With today’s CFO often described as a ‘financially literate CEO’, the challenge for aspiring CFOs is to develop their leadership skills and business acumen as well as their financial intelligence. With guidance on how to achieve this and why, Amy Parkinson, Principal Consultant and financial leadership specialist at executive search firm Berwick Partners, offers insight into the changing dynamic of the CFO role.

 The role of the Finance Director has evolved from an organisation’s financial record keeper, to a CFO who is a ‘Deputy CEO’, a business leader with exceptional financial intelligence, and who has proven skills across commercial, strategic, operational and leadership competencies.

For some finance professionals, their first CFO position is secured just fifteen years after qualification.The pressure is on for the next generation of CFOs to swiftly and strategically develop their skills.

Today’s CFO

The evolution of the CFO has been at a steady pace. Years ago, we identified that the CFO role was becoming increasingly commercial, but the extent to which today’s CFO has become the CEO’s trusted advisor is even greater than expected.

In particular, the role has expanded to involve real influence on an organisation’s commercial and strategic decisions. This is especially true within an SME, where the CFO can be responsible for operations, IT, HR and legal, as the roles of CFO and Chief Operating Officer are often combined.

These changes are a consequence of increasing pressures on leadership. The CEO role is increasingly complex, with a myriad of stakeholders to manage, disruptive technologies, economic instability and a heightened level of external scrutiny.  So, the CEO needs a right-hand person to help negotiate a complex landscape, and a CFO is ideally positioned to fulfil this, because of their broader skills and insight and the trust the CEO and Board have in them.

The CFO has unique insights across the entire business.  Financial systems that integrate all areas of the business deliver clear visibility, from purchasing decisions to pricing commercial contracts.  Data analytics and business intelligence usually sit within finance, and the CFOs analytical skills ideally place them to interpret masses of data when discussing strategy with the CEO.

The CFO is there to support and challenge the business and to question financial forecasts. The CFO is also trusted by external stakeholders, and accountable and reliable in the eyes of the bank, the board and regulators.

The CFO of the future

Over the coming years, leadership challenges are going to increase, with the place of the CFO as a trusted, strategic advisor continuing to grow.  This impacts the team below the CFO and focusing on building a finance function that develops talent and that people want to join can really help.

We are seeing a rise in the number of Deputy CFO positions, which is an evolution of the Group Financial Controller (GFC) role.  These additional roles represent real opportunity for the right individuals.

Using process automation and artificial intelligence more broadly will also free up the CFO to be more strategic, whilst also improving the efficiency of the finance function.

Steps for aspiring CFOs

Aspiring CFO’s must develop a broad base of financial as well as commercial and ‘soft’ skills to offer credible advice that will be well received.

The foundation is, of course, a good finance qualification.  From there, aspiring CFO’s need to build commercial and operational finance skills to improve their understanding of practical business issues.  The role of GFC is critical, and one often overlooked by aspiring CFO’s focused on the more strategic elements, but gives credibility with stakeholders.  Within a listed company, it is unlikely a CFO won’t have undertaken a GFC role at some point in their career.

The Route to CFO

A recent study confirms today’s CFOs agree. We sought the opinions of sixty established CFOs from a range of industries and backgrounds, and their advice for aspiring CFOs is universal:

1. Build a broad base of experience

Efficient career planning makes a difference; a robust career plan is vital, and taking time to invest in a career path is invaluable.There are two roles employers’ value on a potential CFO’s CV – Divisional Finance Director and Group Financial Controller. These give the opportunity to develop relationships with key career influencers, and build strategic expertise with a panoramic view of internal and external issues.

1. Seek international experience

As business continues to operate on the global stage, international experience is advantageous. Working internationally is an effective way to build commercial, strategic, operational, legal and technical expertise, and hone leadership skills in intense situations.

1. Create opportunities

Actively seeking opportunities to positively impact a business is vital. One effective way is to take on problem tasks, especially high risk projects. Aspiring CFOs become known as the ‘fix it’ person and will be trusted at a senior level.

1. Learn to lead

The last piece is to develop leadership skills.  The days of a traditional ‘ivory towered’ FD are well and truly behind us. An effective leader has to be the trusted advisor who leads the executive and their own teams.

We went from record-low unemployment numbers to record-high unemployment numbers in a matter of weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. Due to this drastic change in the employment landscape, talent acquisition professionals should stay up to date on the latest trends in order to understand the “modern” jobseeker.

In early May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its April jobs report, and according to the BLS, total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7%. Last week, the BLS released its May jobs report, and there was a slight improvement in this area.

According to the BLS, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 2.5 million in May, and the unemployment rate declined to 13.3%. However, upon a deeper dive into the data, the BLS acknowledges that there was a misclassification error that could cause the unemployment rate to actually increase not decrease—meaning the unemployment rate would be about 16.3% for May.

As businesses begin to reopen and employers start to bring back furloughed or laid-off workers it should come as no surprise that these numbers are starting to improve. Here are some additional trends to keep in mind when recruiting talent back into your organization.

Job Search Trends

Throughout the month of May, career portal Monster.com uncovered key trends its platform saw from jobseekers; these findings are highlighted below:

Throughout the week of May 4 through May 10, Monster’s website saw both businesses and employees were ready to go back to work.

• There was an uptick in demand for technical and business operations roles, with software developers, network, and computer systems administrators ranking alongside business operations specialists, financial managers, and management analysis in the top jobs posted to Monster. Monster speculates that this shift could be a sign that more businesses were preparing for the next stages of reopening the economy—something that came to fruition for some states at the end of May and early June.
• Some highly skilled gig and remote jobs are seeing an increase in searches, with “graphic designer” and “UI developer” growing in search frequency during this time frame. Similarly, Monster saw a rise in searches for summer jobs and internships—a continued indication that the class of 2020 is in the jobs market.

Throughout the week of May 11 through May 17, Monster found that the reopening economy continued to influence candidates’ job search.

• With the majority of the country reopening, the retail industry saw a spike in job searches—its highest level in the past 8 weeks—and part-time jobs saw a large week-over-week spike.
• Business continuity was also leading to new jobs. Indicating a persistent effort to edge toward the new normal, business and financial operations, which include a wide variety of occupations like insurance appraisers, budget analysts, management analysts, accountants and auditors, and logisticians, continues to be one of the industries with the most new jobs on Monster. Specifically, business operations specialists and market research analysts ranked high among new job postings.
• “Work from home” increased the most of any keyword and is once again the top searched keyword—in line with candidate sentiment of cautiousness regarding returning to work outside the home.
• Food service searches are picking up, with increases in bartender, dishwasher, restaurant, food partner, line cook, food services, chef, executive chef, and sous chef. These searches align with states’ reopening announcements, resulting in restaurants’ beginning to open in some parts of the country.

Additional Data

While unemployment may be at an all-time high, there are still certain industries that are hiring workers. These industries have been deemed “essential,” and much like Monster’s research, these same industries have had an increased demand for hiring top talent. According to DailyPay, a platform that allows workers to access their paychecks before payday, throughout May, there was double-digit growth in the number of workers hired in certain industries.

During the 3-week period from May 11 to May 31, hiring increased in the hospitality (+15%), healthcare (+19%), quick-service restaurant (QSR) (+20%), supermarket (+23%), and caregiver industries (+24%). Additionally, DailyPay reports a 15% increase in the hiring of consumer services professionals, as well.

“The need to rehire brings forth a new set of challenges,” says Alexey Nefedov for DailyPay. “Companies are faced with ensuring that employee safety, trust and restaffing are accomplished in smart and economical ways.”

Health and safety have been on the top of everyone’s mind since the pandemic hit, and as businesses continue to open back up, these two areas will dominate the new way of working.

With normal work routines disrupted, many people may be re-evaluating career options, writes Geraldine King of the National Recruitment Federation.

If you weren’t altogether keen on your job in the first place, trying to now work from home and possibly deal with radically altered business conditions is not going to improve job satisfaction.

It’s usually during holidays that people think about a new job, retraining or going freelance. Most of us probably dream about giving up work altogether, if truth be told. Realistically though, a healthy respect for steady employment is good, so approach big change with caution.

Be ready for business as usual

Don’t be afraid of changing your career or evaluating the prospects, even now, says Bryan Hyland, commercial director at Morgan McKinley. “Despite all the disruption at the moment, there are excellent career opportunities now, and there will be in the future as the economy needs to recover.”

In the current environment, sectors including pharma and fast-moving consumer goods are seeing a significant uplift in recruitment, as are those aligned to supply chain channels.

In terms of preparing for a move, Hyland says now is the time to upskill, where possible. “Look into online learning platforms or research the appropriate skillsets needed. If making approaches, deal with a recruitment firm specialising in your role or profession. Be prepared to interview remotely and, if successful in your job search, be ready for remote onboarding and induction, too.”

Ask yourself about money matters

A desire for flexibility in our working lives is a big driver of change. Financial concerns are cited as the biggest obstacle to a career change, particularly going freelance or starting a business. We may want to strike out in a new direction, but we still need to pay bills.

Those worried about finances must carefully explore the financial side of starting again. What is the set-up cost? How can you finance it? Is there a market for what you’re planning to do? How well and how regularly is it likely to pay?

Take it one step at a time

Anne Fanthom of Recruitment Plus set up her own agency, having worked for two big names in the industry. She advises taking small steps.

“Gather information and assess what you want to achieve, including what it is about your current role or employer that’s not right,” Fanthom says.

“There are always options for those unhappy in their job, and it isn’t necessarily a move. Employers don’t want to lose talent, so may work with you on training or on evolving your role to suit your career or family plans.”

Even if the job change you’re planning is dramatic, the process of making it doesn’t have to be. A transition period can help. If possible, reduce hours in your current role to free up time to take on freelance projects or set up a business. This will help get your Plan B up and running while you’re still earning.

Network with people and places

Talk to former colleagues or college friends, and those elsewhere in your sector or in an area you might like. Find out what’s happening in the industry, people moving on, salary scales and good places to work.

Polish up your CV with study completed or conferences attended, and read industry blogs and trade magazines for insights on the latest tools of the trade you’re interested in.

Make contact with an employer you admire, or with a recruitment agency, or use this slowdown productively to plan approaches. Volunteering in a different role is helpful too, for the learning experience and to broaden your network.

Research new work options

Colin Donnery, general manager at FRS Recruitment, says that physical distancing is a great time to look at your career options. “Research the employment market and maybe do one of the many free skills assessments that are available online.

“Contact people in the industry you are looking to get into, and you will generally get valuable insights into what their career is really like, warts and all.”

Evaluating what exactly you want from a career change is also important, Donnery maintains. “Is it money, purpose or a life-long ambition?

“Research the career and what qualifications or training is required, and also if you are likely to have to take a drop in salary or maybe move location. Once you have all this relevant information, it is easier to plan the dream job and go for it.”

The need to research and benchmark your value in your new profession is crucial, Frank Farrelly, COO at Sigmar Recruitment, adds. “Be realistic, as you may have to take a cut in earnings, a step back in level, relocate or reskill, all of which can be costly,” he advises. “What you definitely need to do is to hustle and promote yourself, so be absolutely sure of your conviction and commitment.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has left no individuals, families or businesses unaffected. For businesses, the overall economic uncertainty, as well as having to adapt to remote working due to shelter in place orders, has put business planning processes under immense pressure, with calibrations needed even faster and with more frequency. Just last year, a survey of finance leaders found only 1 in 4 were confident their planning processes equipped them to be responsive to economic and geopolitical shifts. The current COVID crisis shines an even brighter light on the important role finance teams play in business strategy, ensuring decisions are based on solid data and accurate forecasts.

Finance has always been a natural crucible for business strategy—a central nerve centre through which key business inputs were sanctioned and all eventual outputs measured and recorded. This is true whether it is business-as-usual operational activities, investments in new skills or capabilities, research and development (R&D) for new innovations, or simply making payroll and keeping the lights on. Finance touches every part of the organisation, and, in the best of worlds, it can act as a rich source of cross-functional insight that can feed into the overall business strategy. Now more than ever, this proves invaluable, and allows finance to take a closer look at the role they can—and should—be playing in their organisations.

A single source is key

The way in which businesses are run has changed radically over the past decades, with globalisation, fast and ubiquitous connectivity, digital transformation, and an explosion of data calling for more short-term adjustments to planning and execution. This new way of running an organisation requires IT infrastructure that can process and analyse data in a way that is nimble and easily actionable without depriving it of context or accuracy. Businesses that do not have a highly integrated and automated planning process in place are in jeopardy of becoming laggards and placing the organisation two steps behind competitors.

With quick access to data becoming key to modern business success, finance organisations are increasingly turning to the cloud to access both financial and operational data. The shift away from on-premises planning systems, with siloed data and struggles around version control, to a system based on a single source of real-time data has helped companies become more agile. Web-based systems that provide mobile access has proven to be invaluable and is what has allowed so many businesses to quickly shift to remote work in recent months as people self-isolate due to COVID-19.

New technology, new skills

In addition to infrastructure technology changes, finance is also benefiting from the automation of many mundane finance tasks, such as manual data collection and consolidation of financial and operational data. Streamlining these tasks frees up finance to assume a greater strategic role for the business. This, in part, is driving a new set of skill requirements for finance teams as well. In the same 2019 study referenced above, 50 percent of finance leaders say they plan to upskill 50 percent of their workforce in the coming five years. Topping the list of desired skills is the ability to identify and manage risk, which given today’s business environment, reflects an expanding role in supporting business strategy. Finance leaders also noted expertise with new tools and technologies was key, underscoring the impact technology is having—and will continue to have—on the finance function.

Change agents for finance

As this evolution continues, there is a strong case to be made for finance teams to take on the position as stewards of change by acting beyond “number keepers” to transformation leaders for planning processes and sophisticated and relevant scenario-based planning. Eventually, finance will play a major role in helping the business model and automate complex, multi-stage operational practices and governance processes from end-to-end.

As businesses adopt these more agile planning methods, the stage is set for finance to act as the hub of business planning. While executives will undoubtedly continue to lead on the development of business strategy, finance professionals armed with the right tools can sense change, produce insights from stimuli, and operationalize coherent responses between different departments. In other words, finance will act as the lead integrator—the lens through which all changes are anticipated, understood, and modelled in order to develop a more agile, coherent response. With this transparency, business functions will have data-driven insights to make better, faster decisions.

Job roles such as front office executives at hotels, travel and tour operators, event managers, sports instructors and restaurant service staff are at risk.

Whenever the world changes its working patterns, argues Manish Kumar, MD & CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), some jobs can be at risk, but many more get created. “The same will happen now, in a post-Covid-19 world,” he says. “Going forward, the key is constant reskilling and upskilling.” While there are reports that a section of the formal economy workforce may be at risk of losing livelihoods—and especially industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality are badly hit—all is not lost, it appears.

New job roles

Digital capabilities are going to be crucial in future job roles, says Narayanan Ramaswamy, national head, Education & Skill Development, KPMG in India. “Those jobs that don’t need a physical presence (or minimum physical presence) would be in demand. Analytics and related areas would see an uptick, and we will see more job roles created across industries. In the short term, health-related job roles will see more demand,” he says.

Krishna Kumar, CEO & founder of Simplilearn, the online certification training provider, says that jobs in areas of digital marketing, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence will increase. “Full stack developer, scrum master, these are the kind of roles that will be much in demand,” he says.

As workplaces are rebooting and becoming smaller, the Covid-19 crisis is creating opportunities for roles catering to remote working, adds Divya Jain, founder & CEO of Safeducate, a skills training provider. “The localisation of supply chain in retail, travel, fashion, food and experiences will give a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and drive the country’s small business owners to spearhead economic revival,” she says.

To fight the pandemic, the pharmaceuticals industry is pulling out all the stops. Jain adds this will lead to skilled job openings in the research, treatment and disease prevention space.

Siddharth Chaturvedi, EVP of the AISECT Group—which runs a skills university, among other things—expects significant increase in roles such as Covid marshals, sanitation managers, general duty assistants for office premises, telemedicine operators and the like. “In the digital domain, promising roles include cybersecurity experts, content creators, video editors, digital marketing executives, etc,” he says.

Reskilling and upskilling

The current crisis has forced us to rethink on skilling. Arjun Mohan, India CEO, upGrad, the online higher education platform, says that, today, anybody who wants to seriously learn is learning. upGrad recently launched the Free 101 Program initiative, where it is offering 10 upskilling programmes free of cost to college students and working professionals.

Similarly, Simplilearn has started the Campus Connect initiative, which offers free access to learning programmes for faculty and students across 200 Indian universities. NSDC has the e-Skill India e-learning aggregator platform—it consolidates B2C e-learning portals operating over the internet within the skilling ecosystem, enabling multiple e-learning players—strong in specific skilling sectors—to share their strengths.

“Hard and soft skills such as digital literacy, learnability, agile leadership, coding, fungibility and flexibility are what people should focus on,” says Rituparna Chakraborty of Teamlease. She adds that all kinds of profiles in healthcare would be in demand, as would be digital skills in areas of marketing, product development, sales, customer services, online education and e-workforce management.

During this time of high unemployment, scammers go into overdrive. When people are in need of work, they’re more likely to fall for common scams. This is especially true for scams that claim to offer work-from-home opportunities—something in high demand for those who cannot return to their previous line of work at the moment.

Let’s take a look at the common scams out there and then talk about what employers can do to prevent their name from being used in conjunction with these scams.

Common Employment Scams

Scammers often post jobs and then prey on those unlucky enough to think the job posts are legitimate. They often use the names of real companies in an effort to get even more interest, as those companies can be researched and will appear to be real, even though the job is not.

The scammer’s goal is usually to get information—either personal information to facilitate identity theft or financial information to get money. An application is often enough to get an individual to divulge a lot of personal information, including Social Security numbers, birth date, etc.

Scammers looking for an immediate payout go a step further by requesting either banking info or direct payment for things like computers or other equipment, training materials, visa fees, application fees, and more.

Another type of job scam is when scammers try to get malware onto the would-be applicant’s computer or get access to his or her computer through some aspect of the process.

Yet another scam is when someone is told he or she has gotten a job and the scammer “accidentally” overpays the person by check and then requests the difference to be returned, only for the original check to bounce, sometimes weeks later, resulting in the individual’s losing the difference.

What Employers Can Do to Reduce Employment Scams in Their Name

Employers need to be aware of this because their company name could be used by a scammer, which can greatly damage the employment brand if it appears the companies are involved—even if they’re completely innocent of any involvement.

Here are some steps employers can take:

• Be proactive in trying to find fraudulent jobs posted by scammers with your company name. This can include monitoring common job boards and setting up alerts to get notifications when a combination of words is posted (such as your organization’s name and common job search terms). Ensure someone is responsible for monitoring the results of these notifications and confirming results are legitimate.
• Have a dedicated jobs page on the company website that shares the core company Web address so it’s easy to see if a jobseeker is being directed to a page that does not belong to the organization. For example, “www.yourcompanyname.com/jobs” is better than creating a separate, more generic page. Having a separate page will make it tougher for applicants to tell the difference between your page and a fraudulent site.
• Include a page on your website that outlines the whole recruitment process and notes the accurate websites that are used and e-mail suffixes used in communications. This can allow individuals to more easily see if they’re being directed to a spoofed or an illegitimate site.
• Include information on your website for jobseekers giving tips on how to recognize fraudulent job posts and how to protect themselves. Note that you will never ask for personal information like banking information as part of an application process. Also note that you will never charge for an application or for materials, so if someone has seen a post in your organization’s name asking for these things, he or she will know this is not legitimate.

This will unfortunately likely become more common as jobseekers try to return to work when the workplace reopens as we’re dealing with the coronavirus. However, this risk is present anytime and is something recruiters should be aware of.

For some companies, hiring continues during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many needing to bring new employees physically onboard to serve customer or product development needs.

In an environment of confusion, mixed messages, and fear, what should employers be doing during the talent acquisition process to ensure both new and existing employees feel confident and comfortable interacting with new staff members?

In this feature, we discuss some tips and best practices for remote hiring and onboarding. We’ve included input from experts in Human Resources and employment law.

You Can’t Be Too Detailed About the Logistics of Onboarding

Starting a new job is an exciting endeavor in any climate, but it’s also something that can cause anxiety, particularly with unknowns. That is especially true in the current business and economic climate, in which the country is emerging from lockdowns and remote working situations in a patchwork fashion state by state, county by county, and company by company.

Companies need to make very clear to employees exactly how their first days, weeks, and months on the job will go. How will they get their equipment? When will they actually come into the office?

“Even prior to the pandemic, it was always a best practice to have a written plan in place—especially for onboarding someone new,” says Ginger Barry Boyd, a partner with law firm Nelson Mullins. “That remains unchanged. Sharing a written plan provides a certain level of comfort for what the company’s expectations are for the new employee and actions the company is taking to provide a safe working environment.”

Understandably, companies have a lot of unknowns themselves when it comes to onboarding and the company situation in general. Part of a detailed hiring process and onboarding plan includes sharing what questions remain, which brings us to our next best practice.

Be Proactive in Addressing Health and Safety Concerns

The elephant in the room for virtually every company in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is concern for employee health and safety. Employers should be proactive in discussing this topic, even if candidates don’t bring it up first.

“Create an opportunity to have an honest and open dialogue about concerns related to being in the workplace or appropriateness on video as the case may be. The new person won’t be comfortable asking questions about personal concerns so you need to prompt and encourage the discussion,” says Bob Clark, CEO of Rockford, Illinois-based executive search firm Furst Group. “These would include expectations about social distancing, use of masks, office cleaning processes, and even access to sanitizer.”

Transparency and Company Health

Health and safety are not the only concerns for candidates looking to start a new job. Candidates are fearful of their job security. Many may be looking for jobs because their previous employers laid them off or went out of business.

It’s not fair for candidates to have to guess about whether the company they are interviewing with is at risk of going out of business. That unknown might make candidates pass up on an offer in favor of an opportunity that seems more secure.

“More than ever before, employers need to be transparent about processes, work expectations and the health of the business during this pandemic,” says Dawn Mitchell, VP of Human Resources for Appian. Employees are as concerned about job security as they are about personal safety. It’s important for employers to keep the employee experience top of mind and to take steps to ensure their needs and concerns are being addressed.

“During this unprecedented time, it’s integral to ensure there is a clear and concise message to instill confidence amongst your employees,” says Mitchell. “It’s even more critical to weave that message throughout every touch point of the candidate to the employee journey. From their first conversation with your Talent Acquisition team, to their interactions with your Human Resources department during onboarding—what they hear regarding the state of your company should remain consistent.”

Interviewing by phone or via a video call has naturally become the norm during this pandemic. As someone who interviews juniors quite frequently, I’d originally imagined that traditional banking interviews would simply move online. In fact, this isn’t the case: they’ve changed in very interesting ways. 

Interview etiquette during COVID-19

A comment that I’ve heard consistently from interviewees is that interviews have generally been much more pleasant experiences overall during the pandemic. Hiring managers appear to be much more friendly and less aggressive in their line of questioning than usual: it’s more about a conversation than an interrogation.

At the same time, though, I have heard complaints from hiring managers that interviewees are too relaxed, and are not as well prepared as they should be. Too many (especially junior candidates) appear to be relying on reading lines word-for-word off pieces of paper presumably taped to their walls.

If you’re interviewing now, you therefore need to be alert to these issues. Due to the sensitivities of this crisis, recruiting managers are going to be more forgiving, but you also need to understand that if you’ve got an interview right now you are very lucky, and should not waste the opportunity!

Additional advice for this moment in history: always wear pants with your suit jacket and try not to be drunk! One colleague witnessed an interviewee in a suit jacket and boxer shorts. Another strongly suspected that their latest interviewee was drinking beer out of a tea cup. Comical it may be, but so few jobs are legitimately on offer right now that you absolutely have to find a way to stand out, and for the right reasons.

Banking interview questions during COVID-19

Another natural evolution of the standard interview has come in the form of the types of questions being asked. The usual opener of… ‘Ok tell me a bit about yourself’, has been routinely replaced by, ‘So, what have you been up to during the lockdown?’

Here is a selection of some other ‘new’ questions that have cropped up over the past couple of months:

Personal and practical interview questions during the virus:

What has the pandemic taught you about yourself?

How have you spent your time during the pandemic?

Could you plausibly work from home for the rest of your career?

Can trading floors feasibly stay remote forever, if so how would juniors get trained?

Conceptual and moral banking interview questions during the virus:

Should employees have a choice about returning to work, or should it be obligatory?

Markets interview questions during the virus?

Does central banks’ response to the pandemic justify the case for bitcoin?

Do you think the Fed will eventually have to buy equities?

U.S. equities are almost back to where they were, does that mean passive investing is still the best strategy?

Is the liquidity crisis inevitably going to turn into a solvency crisis?

Brainteaser banking interview questions during the virus:

How many face masks do you think have been sold in 2020?

Do not mistake the second question as a lay-up: managers want to see some growth, not the extremities of your Netflix-bingeathons. – Have you done anything charitable? Have you learned something new – done any online learning etc? 

A virtual culture is more than Zoom Happy Hours and random meme sharing. It’s a space where each employee feels comfortable, safe, respected and treated like a valued member of the team; it’s where they feel like they belong.

A recently conducted remote work survey by FinanceBuzz revealed, 46% of workers feel isolated from their team and a reported 30% admitted it’s challenging to collaborate with their colleagues. While no two cultures are identical, healthy ones have a similar foundation: they support the happiness and growth of their employees while fostering a culture of inclusivity, collaboration and engagement.

According to research conducted by EY’s Center for Talent Innovation, “39% of respondents feel the greatest sense of belonging when their colleagues check in with them, both personally and professionally.” Furthermore, “when people feel like they belong at work, they are more productive, motivated, engaged and 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their fullest potential.”

These four effective strategies will help managers build a thriving and inclusive virtual culture.

Drive A Sense Of Purpose With Over-Communication

Repetition in communication is a powerful and effective tool that isn’t used as often as it should. Redundancy or repetition prevents misinterpreted, erroneous or the loss of information when transferring from one person to another. This is why marketing abides by the “Rule of 7” which suggests an individual needs to hear a message seven times before they will consider taking action.

Tsedal Neeley conducted a study with Elizabeth Gerber and Paul Leonardi on the outcome of managers who over-communicate. They discovered managers who over-communicated through different mediums were able to get projects completed in a timely fashion compared to those who only delivered a message once or twice. Examples of different communication mediums consist of email, Slack channels, Zoom video calls or text message.

Despite what many managers believe, there’s no such thing as over-communication. In fact, under-communicating is one of the top reasons employees leave their job. It not only breeds doubt and uncertainty, but it contributes to missed deadlines, uncompleted tasks, decreased productivity and higher turnover. Companies lose millions of dollars annually due to employees not performing at full capacity which results in poor customer experiences.

Champion A Culture Of Collaboration

An inclusive workplace culture values peoples abilities instead of focusing on their limitations. Inclusive managers bring together employees, at all levels, and empower them to contribute their own original thinking and unique skills. Successful teams have a balanced mix of talents, personalities, skills and ideas where they’re able to communicate and collaborate together. A Salesforce survey uncovered 86% of employees and executives cited a lack of collaboration was responsible for failures in the workplace.

Championing a culture of collaboration is essential to growth. For example, instead of presenting a problem to a select few individuals, managers can host a video conference call to solve it together. Likewise, managers can make meetings more interactive where everyone has a chance to share and say what they need. Additionally, they can use the time together to celebrate individual and team milestones.

Kerry Wekelo, COO of Actualize Consulting, a management consulting firm, has found great success in conducting team building activities to keep employees engaged and connected. Wekelo said they do this through friendly group challenges where teams earn points while enjoying theme based team building activities. Recently, they did an elevator pitch challenge that turned out to be successful. Team building helps employees better understand their strengths, interests and weaknesses while getting to know their co-workers better.

Is there a secret you need to know in order to recruit and select the best sales talent? It’s easy to think so since McKinsey analysts report that “superior talent is up to eight times more productive” than the rest of the employees on your team. These superior folks are hard to find. If you’re fortunate enough, you’ll hire one and watch their impact on your bottom line. How do you know if the candidate sitting in front of you truly is the best? You can improve your odds by using a sales assessment test instead of relying on the usual methods.

The Power of Technology and Data

I like to remind people that one way to find top talent is to incorporate technology and data into your process. That’s exactly the path described in the book and the movie "Moneyball." For those who are unfamiliar with the story, it’s about the effective use of data in assembling a baseball team. We all know baseball people fixate on statistics, but back in the day, managers weren’t using data to recruit players. That changed when Billy Beane came along. Using statistics, Beane put together a winning team for the Oakland Athletics. Today, several baseball teams rely on sabermetric analysts to evaluate players.

More of the Same or Something New

One lesson from Beane’s approach was that disrupting the power of personal relationships can improve outcomes. Many sales professionals believe in personal relationships and their ability to drive business success. But should personal relationships also drive how you hire your sales reps?

Studies have pointed to the positive outcomes when employees recommend friends for open positions. In fact, many organizations reward employees if a recommended person is hired. Studies also show that these new hires often last longer in an organization and may be a good fit in the culture. While that may be true, the word-of-mouth hiring strategy won’t bring you the best sales talent, unless you’re very lucky. The truth is that people tend to recommend friends who are similar to themselves.

If you want to change the mold and break through barriers, you’ll need to use a sales assessment test to find the best sales talent.

The Interview Bias

The best aspect of a good sales assessment test is the lack of bias. Tests that ask questions designed to reveal sales aptitude, motivations and work practices focus on the whole candidate. During an interview, candidates can shift the focus to what they want you to know. If they’re not particularly good team players, they’ll highlight their rainmaker qualities. And sales professionals who have been recommended by a friend or co-worker may try to play the relationship angle and appeal to your emotions. Before you know it, they’ll have sold themselves to you.

You can protect yourself against that kind of influencing by asking candidates to take an assessment before they qualify for an interview. With the data in front of you, asking questions about a candidate’s potential weaknesses will be a more productive use of your time.

Reference Checks and Personal Branding Limitations

Some hiring managers believe that reference checks can be the best way to confirm that the candidate they want to hire is top shelf. Unfortunately, many organizations will only confirm a candidate’s title, dates of employment and the kind of work they did. This dilemma might lead to you conduct a backdoor reference check.

You might know an individual who worked with the candidate in the past but who wasn’t listed as a reference. In talking with the off-list reference, you’ll hope to learn about a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. Unless you know the reference well, consider what they say carefully. They may have a hidden agenda, such as wanting to push someone else they want to see hired into your position.

The coronavirus pandemic has given the job market an unexpected shakeup, with millions of workers across the globe filing for unemployment. However, many companies have successfully transitioned to remote work despite these alarming figures, even hiring new employees through digital recruitment.

If you’re one of those lucky people who have recently landed a job during these unprecedented times, chances are you’re wondering how you can get used to a new work environment without meeting your employers and colleagues face-to-face.

Here are TopMBA’s top seven tips to successfully start your remote job and ensure that you have a smooth and successful transition.

Investigate the company culture

A virtual office is a strange place, and it can be hard to find out what your new company’s culture is. Make sure you research your employer extensively and ask yourself: what are the values that I need to comply to? How should I approach other employees? What attributes are people rewarded for in this specific workplace?

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with these, it’ll be easier for you to feel part of the company and your dedicated team.

Get to know your line manager

Having a good relationship with your line manager is crucial and will also aide you successful transition into the company. Make sure you consistently schedule one-on-one calls to get to know them better and talk through the ambitions you have for your new role. They might even offer you some additional development and training opportunities that’ll allow you to progress quicker within the organization.

Explain the way you work

In normal circumstances, it’d be easy for your managers and colleagues to find out how you work. However, starting a job remotely means that you won’t have those in-person interactions that allow people to get to know you, which might cause some short-term difficulties.

For this reason, we recommend that you be proactive and talk through your work preferences with your new team. Some of the topics you might want to cover include scheduling, teamwork, communication and commitments outside of work hours.

Make sure you have the right equipment

This might seem like an unnecessary step, but don’t underestimate the importance of having the right set-up at home.

If you feel like you lack specific equipment, such as desk chairs, microphones or screens, bring it up with your employer. They’ll likely provide it for you, or at least give you enough allowance to purchase it yourself.

Schedule calls with colleagues to build relationships

A harmonious team requires honest relationships between colleagues, and the same applies when working remotely. We recommend setting up informal calls with other members of your team to find out important information about the company and the roles everyone has within it. Once you’re more comfortable talking to them, you’ll likely feel more valued within the team and you’ll have made new friends who will make the transition easier.

Keep communication going

It can be hard to stay on top of things when working from home, which is why communication is a key component of remote work. Make sure you keep your manager in the loop and don’t let any problems slide – it’s perfectly reasonable to ask for help, especially in an unusual work environment

When it comes to skills and personal development, there’s a massive gap between what graduates think they need to know, and what employers actually want from them. Consequently, the job skills you think are the most important are probably not actually the ones your future employer is going to value highly.

QS, in conjunction with the UK-based Institute of Student Employers (ISE), recently released The Global Skills Gap in the 21st Century, a report which looks at this very issue, detailing the differences between what applicants prioritize over what satisfies employers, and breaking the findings down by region.

For example, North America is where employers are most satisfied with the skills employees are bringing to the table, whereas Latin America is where they are least pleased.

More importantly, however, the report outlines the skills employers want you to prioritize right now. Here’s what you need to work on to get an edge in the job hunt.

Problem-solving

The world is facing a series of complex problems and technology is advancing at lightning speed. This means companies need employees who can hit the ground running and come up with clever, practical solutions to problems in real time.

While employers say they need this more than anything else, students tend to believe creativity is the most prized skill instead of problem-solving.

As a result, employees are regularly disappointing superiors with their lackluster problem solving. In the report, employers give problem-solving an importance factor score of 96, but a satisfaction factor score of just 67.

Business schools should look to do more to address this imbalance. Case studies are good at teaching problem-solving, but simulations or consulting projects with real companies might be better.

You should also try to take courses which involve analysis and problem-solving, and seek to take the initiative in internships to develop your experience in this area.

Ability to work in a team

Students think leadership is the second-most important skill after creativity, but employers prefer they would focus on improving their ability to work in a team. The gap between importance and satisfaction is smaller here (scores of 95 and 80 respectively), but it still exists.

There are plenty of opportunities to practice this skill both at school and in internships, so what you should try to do is gain experience working in groups across geographies and time zones.

The future requires the ability to work well with diverse groups of people who aren’t necessarily in the same place. While technology makes that ever more convenient, it still requires the human ability to understand the nuances of different cultures and ideas and learn to compromise and adjust.

Communication

People are constantly talking about how no one knows how to talk anymore. Digital devices and social media have completely changed the way humans interact. But if you can explain yourself – or better yet your mission – either in writing or orally, you will be one step ahead of the competition.

Employers place an importance factor score of 95 on communication, but they give it a satisfaction score of 71. By comparison, students think organizational skills are more important.

Business schools have paid mind to communication, but they still haven’t figured out the magic formula for strengthening this skill. Some are experimenting with including humanities or liberal arts curriculum. Perhaps, they need more of it.

HR leaders know you can’t afford to endlessly cycle through top talent: replacing an employee can cost as much as twice that employee’s salary. Retention is the name of the talent management game.

Many HR leaders focus their retention strategies on the onboarding process, hoping that a meaningful welcome period will sustain employees’ motivation well beyond their transition. The reality is employees want to feel consistently supported and appreciated for the long haul. 

That’s where “long-boarding” comes in. HR leaders need to continue to affirm employees long after the onboarding period to keep them excited about their work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic especially, frequently engaging remote teammates will boost morale while in-person connection is not possible.

Here are three ways to long-board your employees, either virtually or in the office.

1: Communicate Often

If an employee doesn’t dig into their real work until the first few weeks or even months have passed, that’s by design. Onboarding is a cultural orientation more than anything – it takes time to get to know the values, mission and people that make up an organization.

Just don’t wait until their annual review to sit down and have the first in-depth conversation since they joined the company. Long-boarding is all about regular, constructive communication.

HR leaders should establish a regular timeline for new hires to check in with their manager or supervisor. And depending on the structure of your organization, it might also make sense for your employees to meet with someone on the HR team, too. If employees are working from home, these check-ins can happen at the same cadence through video conferencing.

Top performers want to know that their opinion matters. During these check-ins, ask for your employees’ honest feedback about how things are going. If they’re unhappy about something, odds are the problem can be addressed. Make sure they know their concerns have an outlet, and that they can have an active role in shaping their experience and workflow.

2: Development Opportunities

Employee development is a crucial component of long-boarding. According to a LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report, a whopping 93 percent of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. In other words, a top performer doesn’t want to be static in the workplace – they want to grow, and they want to envision a future with your organization. 

But small and mid-size organizations don’t always have the budget and resources to offer a comprehensive development program. Still, investing in current employees’ development likely costs less than recruiting new ones. And the return on that investment is invaluable: when an employee finds a sense of purpose, they’ll want to drive more change in your company.

Every employee has different goals, so it’s a good idea to offer a variety of career development opportunities. Here are three educational and training resources that are high-impact, relatively low-cost and remote-friendly:

• Develop soft skills. Employees with strong soft skills, such as communication and negotiation skills, are critical to the success of your organization’s culture. Peer coaching, manager feedback and digital courses are all helpful ways to help employees improve their soft skills.
• Offer technical workshops. Top talent is always looking to broaden their skill set. Have workshops for hard skills like coding, graphic design, or social media, for example – skills that might not be specific to employees’ job duties but give them an opportunity to expand their capabilities.
• Offer leadership training. Top talent at the manager level should constantly strive to be better leaders. Sponsor leadership development programs or provide in-house leadership mentoring. 

3: Frequent Recognition

When employees know the work they’re doing is valued, they’re more inclined to stay and grow within your company.

A study from Robert Half found that 66% of employees would likely leave their job if they didn’t feel appreciated. And in a Society of Human Resources Management survey, HR leaders agreed that recognition creates a positive workplace culture and employee experience – and 68% said their organization’s recognition program positively affects retention. 

During the onboarding process, you prepare employees to do good work. But what about once they’ve accomplished an important goal in their current role? Or when they’re struggling through a difficult stretch? Are you letting them know that you appreciate their good work?

Once you consider employees fully onboarded, come up with a timeline for when to recognize your employees’ contributions. Some of these points will be standard for everyone – such as hitting the six-month mark – but other points will need to be tailored to the employee’s individual progress, which means you’ll need to be in touch with an employee’s managers and teammates.

Motivation is at the heart of employee productivity and retention. Organizations with highly motivated and engaged workers are 21 percent more profitable, but only 19 percent of employees consider themselves “very engaged.” Employers need to know how to motivate employees, or they risk falling behind their competitors.

This article offers 13 effective ways to motivate employees by focusing on critical aspects of your organization, such as culture, recognition, and feedback.

1. Build a culture that motivates employees daily

To sustain employee motivation over the long term, you need to develop a culture that supports all team members and inspires them to bring their best on a daily basis. Otherwise, even the most enthusiastic employees will find their motivation waning. Almost all job seekers — 88 percent — consider culture as an important factor when deciding where to work, and the culture of an organization is a top factor that impacts employee satisfaction. Entrepreneurs know that a great culture leads to improved employee performance across the organization — 86 percent have seen a link between culture and productivity.

There are a few steps any organization can follow to build a culture that motivates employees and means business. Start with identifying traits you want your culture to exemplify and that your employees will value, then get your leadership on board with building that culture. This second step is key, as almost half of employees say leadership is “minimally” or “not at all” committed to improving organizational culture. Once leaders start actively focusing on culture by implementing and participating in cultural initiatives, your employees will feel more connected to your company’s values and mission. Ensure your team members can weather difficult times and remain motivated all-year round by maintaining culture continuity.

2. Take advantage of the motivational power of recognition

Research shows that recognition is one of the most effective ways to motivate employees. 80 percent of employees say that recognition is a strong source of motivation, and 90 percent say that receiving recognition motivates them to work harder. However, many companies continue to neglect recognition: a lack of recognition is the third most common reason employees choose to leave an organization.

Any recognition strategy needs to incorporate both monetary and social recognition. According to a report by Aptitude Research Partners, organizations using social recognition have 40 percent higher employee productivity compared to organizations not using it.

Here are some recognition best practices to help you start using it as a key motivator:

• Recognition should be provided frequently — not just during work anniversaries — and in the moment.
• Any time you send a recognition, be specific and transparent when describing the key behavior demonstrated. This is extremely important because 92 percent of employees agree when they’re recognized for a specific action, they’re more likely to take that action again in the future.
• Tie recognition to company values to show employees that those values are more than just words and incentivize employees to practice them.
• Consider using a points system for rewards, which allows employees to redeem their points for a reward of their choosing that they find meaningful.
• Finally, use an employee recognition platform so your team members can provide recognition from anywhere, whether they’re on desktop or mobile. You should also leverage data insights to properly measure and adjust your recognition program for optimal success.

3. Collect and respond to employee feedback

Employees are far more motivated when they have a voice. 73 percent of employees who feel heard by employers say that they are motivated to perform their best work, and 90 percent of workers are more likely to stay at a company that listens to and acts on feedback.

Collecting feedback frequently gives employees a chance to express themselves and makes them feel valued. Use employee pulse surveys to get a check on how your employees are feeling and see whether your motivational efforts are succeeding. You can also implement a workplace chatbot that provides an always-on channel for employees to confidentially share feedback.

Listening to employee feedback is just the first step; employers need to take visible actions addressing it. After conducting and closing your employee pulse survey, set aside time to measure and analyze the results carefully. What are employees telling you? How do results compare to the last study? What trends are you seeing? Consider the response rate, evaluate the data as well as the comments, and review with managers and leaders. When an employee sees that their feedback has an actual impact on business decisions, they know that their voice matters and they’ll continue to provide honest, valuable feedback.

4. Focus your leaders on motivation

Employees look to management to steer the organization and rely on them to make the right decisions for the business. Because of this trust, leaders have a significant impact on employee motivation. “The quality of senior leadership” is one of the top two factors of employee satisfaction, but only 2 in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.

Emphasizing that leaders need to prioritize and understand how to motivate employees is the first step. Once the leadership team is on the same page, there’s no lack of opportunities for them to start motivating employees, and one of the best is recognizing team members. Receiving praise or a reward from your manager or another leader can make a huge impact. A Gallup workplace survey revealed nearly one-quarter of employees said the most memorable recognition comes from a high-level leader or CEO. The more that leaders recognize employees publicly, the more likely it is employees will feel valued and motivated.

Coaching is another way that managers can build stronger teams and boost employee motivation. Practicing workplace coaching ensures that managers understand the importance of their role in guiding and developing employees, and it helps them improve core skills like observation and communication. It also directly speaks to millennials’ desire to have a different type of relationship with managers.

Your team is looking to you to help lead them through this adversity, and even though you definitely have a lot on your mind, you have to find a way to juggle all of your responsibilities while supporting your team. Here are nine ways you can achieve that goal.

1. Prioritize health and well-being.

Your team is anxious and stressed about their health and the future of their careers. They may also be working too much or struggling with procrastination, depression or issues at home.

As a leader, you can support your team by suggesting mental and physical health tips. Ideas include meditating, eating healthy snacks, at-home exercises or fostering positive thinking. You could also organize digital health events or offer subscriptions or allowances for digital therapy. Most importantly, just let them know that you are available to speak to them whenever they need someone to talk to. 

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

As I just mentioned, your team already has a lot on their minds. There’s no need to add even more stress and anxiety to their lives by micromanaging or obsessing over perfection.

A better direction? Grant them autonomy, think done instead of perfect and keep their workload at a minimum. I know that there are a million things to get done. But, right now, encourage your team to only focus on their priorities. If you want to have a great company culture like Google's, everything else can be saved until later.

3. Create resource lists for support.

“The best way to support your team during a crisis is creating a comprehensive internal messaging strategy,” writes Rebekah Grmela. “In addition to the helpful tips with in-person and virtual communication above, you must also simultaneously create strategic resources that will curate helpful links, applications, news sources, company-wide announcements and more.”

In addition to the email with bullet points, consider developing and sharing a Google Doc, FAQ sheet or dedicated Slack channel. However, keep in mind that during a crisis, not everyone may be available online. 

4. Allow flexible schedules with asynchronous communication.

“If employees can’t meet their basic needs because their schedules are not flexible enough to allow them to do so, it’s going to have a massive impact on their productivity,” says Shannon Burns, an engineering manager at Slack. Studies have actually found that people with flexible schedules have less emotional exhaustion, psychological distress and work-family conflict. They’re also healthier, more engaged, and productive.

If you want to support flexible schedules, here’s how you can make a smooth transition:

• Evaluate performance with results, not time. “Before the pandemic began, I encouraged my team to work the optimal hours for their productivity, with the flexibility to meet for difficult-to-schedule meetings,” Burns says. You can track results by documenting everything.
• Improve your asynchronous communication skills. All this means is that you shouldn’t always expect an immediate response.
• Communicate your schedule in advance. If possible, share a team calendar so you can see when your team is available and when they’re not.
• Have better meetings less often. Scratch those low-value meetings and seek alternatives like email or one-on-ones.

5. Be a true leader and not just a boss.

What’s the difference between the two? Well, leaders influence, inspire and mentor. They’re also empathetic and a part of the team. As for bosses, they command, explain and discipline. They also view their team members as subordinates.

Who do you think your team needs more during a crisis: a leader or a boss?

6. Foster fun and connection.

Yes, you can have fun at work, and studies have actually found that a fun workplace creates happier employees. Additionally, they’re more satisfied, motivated and less stressed. It’s also a solid way to forge relationships. It’s a win-win.

Need some ideas? Well, you should never rule out tried and true techniques like celebrating accomplishments, birthdays or holidays. There’s also team-building activities, virtual lunches, friendly competitions or volunteering together. You could also have a movie night, happy hour or Slack channels dedicated to non-work related topics.

7. Acknowledge and reward.

Even the most modest of us want to be appreciated. The reason? Recognition, according to Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, “serves as a tool for reinforcing the behaviors that drive an organization to excellence ... through recognition, we also build a culture that attracts and retains the best talent.”

It doesn’t always have to cost an arm and leg. In fact, recognizing a team member before a meeting, writing a thank you note or giving them a shoutout on your website, newsletter, or social channels are free.

Covid-19 is forcing companies across the UK and the rest of the world to review their remote working capabilities. For many, remote working is all in a day’s work, but for the financial sector, it’s not as easy as bringing your laptop home and ensuring your work phone is charged.

In the last two weeks, both HSBC and Barclays have confirmed cases of the Covid-19 virus within their employment, with HSBC evacuating an entire floor of its Canary Wharf offices. The evacuation did not affect the bank’s trading floor—but that scenario isn’t out of the realms of possibility as the government warns of much wider scale afflictions.

So, what can these financial giants do to prepare for, what people are calling: “A nationwide work-from-home experiment”?

No days off for compliance

As we know the financial sector has become heavily regulated. One such measure is the requirement to record all communications—including mobile phone calls and instant messaging relating toa transaction, irrespective of whether the transaction concludes. This is easy enough to control from your state-of-the-art HQ in Canary Wharf, New Jersey or Manhattan—but how do you keep compliant from the couch?

The FCA released a statement concerning Covid-19 which states: “We expect firms to take all reasonable steps to meet their regulatory obligations. For example, we would expect firms to be able to enter orders and transactions promptly into the relevant systems, use recorded lines when trading and give staff access to the compliance support they need. If firms are able to meet these standards and undertake these activities from backup sites or with staff working from home, we have no objection to this.”

Even in a crisis, compliance still stands, and is arguably even more important, as the extreme market volatility we are experiencing potentially encourages “sharper” trading practices.

But compliance isn’t the only issue, it’s also about business continuity—functioning at the same level that you would from a work desk.

The financial sector is one of the most complex and highly regulated industries and, as such, the highly complex data, support and regulatory systems mean we can be slower than our counterparts to adapt to digital alternatives—so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that, even now, many traders can still only work from their desk.

Any deviation from the norm on a widespread or elongated scale can hit businesses hard. Not to mention the implications of any misconduct, whether intentional or not, during that time.

Few predicted our current global, economic and social situation—but it might just be the kick we need to transform our organizations to be digital first.

Evolving with the times

So, what can we do to best enable a successful stint of remote working?

Some of the biggest banks are already implementing a divisional split whereby trading teams are split into three and separated across multiple offices or remote/home locations. This will help reduce the likelihood of blanket infection, but how do we ensure those working remotely can adequately get the job done?

Mobile recording for compliance is actually a relatively simple one to take care of, providing you have the right systems in place. At Truphone, we have created a solution that easily records mobile voice and SMS communication. This works on a global scale and is already used and trusted by 10 of the world’s 12 largest banks, so you can close through to transaction in your kitchen, no problem.

Slightly trickier, though by no means impossible to solve, is the absence of trading turrets which give traders access to multiple lines and near-instant connection. Luckily, as with most tech, a virtual trading turret from companies such as Cloud 9 and BT’s acquisition of IP Trade is readily available for traders to use remotely.

And of course, leveraging the use of digital conference tools such as Skype and Web exis paramount to keeping in touch with colleagues and ensuring the best possible remote working outcomes. It should be noted that unified communication platforms such as these can be used for one-to-one communication and can be recorded—but they’re not as seamless as mobile communications, and their recording capability can lack the rigour demanded by the regulators. Additionally, their reliance on good data connectivity means call quality is not as reliable as good old-fashioned GSM calls.

The corona effect

Covid-19 has pushed us all into unchartered waters. At the moment, it’s hard to see through the uncertainty, but there will come a time when normal routine ensues, and we return to that seemingly surreal ‘business as usual’. We may even ponder whether being chained to our desks is how we want to live and work in the 21st century.

While the Covid-19 pandemic hits and reshapes companies, industries, national economies, and our society in previously unthinkable ways, business leaders need to think beyond survival to the opportunities this crisis might create, not only for their own organizations but the greater good. Chief among these is a chance to hire talented people at a time when they might have trouble finding or keeping jobs elsewhere.

According to The Economist, four-fifths of CEOs worry about skill shortages — up from half in 2012 — while outside hiring at the top reached record highs, causing business for large global search firms to increase by 9% to 15% last year.

Now many companies are laying off workers and downsizing. Some sectors are collapsing. It seems an unprecedented number of people, around the world, from new graduates to seasoned veterans, will be looking for employment. At the same time, a major force that had been fueling the intensity of the war for talent — globalization — might recede. As companies revisit their international expansion strategies and cross-border business practices, workers are recalculating their personal purpose and individual and family priorities, with serious implications for their geographic and work preferences and travel habits.

The pool of available talent is suddenly both changing and expanding, and visionary leaders can make the most of it, preparing the ground for post-crisis recovery and growth. As management guru Jim Collins has shown us, making the leap from good to great starts with getting the right people on the bus.

History Lessons

Throughout history, economic hardships have created windows in which exceptional employees and leaders are widely available for a limited time. In the late 1940s, for example, many organizations were struggling. At Hewlett-Packard, the fledgling electronic equipment maker that would eventually become one of America’s best-known technology companies, business was slow and finances strained. But as legions of great engineers streamed out of closing or soon-to-close U.S. military labs, HP’s legendary founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard realized they couldn’t let such an amazing hiring opportunity pass them by. When asked how they could afford to keep taking on new people in those difficult years, their answer was simple: “How could we afford not to!”  Years later, when asked about the biggest contributor to HP’s success over the years, they routinely cited their willingness to invest in talent no matter the external economic climate.

While most of us become short-sighted and irrational during crises, the best leaders and organizations stay calm and use them to their advantage, sprinting away from their competitors and never looking back. To use another analogy, they bring in architects to plan the new building even as the firefighters work to save the old one.

Harvard Business School’s Ranjay Gulati, Nitin Nohria, and Franz Wohlgezogen considered the benefits of this kind of long-term thinking in an analysis of 4,700 companies across the last three recessions. They discovered that 9% were able to come out in much better positions than they entered because of their “progressive” focus. They did cut back, but were extremely selective about when and where they did so and, more importantly, they continued to make strategic investments. Rather than thinking in “either/or” terms — you’re either hiring or you’re downsizing — they, like HP following the war, embraced the “and,” understanding they could do both things if they were smart about it.

Unfortunately, most companies make the mistake of uniformly freezing hiring in downturns. During the 2008 global financial crisis, BCG and the European Association for People Management surveyed 3,400 executives, including 90 senior human resources leaders in more than 30 countries, to see how they were responding. The most frequent action (or reaction) was to scale back recruiting. At the same time, survey participants rated the selective hiring of high-performing employees from competitors as one of the three most effective responses to the previous crisis (from a list of 22) and the one with the best impact on employee commitment. This irrationality is widespread. Those who stay rational can capitalize on it.

Seizing the Opportunity

So, how should visionary leaders go about capturing this once-in-a-century hiring opportunity? Through urgent and disciplined engagement in several initiatives:

Ask your top leaders to list three to five great players they would have liked to have hired over the past five years and then check in with those people.

Increasing employee engagement isn’t just a checkbox exercise for HR; it’s a long-term strategy that is crucial to business growth. And the best news is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are five cost-effective ways to improve employee engagement. 

1. Implement some environmental policies

This year taking an environmental stance in your office will be welcomed by staff. Earlier this year, research released by TopLine Film examined workplace sustainability and employees’ feelings towards it. Nearly a quarter (24%) of the 1,000 respondents said they would refuse a job at an organisation with a poor sustainability record. And almost three quarters (73%) said they wanted to see a greater commitment to sustainability in their workplace.

Single-use plastic should be banned in the office, and also make recycling mandatory. What’s more is that you could also include a ‘switch off’ policy for everyone to turn off their computers and other devices at the end of every day.

I’m quite confident that all workplaces could enforce these rules quickly and easily, and at no extra cost to the business. Those that do might want to look into getting certified as a B Corporation, the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance. 

2. Share information

Your employees want to know what is going on in the company, whether it’s good or bad. Conversations that happen in management meetings can seem tedious when you’re in them regularly, but the rest of your team probably feel differently.

Having a regular staff update meeting allows you to celebrate successes, talk about the future and all get-together. Plus, it shows that you respect them enough to keep them in the loop on business development.

3. Go flexible

Employers have some seriously talented people who wouldn’t be able to perform to their high standard if they couldn’t indulge in a work from home scheme. 

You should try to implement a work-from-home policy for everyone in your team. Not only is it cheap and easy to implement, but it is without a doubt the most valued work benefit. HR practitioners regularly get feedback from their team saying that it makes their lives so much easier to organise. 

4. Let people bring their pets to work

Bringing pets to work is such a simple little benefit, but so valuable in terms of employee engagement.  Research shows that dogs in the workplace help lower stress levels throughout the day. 

And this is also not just a benefit for your employees, but their pooches too!. as they do not have to be left alone at home, waiting for their owner to return.

We’re living through unprecedented times, dealing with a situation completely out of our control. But while finance leaders have no way of managing the pandemic itself, they do have influence over how their business responds and adapts to the chaos left by COVID-19. And for many, it’s exposing cracks in their planning.

Enabling remote working is not a new thing; it’s a concept companies have grown with as they utilise technology to scale globally. But never has working from home been so robustly tested as it is right now.

Many organisations have adapted successfully as remote working has moved to an absolute necessity, but others are faring less well and it’s posing big problems for them. After all, how can a business react to the crisis if the staff it relies upon to keep things going are not equipped to carry on working?

It’s never too late to improve and technologies like the cloud make it possible to do so. But whether thriving or failing with remote working, there are three questions every leader should be asking themselves right now:

Question 1: How successful is your remote working strategy proving so far?

Success doesn’t mean perfection, but it does mean a content workforce doing the right work, at the right time, without wasting time or adding unnecessary cost to the business.

The measure of success or failure of your remote working strategy can’t be based on complaints about team members only having one screen to work on at home, or about kids occasionally interrupting video calls – those are normal distractions and that’s life.

A successful strategy needs to start with evidence of an understanding workforce, one that’s used to a flexible culture and is showing they’re prepared and able to adapt to these changing circumstances.

Success can be measured by teams having access to the tools they need to do their jobs properly and having solutions for their clients as quickly as possible, no matter where they’re logging in from. The ultimate goal is for the workforce to function as smoothly as it did prior to the virus outbreak.

Question 2: What will happen once the crisis subsides?

Strategy up until now would have likely focussed on digital transformation and using technology to help teams do their best work. But a very specific and catastrophic event has happened, and it will rightly make the C-suite nervous it could happen again. The ability to work remotely has shifted from a ‘nice-to-have’ for many, to a ‘must-have’ for almost everyone.

So, building and future-proofing a strategy which enables employees to work seamlessly, without costing or losing the business money, should be a key focus for finance leaders once we’re back to some kind of usual routine.

Leaders also need to prepare for a percentage of their workforce questioning why they need to return to the office. If employees have adapted and thrived through remote working, why should they spend thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours on daily commutes when they can achieve what they need to from home?

It’s essential that finance leaders make sure they’re prepared for the whole host of working-culture questions they’re likely to face on return to the office.

Before COVID-19 drove the need for remote work, there was already a lot of data proving that remote workers deliver productive results to organizations. There has actually been conclusive evidence that employees who spend the bulk of their working hours outside of the office are vastly happier and more productive. 

Recent research from Gallup shows that 43% of workers already work some of the time remotely, and an in-depth study conducted by Gallup in 2017 showed that those workers who spend about three to four days of the week working offsite are substantially more engaged in their jobs than their traditional counterparts who are stuck behind desks all day. The logic behind this productivity boost is actually quite easy to understand; by giving workers more control over their personal lives and permitting them to schedule their lives accordingly, companies are making them happier and more fulfilled. 

Interested in positioning yourself as a top remote candidate? Leverage our tips below. 

Highlight your skills as a remote worker. 

The most successful remote workers possess certain qualities that help them succeed in their unique work situations like self-motivation, communication, autonomy, interpersonal skills, independence. Reflect if you have the below skills and be sure to highlight them within your virtual interview. 

• Self-motivation. When you’re removed from an office – and your boss –you have to be able to motivate yourself to get your work done. Taking the initiative is important. Emphasize a bias toward action in both your cover letter and interview.

• Communication. Individuals who are looking to work remotely, especially for the first time, must be able to provide examples of how they are currently successfully communicating with email, video conference, and online chat programs. Think in advance about how you go above and beyond to ensure clarity and skirt any digital misunderstandings.

• Visibility. Even though you’re not in the office, it’s essential to be visible. Whether that’s taking on new projects, collaborating with different teams and team members, or driving visibility into your work and value it generates for the business. Consider highlighting examples of when you’ve raised your hand in the past to volunteer for an extra responsibility – especially if you’ve done so from a distance.