Two weeks ago I was a panelist for a CFO Roundtable
luncheon meeting. Our topic was the
general employment situation for CFOs. I
have been a member of this group for a number of years, so I was well
acquainted with my host and most of the guests.
This was the first time I had
met the two other panelists. One has
been in business for 28 years focused mostly on recruiting for plant-level
jobs. The other is a Partner and
Founding Member of a firm focused on academic, not for profit, and some Fortune
500 searches. It was interesting to
have their perspectives and for the most part we were pretty well aligned in
our experience. There were some obvious
differences, however, which made for a more interesting discussion.
The members of this CFO Roundtable Group are primarily
employed by small to mid-cap concerns representing most industry segments. Their employers are PEG portfolio companies,
emerging privately financed companies, and some family-owned businesses. There was no representation from a major
public company, educational, or not for profit.
One of the attendees is a recent placement and current client. Even though the focus of this Panel
Discussion was on CFOs, it became evident that the issues for this group are
relevant to all senior level executives.
The moderator kept the discussion focused and moving so as
to accomplish as much as possible during the lunch hour. The broad topics were related to the ideal
CFO candidate background; employer preferences to hire employed candidates vs.
unemployed candidates; age discrimination; cultural fit; current CFO tenure; and
the use of LinkedIn during job search. Undeniably,
these areas are of great interest to CFOs currently in job search and for the
rest who know they could be in the market at any time. It is interesting to know that all of these
issues are closely interrelated. A
bullet point recap of those topics and findings follows:
- A traditional background with experience in Big 4 Public Accounting is still preferred.
- Preferred hire is currently employed, ceterus peribus.
- LinkedIn is an important tool which may be growing in popularity with major Executive Search Firms.
- Tenures are shorter. The new normal is three to five years.
- Cultural fit is very important to both the client and the candidate.
- Age is an issue but not in every case
During the Q&A there was a lot of discussion around corporate
cultures. The issue was related to how
the recruiter could be helpful in presenting the client culture, and how a
candidate could go about learning more about their culture. The time spent on this topic is
understandable as the members of the audience have enough experience to know
that ensuring a good cultural fit at the beginning of employment is vital to
minimizing the risk of a short tenure situation. Additionally, many have recent experience in
difficult situations which they don’t want to repeat. We all agreed that helping the candidate, and
ourselves, better understand the client’s culture is necessary for all parties
concerned. It is not such an easy task,
however, as so many companies are in a state of flux.
My take-away from the meeting, and the theme for my
responses is that the recruiting criteria for CFOs in the small to mid-cap
segment are highly dependent on the company’s situation. Employers are looking for specialists to help
them with immediate priorities. When
those priorities are met, or at a liquidity event, new priorities are
established which may render the CFO expendable. One would need to build a matrix to catalogue
the various attributes required of candidates for each particular situation. I will explore these issues in greater depth
in the coming weeks.
To summarize, employers in the small to mid-cap segment
are looking for CFOs to help them with immediate issues. They are looking for candidates with a
traditional accounting track and prefer to hire someone who is currently
employed. This is a preference, not a
hard and fast rule. Tenures are shorter
as the need for the particular talent is more specific and because a change of
ownership will force the need for a change.
Cultural fit is very important, but age is not as important if the
candidate meets the hiring profile. The
point for CFOs and all other C-level Executives is to identify ways that they
can position themselves as a specialist.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim
Weber, President
New
Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
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