The ideal scenario for any company that has a recruitment requirement is to have a talent pipeline of excellent candidates queuing up to apply for your vacant positions.
Having the right people in your finance department is critical for business success. Finance is often viewed as a control function, but it is also an enabler – helping businesses drive efficiencies, and fulfil strategic objectives. Therefore to compete for the top finance talent, those talented individuals need to want to work for you.
This requires some foresight and planning. Your employer brand is the first place to start. This is what will attract top candidates to your company and help shore up your talent pipeline. Key areas to focus on include:
Communicating your company culture to prospects
What makes your business a great employer? Company culture is a key part of your employer brand, potentially differentiating your business from competitors also looking to recruit for finance roles. Promoting your company culture is a good way to get a great fit, candidates are attracted to companies that share the same values and working practices as they do and this helps people to self qualify for your role.
These days the most effective way to promote your company culture is on social media. Speak to your marketing department about how this can be achieved. We recommend sharing stories about your employees and the workplace that reflect the culture. Your existing employees can also help by sharing your social media content with their connections – so give them something to share.
Promote from within
Talented finance professionals are generally looking for career progression. Some may be happy to sit tight in one position long term (often because their employer offers benefits such as a good work-life balance or serious compensation), but most will want to move up the career ladder at some point.
While it’s not always easy to offer career progression within a small finance department, if there are opportunities to do so – do! You may find that this makes recruitment easier as instead of needing to recruit for senior positions, there will be a shift to more junior positions becoming vacant as your existing team progress through the ranks.
This is also a great way to attract new employees if there is a genuine chance of promotion.
Sell your business throughout the recruitment process
Recruiting a new member of your finance team is about selling your business and making candidates want to work for you. Often the recruitment process can feel like the employer holds all the cards, but actually if you want talented employees you need to work hard to get them.
Top finance candidates don’t have to wait long to find work; if you want them you need to sell your opportunity and make sure the hiring process is aligned with their needs – not yours. The recruitment process (and especially the interview) provides a glimpse into your company, the culture and how the business values its staff; so ensure that candidates are treated with respect, that interviewers try to impress, so that candidates go away wanting to work for your business.
If you would like support recruiting for finance roles, speak to our team to get expert advice on how to improve your employer brand and shore your talent pipeline. Call 01252 718 777 or email farnham@howett-thorpe.co.uk