Technology has changed every industry. From the technology in our hands to the software that revolutionizes how we do business, few areas remain untouched.
In the case of finance and HR solutions, the proper technology can provide great insight into how organizations can lower debt, expand EBITDA margin and drive overall performance. However, as tech evolves, so must our tactics and criteria for recruiting the next generation of finance professionals.
While some industry experts have predicted automation software will replace up to half of current finance employees within a decade, the financial system so far has experienced the opposite.
In fact, technology has spurred the growth of a new era of accounting professionals. These new, human financial technologists are sweeping into the industry’s ecosystem, ready to increase profitability. To facilitate this influx, and the challenges that come with it, recruiters must adapt and incorporate new and improved ways to recruit the next generation of skills found in these finance-technology hybrids.
Key Criteria for Top Candidates
1. The Big Picture
Surprisingly, the big picture is not always clear, especially in finance. Nevertheless, that shouldn’t stop recruiting from seeking candidates who see it. No applicant is perfect, but candidates need more than the right qualifications, they need the right mindset. Managers value employees who have a firm grip on the big picture of their organization and where it is headed. They prioritize individuals who come in understanding their role and how it fits into the company’s future from a macro level.
This mindset enables candidates to take the initiative, make processes more efficient and facilitate new breakthroughs. As technology grows, the need to focus on basic accounting principles will diminish and technology will automate the microlevel functions. This makes applicants who grasp the bigger picture a valuable commodity in the upcoming workforce.
2. Specialization
Recruiters can fine-tune their focus to zero in on highly specialized individuals, even ones who may lack the typical financial pedigree. For years, the recipe for locating top talent has been a delicate mixture of credentials from top schools and influential connections, sprinkled with internships at high-powered companies. However, the recipe is changing. These ingredients are no longer the go-to combination for fostering future talent.
While these criteria still standout, the need for candidates with specialized skills and lengthy expertise is exploding as technology becomes increasingly specialized. Recruiting professionals need to hone in on these next-generation candidates, who will be equipped with financial skills to guide them through the debits, credits and GAAP rules of daily accounting life, but also the ability to pivot and fulfill the role of the domain expert.
3. Agility
Today’s complex information systems and data-analytics tools make candidates with learning agility a necessity. Agile-learning applicants are ushering in the future with their ability to quickly grasp new software and apply its concepts to varying tasks.
Think about it this way: 2017 marks the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. Rewind 10 years, and the public’s eyes were just opening to visual voicemail and the ability to browse web pages from their hand – simple functions we now take for granted.
Today, more than 160 million people are smartphone-dependent! For recruiters, this inflates the value of finding candidates who can adapt and utilize new software to increase the earning potential of their business. Who knows what businesses will have to learn in the next decade?
Find and Foster Future Talent
The evolution of technology is forcing recruiters to change the way they identify top talent across every platform. In order to ride this wave of change, top-performing companies and their teams must know exactly how their talent assets contribute to their overall mission. By restructuring the way they recruit, corporate recruiting teams can continue to find and foster individuals with these three qualities in the next generation of prospective candidates.
