How Crestline Built a Powerful Finance Function with Consero’s Flex Resources

Laura Mack, SVP of Finance and Accounting at Crestline Hotels and Resorts, which manages over 130 hotels across the US, joined Chris Hartenstein, VP of Client Services at Consero, to discuss her transformative experience implementing Consero’s Flex Resources to overcome challenges hiring for the finance function.

Consero’s Flex Resources service offers an enhanced staff augmentation solution that provides comprehensive support beyond traditional staffing models. This approach includes documentation teams, internal management support, and efficient resource allocation.

“We call it staff augmentation on steroids… We don’t just give you a resource and say, ‘Here you go, good luck.’ We bring in a documentation team to document all the processes, and have internal management support for our resources,” says Hartenstein.

Watch the full discussion here, and we’ll recap the conversation below.

Challenges in Finance Hiring

Laura needed a robust solution to address hiring difficulties, including the rising cost of hiring senior accountants and a shrinking talent pool.

Overview

• Over the past 6-7 years, senior accountant salaries have outpaced other industries
• Declining enrollment in accounting programs, and many accountants retiring from the workforce have created supply issues
• Crestline’s applicants often requested $20,000-$40,000 above base pay
• Extended hiring timelines, sometimes taking 6+ months to fill positions
• Training and onboarding creating additional delays

“When we would go to post a position we would get resumés but they weren’t of the quality or caliber we were looking for, or they were asking for sometimes 20-30, $40,000 over what our base pay was.”

The company also faced a high turnover rate, which resulted in burnout for hiring managers. Senior and staff accountants would leave for higher-paying opportunities, contributing to a revolving door of employees.

Solution: Consero’s Flex Resources Model

Crestline turned to Consero’s Flex Resources model, which they found to be a valuable alternative to traditional outsourcing. 

Unlike traditional outsourcing models that simply offer staffing, Consero includes process documentation and managerial oversight to ensure seamless integration. 

Laura noted that this model appealed to them because “there’s just this huge benefit of having that resource available very, very quickly.”

Benefits

• Steady stream of available qualified employees
• Rapid onboarding in just a few weeks versus months
• Access to India-based talent with 60-day notice periods (versus typical US two-week notices)
• Documentation of all processes that remain company property
• Greater efficiency, with two Consero employees delivering work of 2.5 traditional employees

Managing the Transition to Outsourcing Internally

Successful implementation required careful management of team expectations and involvement in the onboarding process.

Internally, Mack emphasized clear communication to alleviate fears that staff might be replaced. Instead, the goal was to offload routine tasks, freeing the in-house team to focus on higher-level work.

Laura also noted how the onboarding process involved close collaboration with Consero to ensure that the team felt comfortable.

Recommendations

• Crestline involved existing team members in training and onboarding
• Positioned Consero employees as remote team members, not replacements
• Started with a phased approach rather than full-scale implementation
• Maintained focus on growth opportunities for existing staff, while Consero resources handle routine tasks
• Conducted documentation of processes with specialized teams
• Established regular communication channels

“Part of what made us successful was involving our team in that onboarding and training process…they can do some more difficult, challenging, customer-facing tasks at a higher level so that they can be freed up and also continue to promote and grow their career,” says Mack.

Implementation Process Documentation and Training

Consero’s documentation team played a key role in ensuring all processes were clearly defined and recorded. 

Consero deploys a separate documentation team—led by a VP of Finance—to record every task and workflow, reducing the burden on in-house teams and ensuring smooth knowledge transfer.

Benefits

• Dedicated Documentation Team: Consero provides a separate group to capture each process meticulously.
• Reduced Training Burden: Daily or regular short meetings allowed for minimal time investment from Crestline staff.
• Streamlined Onboarding Timeline: From contract signing to a fully operational resource was about one month for Crestline.

“The commitment was super low, just an hour in the morning…it was great,” says Mack.

Role Division and Strategic Growth

Crestline and Consero developed a strategic approach to determining which tasks should be handled in-house versus by Consero resources. 

By offloading routine tasks (e.g., bank reconciliations, data entry), Crestline’s in-house team could focus on more strategic activities like financial analysis, management reporting, and stakeholder relations.

This strategic allocation improved customer service while controlling costs, particularly important as Laura’s finance team is considered revenue-driving at Crestline.

• Routine tasks (bank reconciliations, invoice processing, etc.) were delegated to Consero.
• Crestline’s in-house team concentrated on analysis, owner relations, and value-added finance functions.

“We are able to streamline not only processes but our organizational chart and try to be more thoughtful about it, and it is allowing us to grow without seeing that exponential cost just explode,” says Mack.

Implementation Timeline

The implementation process was efficient and delivered rapid results. “We had additional efficiencies for the recruiting, the hiring, the training, assigning and documenting the tasks and training on new tasks — again those are things that are given to Consero in this whole process,” says Hartenstein.

Timeline

• Documentation process took approximately 2 weeks
• Resources were fully productive within 4-6 weeks of being assigned
• Employees were fully performing their roles within 6 weeks

The implementation success has led to Crestline expanding their use of Consero’s Flex Resourcing model beyond the initial two roles fulfilled.

Results

1. Increased Efficiency and Employee Satisfaction

Crestline saw significant efficiency gains after implementing Consero’s model. 

According to Laura, the new resources from Consero were able to deliver work much faster than expected. “We were actually trying to create more work… they picked up things very, very quickly,” she said. 

Additionally, the relief provided to internal staff allowed them to focus on higher-value tasks, which improved employee satisfaction and performance.

2. Cost-Effective Scaling

The Flex Resources model helped Crestline scale without incurring exponential cost increases. With an efficient and knowledgeable team handling lower-level tasks, the company avoided the need for costly hires.

Laura explained, “It is allowing us to grow without seeing that exponential cost… we are a management company, which means that our services are our fees.”

3. Training Efficiency

Consero’s global model, with India’s standard 60-day notice period, allowed for immediate resource replacements and overlapping training periods.

When a Consero employee left, Crestline was able to replace them within two weeks and conduct a six-week side-by-side training. 

Laura remarked, “I just do not get that just going out to the open market.” 

Accelerate Your Growth With Flex Resources

From documentation to day-to-day operations, Consero’s partnership helped Crestline stabilize its finance operations, reduce turnover stress, and scale effectively without ballooning costs.

• Enhanced Efficiency: The shift to Consero’s Flex Resourcing model saved time in hiring, onboarding, and process management.
• Better Control & Consistency: Continuous documentation and swift resource replacement mitigated turnover risks.
• Ongoing Support: Crestline enjoys the flexibility to add more resources as the business grows.

If your organization has similar changes finding and retaining the right talent for your finance function, Consero can help.

Request a consultation to discuss how we can help turn your finance and accounting challenges into strategic opportunities.