Why Attracting and Retaining Top Treasury Talent Takes a Lot More than Money

As demand for flexible working grows and skill sets change, organisations are struggling to attract and retain treasury talent. Here, in the first of this two-part series, experts in treasury recruitment and executive coaching discuss the much-changed recruitment and retention landscape, offering advice on how corporates can win over candidates in an increasingly competitive market. And, no, more money isn’t always the answer. In fact, charity work might be even more valuable and effective.

The workplace is changing, and companies that fail to evolve their employee policies in line with new and emerging models risk losing key staff, perhaps to competitors. So, what can be done to retain the best? 

With more than two decades’ experience in coaching senior leaders and executives, Geraldine Gallacher, Founder and CEO, The Executive Coaching Consultancy (ECC) has seen and engaged with many major changes in the concerns and priorities of senior leaders and executives over the years. She is clear that organisations have indeed entered yet another period of upheaval, one with significant implications for their recruitment and career development policies.

One of the major outcomes of the global lockdown periods during the Covid-19 pandemic was the move to home-working, followed by increased employee expectations to work around a home/office hybrid. Gallacher, who has a coaching team of 90-strong globally, notes now that “employees themselves know very well that they can be productive working from home, I don’t think organisations can put that particular genie back in the bottle. Not all company policies agree.

“The problem with mandating a three-day-in-office week is that it flies in the face of the recent trend towards giving managers autonomy to work with their teams to achieve their objectives. Personally, I think the march back to the office is anachronistic and we need to start now to think about how to use all those empty offices creatively.” She also finds new ways to engage the team.

Gallacher has always attached great importance to ECC practising what its coaches preach to senior leaders and executives. For its part, the consultancy has started organising pro bono work with a local charity to make best use of the team’s quieter days.

“We provide workshops to assist Fight Forward, a very inspiring charity set up to support survivors of domestic abuse, for example. I mention this because it highlights another important way to attract and retain staff, particularly employees from the generation coming through now.

“Humans are instinctually social beings with a predisposition to community – and that needs to be recognised much more by organisations. We get a dopamine hit when contributing to something larger than ourselves. Jointly engaging in activities that help others will prove far more motivating to those who are already well paid than more money.”

Listen, learn, retain

By moving away from a purely incentives-driven approach, Gallacher believes organisations can open themselves up to more effective ways of retaining talent and building strong teams.

“Ensuring everyone understands what they are uniquely good at, creating an environment where they get to play to those strengths as well as understand and appreciate what others are good at builds team loyalty. At ECC we focus a lot on ensuring there’s psychological safety to enable people to challenge others without fear of retribution – it really does help to ensure good team performance. When people feel understood and listened to, that bonds the team.”

When employees feel part of an organisation, they are much more likely to want to see it succeed and remain a part of that success. Indeed, Tony Bond, EVP of workplace culture specialist, Great Place to Work, has written that a sense of belonging in the workplace drives performance, innovation, and retention, noting that management commitment is a key part of encouraging belonging.

It’s an important factor. Employees who feel well supported by their line manager are 3.4 times more likely to feel engaged at work, as evidenced by a study of 50,000 employees by Inpulse^[1]. It found that 81% of those who felt trusted by their line managers were engaged, compared to just 28% of employees who didn’t.

The report further demonstrated that employees feeling trusted and supported had the “greatest impact” on how engaged people were at work. A vital part of building trust is honest communication.

“Of course, we can all benefit from learning to listen better,” says Gallacher. “You have to make sure team members have good self-awareness and understand that it’s OK to give and receive direct feedback as this dramatically improves performance.

“Women, in particular, prize the opportunity to receive feedback and learn new skills. That needs to be recognised much more by organisations – there is a reason why sales of self-help books are significantly skewed to young women. Harness that predilection for self-development we all have and companies are far more likely to have motivated and engaged teams.”

Education for all

There’s no denying that attracting and retaining top treasury talent is becoming increasingly challenging. The task is being made yet more difficult by the changing role of treasury as it continues to evolve into a more strategic function, which in turn requires new skills.

As a specialist whose presence spans the US, UK and Europe, The Treasury Recruitment Company (TTRC) is well placed to comment on the current talent challenges. Craig Perkins, Head of UK Recruitment, TTRC, says that in the UK, the treasury market is currently experiencing “a unique dynamic” where the quantity of opportunities outstrips available talent, with London seeing significantly higher demand due to a greater concentration of head-office finance teams.

Perkins also says that in the UK treasury field, while there is increasing demand for professionals with accounting qualifications such as ACCA and CIMA, not all qualified individuals aspire to treasury accounting roles, preferring operational aspects instead. “This shift in career preferences is hitting treasury-specific recruitment as candidates seek roles that offer a broader remit. Organisations must adapt to these changes by recognising and accommodating the evolving aspirations of treasury professionals,” he advises.

As a result of these shifts, companies have to offer more than just competitive salaries in order to win and retain top talent. Echoing Gallagher, he too notes that in the UK, hybrid working models are, where appropriate, “highly desirable, with many professionals having already adjusted their lifestyles around remote work capabilities”. But he adds that “we are also seeing support for professional development, such as study support, is an increasingly critical factor”.

He continues: “Irrespective of the level of expertise or experience brought to the job, companies need to recognise the value of continuing education and training in retaining staff,” he states. The ability of companies to adapt their offerings to these changing needs will, he states, “be key to their success in attracting and retaining the best talent”.

Unintended consequences of change

Meanwhile, the push to make treasury a more involved and strategic function, while fulfilling the needs of some professionals, has the unintended consequence of creating a new recruitment issue. In mainland Europe, Katie Hardie, Executive Consultant, TTRC, is seeing treasury talent shortages being driven primarily by “quite a pronounced mismatch” in demand and supply, at analyst and manager levels. She believes the European treasury market is indeed witnessing a “significant shift” from operational to strategic roles.

She elaborates: “Corporates across Europe now want treasury analysts and managers who are adept at project management and can handle system implementations. When it comes to the quality and level of availability of those high-calibre candidates to fill those roles, it’s really just not there. The evolution in role expectations across Europe has made it challenging to find candidates with the right mix of technical and soft skills.”

But in Europe, as in the UK, attracting and retaining the required level of treasury talent demands that companies meet employee expectations to at least be offered hybrid working models. This flexibility, says Hardie, is key, especially for firms located outside major cities, as it broadens the candidate pool. Alongside salary, it’s clear to Hardie that factors including work-life balance, culture, leadership style, and career development opportunities are playing significant roles in attracting and retaining. This is particularly so at more senior levels, but it is increasingly the case in junior roles where the new skills now being required at this level give the inevitably smaller pool of suitable candidates considerably more bargaining power.

Employers need to pay attention. As Hardie notes: “In Europe, it’s more a case of a minority rather than a majority of people who ask for more than two or three days in the office. Europe has always been slightly further ahead in terms of flexible working than other markets. But if companies do open up, and are flexible with their hybrid working, that attitude will consequently expand the pool of candidates further.”

But senior treasurers have a role to play too, with Hardie foreseeing an increased imperative for treasury leaders “to really be able to lead effectively and upskill their current teams” in order to retain talent.

A stateside slant

As for the US, TTRC is seeing strong demand for operational and mid-level roles, such as senior treasury managers. Mike Richards, Founder and CEO, TTRC, says this robust demand is partly due to treasury professionals themselves seeking roles that offer strategic involvement beyond operational tasks.

Richards says the US market is also experiencing higher turnover at mid-levels, where professionals are looking for career advancement and development opportunities. Regionally, preferences for hybrid work models vary, affecting talent availability and recruitment strategies. In Chicago and Texas, for example, there has been greater emphasis on returning fully to the office, impacting the talent pool available.

In common with the UK and Europe, Richards notes that hybrid working models are proving a key factor in attracting and retaining treasury talent. “US employers that insist on full-time office presence are finding it more challenging to recruit. Companies that offer hybrid roles are more appealing to candidates. We’ve seen clients in New York implementing flexible office days and it has been very well received by their treasury teams.

“Furthermore, professionals are seeking roles that offer clear career progression and personal development opportunities, not just competitive salaries. Effective leadership, which focuses on the development of team members, is seen as increasingly important for retention.”

Upskilling the team

Again echoing Europe and the UK, the skill set in the US treasury market is evolving quickly, with increasing demand for those who embrace technology a key feature. Richards says: “Professionals who can integrate and utilise new financial technologies effectively are highly desired now. While not necessarily requiring deep technical expertise, a strong understanding of how technology can optimise treasury functions is becoming increasingly crucial. This evolution reflects the shifting role of treasury from traditional cash management to a more strategic, tech-savvy focus.”

Treasurers in the US are clearly embracing technology, not necessarily as techie coders, but using it to make jobs more interesting, as well as for strategic decision-making. For many this is a welcome challenge. But as the move towards greater technological prowess among treasurers becomes embedded in employer expectations, so Richards notes that candidates and current incumbents alike are increasingly having to demonstrate “they are out there, front and centre, exploring new technologies like AI, blockchain, and crypto to improve treasury and finance functions”.

Richards also observes that in the US there is a growing emphasis on professional qualifications such as the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) credential. These qualifications are viewed as a commitment to the profession and are also increasingly sought after by employers. “This trend indicates a shift towards a more formal recognition of treasury skills and knowledge, aligning with the evolving requirements of the role. CTP is increasingly a requirement, not just a nice-to-have.”

Going forward, Richards fully expects hybrid working to remain, in general, a standard offer in the US treasury market. He adds: “Salaries are likely to keep rising, but I see career progression and development opportunities playing a more significant role in retention. Leadership quality too is becoming an increasingly pivotal factor, with a focus on leaders who invest in their team’s growth and career advancement. At TTRC we fully expect the demand for treasury roles offering strategic involvement and technology integration to grow in the US, shaping recruitment and retention strategies in the medium to long term.”

Shape of things to come

For ECC’s Gallagher, meanwhile, facing the future means that companies must now consider how they treat employees, from junior to senior because money is no longer the strongest motivator. 

“Of course, I can see that with a treasury team there might be an automatic assumption that financial incentives are the right tool to aid retention, perhaps justifying that on the basis that if an employee saves the company so much money, they should get a percentage of it. I disagree with such an approach. I think one should expect everyone to do their very best for the company. Financial incentives are a lazy and sometimes counterproductive tool, in our view.”

In the treasury space, where professionals expect to be more strategically involved, and be offered the support and tools to be able to achieve their goals, the changes in working practice are beneficial to all. The perils for employers of not paying attention to the needs of their best employees are plain to see.

In the second part of this series, several corporate treasury practitioners will share their insights on keeping teams happy and productive, as well as attracting new talent. Watch this space.