When it comes to attracting talented staff into a treasury function, leaders are finding plenty of ways to make their departments as attractive as possible. That’s important because it’s not just pay and other financials that are winning over top candidates, say treasurers.
Headhunter Mike Richards, founder and CEO of The Treasury Recruitment Company, who speaks to plenty of treasurers, says salary is never the top reason for changing jobs, although it is high up the list. He says a strong offer to potential employees is often based on being able to provide an environment with career progression and development prospects.
“It's not a buyer’s market anymore, it's a seller’s market, per se – so you have to take into account interest in a better work life balance,” he says. “You can say you’d like people back in the office five days a week, but that idea doesn’t exist anymore because COVID proved that you don’t need to be in the office.
“You’re seeing a modicum of two to three days a week in the office, or as and when required, so that kind of approach should feature in any offer,” he says.
Kemi Bolarin, head of treasury Europe for GXO Logistics, a logistics solutions provider, says she ensures candidates are offered a hybrid working model that addresses interest in more flexible working patterns.
“Staff can work from home however they wish to do that. But to do this, I’ve had to look inwards and make myself a better manager operating within a remote working situation as the human interaction needs to continue,” she says.
“We need to make sure we stay connected within our team and we have one-to-ones regardless of where you are. We encourage those to happen physically in the office and if you're not able to make it to the office, the one-to-one will be virtual.
“We also try to check in re mental health, because I think that was a big issue with the pandemic,” she adds.
Tim de Knegt, treasurer and manager strategic finance at Port of Rotterdam, says: “When we try to look for new talent, is it usually more about asking candidates what they need, rather than just talking about the salary package,” he says.
Quite often candidates are interested in a broader area of work than just the traditional treasury elements, says de Knegt. In that respect, he feels he has a strong hand as his team is focused on a number of different areas “ranging from the financial implications of the company to the non-financial implications”.
“Anything around doing the right thing for the environment and for ESG purposes is covered within my team. That is becoming more important as it sits within many people’s aspirations,” says de Knegt.
“It's probably more difficult to meet a candidate’s broad perspective if you have too narrow a function, so broadening it out is incredibly important,” he adds.
Lawrie Holmes is a business and finance journalist