I am not sure about many of you out there but finding great employees is extremely hard. I can run ads in papers and online and get flooded with results but how do you wade through the emails from around the world, how do you know that you have found the right person and how do you avoid those recruiter fees?
Well a tool we use alot in the business in internal referral. We have a $1500 reward for any employee who recommends someone else to join and that person survives their probation period. We are looking modifying this so that it is scalable – $1000 for first person, $1500 for second, $2500 for third etc …
I reckon we have employed 30% of our staff using this method and it works. The best thing is that one of the key success measures in employing a person is cultural fit. Having those inside help employ ensures cultural fit (well most of the time!)
As the Chief Executive Officer, I have personally introduced some key people to the business – and often they are from other countries. My CFO i have known for 10 years and was recruited from Germany, my CIO i have know for 6 years and was recruited from San Francisco, and our internal process improvement manager is also from Germany and someone i have known for ages. And the list goes on. It is not about jobs for friends, as i have some of my Senior management or the Board interview them too.
What is interesting is that our CFO has introduced another 3 people to the business – 2 from Germany. This approach can also broaden your recruitment market from your local market to the world.
I am working on the theory that great people know great people and so on.
How does one make an accounting/reporting role exciting? I was cracking my head after reading your blog on how to attract excellent people. How does one start the conversation to do a hard sell on accountants? In most cases it’s probably the other way round. Any comments on this?
Well this is a tough question but very answerable. Firstly, you need to think about what the role of accounting is in your business. At one end of the spectrum, it can be described in a procedural, boring way at the other, it is the check and balance of the business.
So, firstly, we view accounting / finance (ie CFO reports) as being part of the right hand of the Chief Executive Officer. I spend lots of time with them, trying to understand the numbers and seeking their input on what can be done better. They are more than just number crunchers – they are the monitors of the life blood of the business and they have all the rights to have input into what is right / wrong with the business.
Basically i am saying that the finance / accounting roles need to be clearly related back to the objectives of the business. They need to see how they clearly contribute to its success. Also, you need to make sure that you rotate people through the business so that finance / accounting guys get a true feeling for the business.
Secondly, i would make sure that when i advertise the accounting role – i focus on the upside / the working in the business / the career opportunities etc rather than the more procedural side. I would describe it as more than a traditional accounting role – “be a key participant of the leadership team driving the growth of the business. Liaise directly with senior management to provide them with timely and invaluable advice on where to take the business. Etc … ”
I hope this makes some sense.
Also – the last thing we did we hire a fun CFO. He is great, energises his team, knows the details and is repected across the business not only for the numbers but for his leadership. I would start with my CFO!
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