Finance Firms Say Finding Qualified Job Candidates More Difficult

MBA (7/9/2008 ) Palaparty, Vijay
More than half of human resources managers for financial services firms said they had difficulty in finding skilled job candidates, according to a Robert Half Global Financial Employment Monitor report.


The report said 56 percent of managers reported difficulty in finding skilled job candidates. Furthermore, they expressed concern over losing top performers to other job opportunities. Seventy-three percent of managers in the U.S. and 58 percent of managers worldwide reported concerns over retention, up from 46 percent and 43 percent, respectively, in 2007.

As a result, finance and human resources managers have shifted their recruiting focus to knowledge and expertise attributes, a shift from regulatory compliance attributes. Sixteen of 20 countries surveyed in the report revealed the trend.

“The global demand for executives with deep industry expertise represent a renewed emphasis on fundamental competitive performance,” said Greg Scileppi, director of international operations for Robert Half International, Menlo Park, Calif. “As regulatory compliance efforts have become better established, firms are returning their focus to maintaining an edge within their industries and seeking leaders who can help them do so.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics last week reported that mortgage industry employment saw the first month-to-month increase since February 2007, standing at 357,800 in May and edging up from 356,300 in April. Since its peak in February 2006, mortgage industry employment declined nearly 29 percent —the sharpest drops occurring in the two months following the August financial turmoil and modest declines since then.

“Results reflect challenges hiring managers around the world continue to face in locating and retaining highly skilled accounting and finance professionals,” Scileppi said. “The perennial need for strong financial functions is fueling competition for the best candidates and prompting companies to develop more effective strategies to prevent the loss of their most valued employees.”

The number of respondents who reported being "very" concerned about retention also rose from 10 percent last year to 19 percent this year. “The increase may be attributed to several factors, including Baby Boomers’ growing retirement rates and talent shortage cause in part by several years of heightened demand for financial professionals,” the report said. “Impending demographic shifts promise to only intensify competition for top candidates.”

Managers also reported using more senior-level project professionals during the last three years, particularly to address staffing challenges. Thirty-one percent of respondents currently employing interim professionals reported increasing use of project professionals.

“Businesses worldwide are facing difficulty finding highly skilled financial professionals, performing increasingly lengthy hiring processes and dealing with concerns about losing their most valued employees,” the report said. “The continuing shortage of skilled, experienced professionals magnifies the importance of efficient staffing processes.”