Since Sarbanes-Oxley legislation was
passed in 2002, companies are faced
with stricter regulatory pressures, elevating the demand for sound corporate
accounting and financial skills. Such skill
sets are not always easy to find.
“The most significant challenge is finding
qualified talent at appropriate experience
levels,” says Kristen L. Backo, CPA, director of recruiting at Resources Global
Professionals in Pittsburgh. “Businesses
seeking financial talent must show that
their opportunity will enable the job seeker
to make a valuable contribution and grow
professionally.”
Smart Business talked to Backo about
the most efficient avenues to explore when
in need of accountants and other financial
specialists.
Where might a company find financial talent?
You can either look within your current
organization, or you can look beyond your
organization and industry and hire for
growth potential.
First, don’t let people move out to move
up. Most job seekers cite a lack of growth
opportunities within their current organization as the No. 1 reason they are exploring the market. Career development is
extremely critical to finance professionals,
yet many companies prevent them from
pursing opportunities in other areas of the
company. If you institute career development programs, you can help employees
grow their career while remaining with
you.
If you do not promote from within, you
may not have the luxury of hiring talent
with very specific skill sets and the corresponding industry experience. I personally
have followed the ‘best-available-athlete’
model for hiring. When labor markets are
tight, I want to hire the best available athlete with the greatest potential for growth.
Making good hiring decisions goes
beyond just checking off boxes of skills
and prior systems experience. Hire the professional who has the nonquantitative
attributes that you believe will make that
person the most successful in the role.
What are some creative strategies for hiring
in a tight labor market?
Finding the right financial talent needs to
go beyond running ads and searching job
boards. The best hire is usually someone
who isn’t even looking but listens to the
right opportunity when it presents itself.
- Use your network. Making the people
you know and value in the business community aware that you are searching for a
new employee may yield unexpected
results. Someone you thought was completely happy with his or her organization
may jump at the chance to learn more
about your opportunity or what your firm
offers.Asking for referrals is another great way
to uncover passive job seekers. Your contact might have worked with an outstanding professional years ago who might be
the ideal fit for your role but might not even
be thinking about making a job change. - Go beyond professional organizations. Look to alumni organizations, graduate programs, trade affiliations and local
business organizations to tap into even
more professionals.Retiree groups are an ever-expanding
source of talented professionals who can
be tapped on an interim basis or who can
rejoin the work force in a less demanding
role. These relationships allow them to be
productive while enjoying the free time
that a demanding career did not afford. - Institute referral bonus programs.
Referral bonus programs have long been a
practice of professional service and public
accounting firms. They are designed as
incentives for current employees to provide leads to other professionals of the
same qualifications. Latest trends have
companies expanding those referral bonus
programs to friends of the firm or any person who provides an introduction to the
right talent that results in a hiring decision. - Offer creative work solutions and
hiring bonuses. To attract the best talent
available, many companies have instituted
hiring bonuses for tough-to-find key skills,
such as technical accounting or SEC
reporting. Companies should also consider
more flexibility in the workplace in the
form of compressed workweeks, work-from-home options or part-time schedules.
Additionally, many firms, such as ours, can
provide creative work solutions to help
professionals manage their work-life balance. - Create a strategic recruiting plan.
Hiring professionals in a reactionary mode
always results in pressure situations where
companies could sacrifice standards to
ease the pain of unfilled key positions. So
create a strategic recruiting plan that
makes hiring financial talent a top priority
of managing the finance function. Ensure
that the right activities are included in your
plan. Make recruiting an ongoing business
process of your organization. Utilize professional service firms that can help fill any
key positions within your finance organization on an interim basis while allowing you
the time to conduct a thorough search.
KRISTEN L. BACKO, CPA, is director of recruiting for
Resources Global Professionals in Pittsburgh. Reach her at (412)
263-3304 or [email protected].
