Looking to hire new members within your team, yet your company is going through changes that may indicate uncertainty about the long-term future? Continue reading here to learn more about how changes affect both personnel within and outside the organization.
Across the board, organizations are shoring up operations as they are preparing for a decline in revenue or significant margin deterioration, and in other cases it has become public knowledge that the organization is positioning itself for sale. In the face of this change, and the ongoing competition for talent leading to resignations impacting every organization, you find yourself needing to attract and hire new team members.
The question begs – with the knowledge of the current or future change that will take place within your organization, and the uncertainty of what is to come, how do I attract and hire individuals that will bring their best to our high-performing team?
Be transparent.
- To the extent possible, be transparent about the current situation within your organization. You seek to hire high caliber accounting and finance professionals that will have access to significant information, informing them of both past and current company performance. Few things turn a relationship sour more quickly than a secret hidden and found after the individual has joined your organization and given access to “the challenging news.”
Be selective.
- Not every individual you choose to interview for the position within your team is needing of this information. Understanding that it is customary to invite individuals to participate in multiple rounds of interviews, narrow down the pool of individuals you are considering for the position, and only release the information to those select individuals you believe possess the ability to be successful future members of your team. Choose the right time in the interview process to inform them of the change taking place within the organization and agree on who will reveal this information to ensure that it is being communicated in a uniform manner – same step in the interview process by the same person.
Share perspective.
- Be prepared to share insight into the “Why” behind the organization’s current state of affairs. Providing this insight will allow the individual(s) under consideration to make informed decisions to advance in the interview process and accept an offer of employment. It will also demonstrate to them that you have an understanding of what the organization’s near and long-term challenges may be, that they have been identified, and that action is being taken to address them.
Seize opportunity.
- Sharing insights into current changes, and challenges the organization is facing with those you are working to attract will give them insight into where they can have an impact within the organization. Individuals that seek to become a member of your high-performance team also want to know they can contribute and where they can deliver impact – not just repeat mature processes without contributing to meaningful change. Those that view change as an opportunity, and not as an immediate threat, will thrive in your environment (those with the other perspective likely will not).
Reward the risk.
- Individuals are motivated to seek out new job opportunities for a myriad of reasons. In most cases, the individuals you seek to add to your team will need to leave employment elsewhere to accept employment with your organization. The greater the risk associated with their medium- and long-term career opportunities within your company the greater the need to provide compensation in some fashion for the risk they are assuming. There are several ways to address this, including the following:
- Cash compensation – signing bonus or above market base compensation
- Employment agreement or severance agreement
- Change of control bonus – reward their contribution to aiding the organization realizing its goal of being acquired
- Retention bonus (we cannot forget to keep those on your team focused on remaining members of the team)
- Commitment to ongoing healthcare coverage in the event of termination
