The CFO Coach

The War for Talent, Part 2

The War for Senior Executive Talent is just beginning to heat up. Interesting, and useful, information in the CFO.com article, "Baby Boomer Brain Drain Looms."

–– The long-dreaded era of Baby Boomer retirements has finally dawned, and with the oldest Boomers turning 62 this year, the fallout may reach epic proportions in the early years of the next decade.

Where “age discrimination” used to be rampant, up-and-coming top–performing senior executives with a clear and compelling marketable value proposition will be in hot demand.

–– That means many companies will be hard-pressed to shore up their finance functions with leaders as experienced as those they have had until now.

Those passive candidates who are in demand will have even more opportunities coming their way, with salaries and incentives to match their potential to contribute.

–– The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that over the next 10 years there will be a 15 percent decline in workers age 35 to 54, concurrent with a 25 percent increase in demand.

Statistics validate that the War for Senior Executive Talent is indeed heating up!

And the importance of grooming successors is growing. Coaching, mentoring, and grooming those coming up behind you is the single most important thing you can do for the future generations (our children and grandchildren).

–– "We are seeing movement now, a real urgency that even 18 months ago did not exist," said David de Wetter, senior consultant for human resources transformation at Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

There is still skepticism about a shortage of talent in the States … just wait another 18 months. While commodity candidates may still be denying a shortage of talent, top–performing candidates will have their choice of opportunities.

Which makes me wonder how that will impact the current statistic that the average tenure of a CFO is currently a mere three years!

–– Another shift, according to de Wetter, is that some companies are moving away from grooming specific people for specific future executive roles in favor of a more fungible approach. The idea is to create leadership pools, composed of people who display qualifications as leaders that are transferable enterprise-wide.

This is such an interesting concept. Given the community– and colloraborative–mindedness of the Baby Busters and Mosaics, this strategy might actually work! “Leaders often remind us that what got us where we are is not the same stuff that will get us where we want to go.” George Barna

–– Losing any top talent is bad enough, but corporations face the very real fact that they will lose a majority of their top talent in a very short time span.

That projection should scare most companies while making A–players jump for joy. Of course, if you are a top–performing finance executive who can’t be found by the people who need to know about you … there might not be any reason for you to jump.

2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report

Execunet has released the findings from its 2008 Job Market Intelligence Report, with some very interesting results. According to the report,

––“Increasing demand in the High Tech, Healthcare, Energy, and Business Services sectors, combined with a shortage of qualified talent and sustained economic growth overseas, is driving better than expected job growth at the executive level.”

––“Thanks in part to an aging workforce and global economic growth, the demand for executive talent continues to increase while the threat of a recession looms.”

––“more than 70% of search firm and corporate human resource professionals believe there is a shortage of executive talent, and two-thirds (67%) say the war for executive talent has intensified over the last year amid increasing economic uncertainty.”

––“Nearly all (86%) corporate human resource executives and 61% of search firms report that they do not routinely post positions with a total compensation of $200,000 and above on public websites.”

––“Recruiters don’t deny that age can be an issue, but 71% of search consultants say their clients are less focused on age than they were in prior years; and 57% of corporate HR executives say that when over 50, the candidate’s age is not a negative factor in hiring decisions.”

And very telling is the quote from Execunet’s CEO and Founder, Dave Opton …

“Unfortunately, many of the opportunities created this year will remain out of reach to those who fail to read beyond the headlines,” ….  “However, given the current pace of change, the consequences of ignoring opportunities to enhance your network and failing to closely monitor the marketplace are clearly rising.”

Don’t get Bear Stearnsed!

In CFO.com's article, "Finding a Job in Lean Times ... Things to keep in mind when looking for work during an economic slowdown," is an interesting read. Particularly enlightening, I think, is this excerpt ...

"Because of the Bear Stearns meltdown and fears that other financial services firms might cut back on staff, a flood of job hunters has poured into the market in recent weeks. But they are fighting for fewer available positions, with some finance executives deciding that now is not the time to leave a stable post to take a chance on a new one."

It might be a good time to sit tight, but to some degree staying might not be the decision of the executive. Something might be coming down the pike – a new CEO, an acquisition, a disgruntled board – and it might be someone else who decides it’s time for the executive to leave.

Now, today, is the time to become proactive in managing your career. Since the average time for finding that new position is currently around 7 months, it makes sense to begin planning your next move, ramping up your networking, and building a visible online presence … before you need to.

Recruiters’ most desired candidate is one that is currently employed. The moment the executive walks out the door … even with a nice severance package in hand … his marketability can take a big hit.

Don’t get Bear Stearnsed! Take control of your career while you hold all the power to do so.

The M&A Boom

CFO.com recently published an article about the rise of mergers & acquisitions … and the affect on CFOs. This statement in the article is not only true, but hopefully illuminating …

"I would say that being CFO is a vulnerable position," says Alain LeCouedic, partner with the Boston Consulting Group in Hong Kong. But, he adds, "CFOs who are seen as value drivers and who grasp the strategy of the new owner are just as likely to be seen as an ally." 

True because this is the role of the “new” CFO. The desired CFO is strategic with a deep understanding of operations.

Illuminating because it drives home the point that it is not enough for a CFO to be great, his greatness must be visible to the people who need to know about him.

--Is your value proposition clear and compelling … does your record of performance speak louder than your experience and responsibilities?

--Have you built visibility among your target audience?

Both are imperative for positioning as a desireable candidate capable of beating out the competition.

CFO Turnover

Why is CFO turnover so high? David McCann’s article in CFO.com addresses the fact that one–quarter of Fortune 1,000 lost (for one reason or another) its senior finance leader in 2007.

These two excerpts point to the facts, but the article in its entirety is a must–read.

“For large-company finance chiefs considering job switches, the good news is that a lot of CFO positions are opening up. The bad news is that those who land one of them might not have it for long.”

“Being a CFO at a very large company is a precarious position indeed. ‘The average tenure of a [Fortune 1,000] CFO right now is less than three years,’ Michele Heid, co-managing partner of the finance practice at Heidrick & Struggles, told CFO.com. ‘Five years ago, it was closer to five years’.”

Knowledge is power. With a “here today, gone tomorrow” culture surrounding senior–level finance executives, the questions is … how are you going to use that knowledge?

You can do nothing of course. But when (and it is more likely when, not if) you find yourself on the curb, your marketability will have taken a big hit.

Or, you can begin to proactively manage your career much like you proactively run your company. Where do you want to be in three years? In five years? What do you need to do and who needs to know about you in order to get there?

Isn't there an old adage that goes something like ... failing to plan is planning to fail?

Big ROI on Trusted Sources

I received an email today regarding the new social networking site being launched by Hoovers. Here’s an interesting stat from the article ...

"The goal of the service is to take advantage of research from the University of Chicago and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill business schools showing that an introduction made through a trusted source is up to 16 times more likely to yield a response than a cold call, the company noted."

That seems like a pretty strong incentive for ramping up your networking!

Passive vs. Active, Employed vs. Unemployed

I posted this question at Linked In, and received some very interesting responses. I thought my blog readers might like to join in with their thoughts as well …

The overriding theme by internal recruiters at the recent Kennedy Conference was the desire to primarily (and preferably) recruit passive candidates (those who are happily employed and not looking).

So my question is, if you knew that your marketability as a candidate would spiral the moment you became unemployed (even through no fault of your own), what would you do differently today to manage your career for the future?

Headhunter Secrets to Social Networking

Recruiter Bill Vick was shining in the CFO–Career–Forum this week. He offered a fast–paced and compelling argument for why you, Mr. Finance Executive, should leverage social networking as a key part of an overall branding strategy.

My favorite statement from Bill was this … “You are who Google says you are,” followed by “You are your brand.” And he’s right. And that trend is going to become even more important in the future.

According to Execunet’s "Dealing With Your Digital Dirt" report, the number of recruiters who use search engines to uncover information about candidate is up almost 10% over 2005 figures. Additionally, the number of recruiters who said they have eliminated a candidate because of information they found on the Internet is up 17% over that same time period.

Leveraging the power of Linked In was a big part of Bill’s social networking insight, and his tip at the end was worth the price of admission. I hope you caught it!

My long–time readers will recognize Bill’s philosphy as being one I have been preaching for quite awhile … having a visible online brand positions you as the clear and compelling choice and is a vital long–term career management strategy.

5 Headhunter Secrets

Are you aware that ...

--85% of recruiters use online resources to uncover “information” about candidates

--35% of recruiters eliminate candidates based on what they find (Business Week June 2006)

-- Blogs are becoming an executive accessory (Debbie Weil)

--6 degrees of separation is now 5 degrees (Columbia University)

--70% of recruiters said their opinion of candidates improves when the find evidence of community service, leadership, awards, and published articles. Opinions decrease when the find candidates own their own business, misstatements and inconsistencies, ethics issues, or are invisible

--76% of executives expect to be Googled; 8% said they found information they wished wasn’t available, 4% posted controversial (up 150% in last year)

--20% of executives have a web presence

If you would like to learn where recruiters are looking for top talent and how to be found by those recruiters, please join Recruiter Bill Vick in the CFO–Career–Forum on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.

To get the inside scoop, sign up TODAY!

If you are a member of the CFO–Career–Forum, log in and register today for our conversation on October 23 at 4:00 Eastern. If you are not a member of the CFO–Career–Forum but want to join the call … register here!

Why MEASURABLE Impacts are So Important

According to the article “CEOs Don't Earn Their Pay, Execs Agree” in Today in Finance at CFO.com magazine,

>>Although chief executives are usually charged with setting performance measures, 58.8 percent of respondents said the reason for overcompensated CEOs is a lack of real performance objectives and evaluation. Further, 47.8 percent said rewards bore little connection to future corporate performance. And 39.6 percent faulted "undue CEO domination of the process" as the reason for exorbitant pay.

With everyone seemingly ganging up on the CEO, it might comfort some that 56.3 percent of those surveyed said that their board has a formal CEO succession plan. Good news for the CFO is that most of those queried consider the finance chief to be a natural choice to take the top job.<<

A CFO can become the trusted advisor and confidant to the CEO in creating and executing strategic growth initiatives; benchmarking world-class finance performance measures; and becoming a very visible face of the organization through liaisons with investors and lending institutions thereby positioning himself to move into a CEO role.

The challenge I see … constantly … from my CFOs is a focus on what they did rather (responsibilities) rather than how they delivered (performance). If that sounds like you, begin today to keep track of both the measurable impact to the bottom line and the long–term strategic importance of your contributions. It will matter in defending your future salary.