07-16T03:11:05","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T07:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=7660"},"modified":"2026-01-15T12:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:04:22","slug":"hire-pro-back-office-co-founders-finding-top-notch-freelance-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/hire-pro-back-office-co-founders-finding-top-notch-freelance-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Hire: Pro Back Office co-founders on finding top-notch freelance talent"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow To Hire: Pro Back Office co-founders on finding top-notch freelance talent\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-07-16T03:11:05-04:00\">July 16, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How To Hire: Pro Back Office co-founders on finding top-notch freelance talent\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/hire-pro-back-office-co-founders-finding-top-notch-freelance-talent\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/rlanirvin\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2021\/07\/Rian-Ervin-Headshot-150x150-1.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Rlan Irvin author\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Rlan Irvin<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to seeking out full-time jobs that satisfy top priorities like culture, benefits and values, today\u2019s finance job seekers are finding <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/susan-lund\/freelance-economy-future-work_b_8420866.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">self-employment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> appealing. They\u2019re interested in more flexibility, an opportunity put their expertise to work and a chance to strike a better work\/life balance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe come across quite a few people who aren\u2019t interested in 40 hours a week,\u201d says Mike Ford, co-founder of San Diego, California-based professional services firm<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.probackoffice.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pro Back Office<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Pro Back Office provides organizations with access to accounting, finance and operational talent on an as-needed basis.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the model works, particularly for finance roles, according to Ford\u2019s co-founder Jennifer Barnes. She says companies are increasingly interested in outsourcing their back-office functions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou no longer need a warm body sitting in accounting all day long,\u201d Barnes says. \u201cYou can have a bookkeeper for only the hours needed to get the transactional accounting done, and a higher-level person to handle more complex things like cash flow forecasting, margin analysis and month-end close.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Pro Back Office, the key to finding (and keeping) clients is finding top hires. When looking for the best candidates, Barnes and Ford stress proactive communication, IQ and an innovative mindset.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test No. 1: Proactivity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communication skills are an essential part of any job, but are particularly important in an outsourced accounting business as employees need to communicate both with an internal team as well as an external client.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeing a proactive communicator and someone that can relate to and understand others is crucial,\u201d Barnes says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When evaluating communication skills during an interview, Barnes focuses on five indicators:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does the candidate respond to questions clearly and precisely?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do they ask appropriate and probing questions?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is their body language hesitant, reserved or dominating?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are they good listeners?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do they approach communication with their peers and managers?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test No. 2: IQ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barnes and Ford have found that IQ often indicates how well someone will be able to pick up new ideas and technology. They administer an IQ test to each new hire\u2014a unique practice in the world of finance\u2014to ensure the people they hire have the smarts they are looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe find that the lower the IQ of an incoming team member, the slower they are to pick up on new concepts or technology. Even something simple like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/chris-matyszczyk\/american-airlines-flight-attendants-are-being-accused-of-selling-great-flights-for-200.html?cid=sf01001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accounts payable<\/a> may take them longer than someone with a higher IQ,\u201d Barnes says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While new hires will ideally score over 110, Barnes and Ford take the whole picture\u2014including an accounting exam, a behavioral assessment, and verbal and written tests\u2014into account.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test No. 3: Outside-of-the-box thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees must be proactive in embracing new ideas, Barnes and Ford say. During the interview process, they ask a series of questions in the form of a verbal test with the goal of understanding who the job applicant is and how they make decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf the questions take them a long time to answer, or they have a hard time answering them, they probably aren\u2019t the right fit,\u201d Barnes says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s understandable if a candidate has trouble with one or two questions, she says, but if they struggle with answering most of the questions, they probably don\u2019t have command of the topic at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn our business you either know it or you don\u2019t,\u201d she says. \u201cDelayed answers or rambling usually indicate they do not understand the subject matter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of Barnes\u2019 favorite questions to ask is: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When was the last time you did something new for the first time?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf someone says they never do new things and like to stick to the same old routine, they aren\u2019t a good fit for us because we need agile people who can handle multiple clients at once,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf you want every day to be the same, consulting life is not for you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other questions Barnes and Ford ask help them identify key behavioral characteristics, such as loyalty, kindness, teamwork and proactivity, as well as how well a candidate will fit into company culture.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe aim to hire people who are kind, caring and empathetic,\u201d Barnes says. At the same time, however, she stresses that strong technical skills are a must simply because of the industry they are in. \u201cAt the end of the day, we have to possess the best of both worlds or clients will not hire us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"cta-content__title\">Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-8949a954-88b2-43bb-8b8a-77c53eb34350\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In addition to seeking out full-time jobs that satisfy top priorities like culture, benefits and values, today\u2019s finance job seekers are finding self-employment appealing. They\u2019re interested in more flexibility, an opportunity put their expertise to work and a chance to strike a better work\/life balance. \u201cWe come across quite a few people who aren\u2019t interested [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":7073,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"business_type":[3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[234],"coauthors":[364],"class_list":["post-7660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Rlan Irvin","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/06\/ctacfo.jpg","imagine_tags":{"234":"HR"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/7073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=7660"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}