Tag: executive hiring

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Blog Hiring How-To Thought Leadership

Finance Leadership: The Wind in Your Sails During Uncertainty

When the economic weather forecast is stormy with a side of WTAF, companies need a firm hand at the financial helm. Whether your company phase is a startup scull, a mid-size speedboat, or an enterprise-sized ocean liner, unpredictable conditions call for calm, wise navigation. 

At Forshay, we’ve seen a rising tide of demand for strategic and trusted finance leadership—interim CFOs, targeted executive searches, and even executive coaching from CFOs who’ve navigated a few storms of their own. 

In these times, a visionary plan is more inspiring than survival-level strategies. Ask yourself and your team: What are the opportunities in strategic finance hiring that can help your organization not only stay afloat but also chart a bold course forward?

Is Your CFO the Chief Future Officer?

From inflation jitters to tariff uncertainty to IPO hesitations, today’s environment is “a lot” (in both volume of issues and emotional drain). And when market visibility is low, you need someone at the helm capable of steering through the fog. In fact, you could think of your CFO as the Chief Future Officer. Although the role has always been consequential, ask yourself if your leadership team has the right person for your organization right now?

That’s why we’re seeing more clients than ever ask for strategic finance talent. The stakes are too high. Whether gearing up for more funding, in full growth mode, tightening the ship, or preparing for a long-awaited IPO, the right CFO—or fractional CFO—can chart the course with confidence.

The key is a strategic approach to the hiring process, because… 

Hiring mistakes cost. A lot. (We really like to drive that home)

You know this, but we’d be remiss for not covering how hiring the wrong executive isn’t just disruptive for teams; it’s very expensive. Not only do companies lose all of the sunk costs of the hiring process, but what we’ve all seen is how the wrong leader hurts productivity and increases attrition of valuable employees. 

Post-pandemic research from McKinsey found that employee disengagement and attrition could cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million a year in lost productivity.  Over five years, per company, that’s at least $1.1 billion in lost value.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that replacing an employee can cost between 50-60% of their annual salary. Gulp. So what to do? 

Your North Star: A Strategic Finance Hiring Checklist

Before you launch your CFO search, take a pause. Commit to a weekly check-in during the search to avoid drifting off course. Here’s a navigational checklist to help you:

 Pre-Sail Checks:

  • Do a post-mortem on your last finance leader—what worked, what didn’t?
  • Reimagine what this role really needs today and for many tomorrows as that Chief Future Officer
  • Align your hiring team on priorities. Are you all rowing in the same direction? (We see this challenge a lot)

While You’re Navigating the Search:

  • Be transparent with candidates about current realities—investors, pivots, cash flow.
  • Watch the pace: not too fast to miss red flags, not so slow you lose great talent.
  • Think beyond one role: How does this person complement the entire leadership team?

Widen the Aperture to the Bigger Picture:

  • CFOs are making complex decisions daily. That requires support. Consider adding an executive coach—someone who’s sat in that exact seat and can help your current CFO look around corners. (We’ve got this for you)

How to Recruit Your CFO

When it’s time to bring in a CFO, how you search impacts many scorecard measures. We’ve supported companies in the range of approaches below, tailored to what was right for them (in fact, we just placed the CFO at Kindred Motorworks and they were a joy to work with). 

Here’s a side-by-side look at four common approaches—and how they stack up on key decision factors.

In-house Recruiting Traditional Executive Search Interim Recruiter (Alternative Search) Interim CFO (Try-Before-You-Hire)
Bandwidth & Capacity Risk of your recruiting team being stretched thin A leveraged model for your recruiting team. A leveraged model for your recruiting team. No extra load on your team.
Speed & Opportunity Cost Time is money—and the clock’s ticking. Often 6–12 months (we do tend to go faster) Can move faster with fewer bottlenecks. Hit the ground running while you search.
Cost (Seen & Unseen) Low direct cost, high hidden cost (hello, slow hires). Higher fees with big firms More scalable and tailored to needs. Strategic spending that buys you progress.
Flexibility & Fit Internal teams know the culture but may be limited in range. Some companies may be off-limits (past clients) High adaptability; embedded and agile. No company off limits. Flexibility with a side of real-time insight.
Alignment with Business Needs Deep context, but less market perspective. Depends on how well the firm “gets” you. Close collaboration = better alignment. Learn what you actually need by observing in action.
Consistency & Focus Depends on internal politics and staffing. Varies by firm — some firms juggle many clients. Dedicated attention to your search. Focused leadership, immediate impact.
Business Continuity Risk of a leadership gap. Risk of a leadership gap. Risk of a leadership gap. No gaps. Just momentum.

 

 

Interim CFOs: Flexibility for a Win-Win Strategy

If no one is CFOing during the CFO search, the limbo can “cost” the company in several unexpected ways. Pressure to fill the role may lead to choosing a less-than-ideal candidate. Teams (and KPI’s) drift. 

How can you adapt your search strategy to cover this risk? 

The good news is your company doesn’t have to experience the inevitable drift and downtime while searching for a new CFO. What we’re seeing is that an interim CFO for most clients isn’t just a stopgap—it’s a strategic choice.

Bringing in a seasoned interim CFO allows you to:

  • Adapt quickly: Plug gaps without rushing a long-term hire.
  • Bring in deep expertise: Need M&A experience? Restructuring finesse? Someone who’s actually been through a down round? There’s an interim for that.
  • Maintain momentum: Keep finance moving while you conduct a thoughtful, unhurried search.

Moving Ideas to Action

Take a moment and ask yourself:

Where could your financial leadership use a lift?
What kind of support would unlock the next level of performance for your business?

If your financial strategy or team needs some shoring up, based on our work with clients we’ve seen how strategic finance talent delivers.

Whether you need an interim leader, a fresh key hire, or support for the CFO you already have, we have the perspective and experience to help you.

Reach out today and let’s begin charting your course wisely, together.

 

 

 

Categories
Blog Hiring How-To Thought Leadership

Truth Telling – Pruning Teams is Messy

Do you like to garden, or do you like when someone else helps you with your garden? Or… do you like to smell the flowers and call *that* gardening? (We see many hands raised.) Our CEO Sally appeared on Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ recent podcast, and Luvvie called it “Pulling the Weeds.” 

They had a lively, truth-telling conversation about tending to the garden of teamwork. Building a high-performing team has some similarities to gardening: finding and planting the best flowers that align to your goals, attention to the conditions/culture of soil health, nourishment to keep them growing… and a little weeding from time to time. The conversation had us smiling at how Forshay is like a gardening partner who supports you in any area of team growth, including getting into the weeds to build a solid foundation for teams to flourish. 

2023 Was Worse for P&Ls Than Covid’s Arrival

No breaking news here that last year was *the worst* for many leaders running their P&L. The free-flowing streams of revenue in the economy were tightly turned off, and the question of when the economy/conditions of growth would return was on every CEO’s lips. How much should be pruned so that the limited resources would get us through this drought? 

Luvvie didn’t hold back in revealing just how tricky it was to navigate team transitions in both growth (she wanted to pull the weeds that were in the wrong garden) and when the weather conditions changed in her financial forecast and she could only support a much smaller flower bed. Most CEOs we know don’t reveal the conversations we have with them behind closed Zoom rooms, but Luvvie laid it all out there, and even made us laugh during some pretty manure-y challenges.

Planting the Right Seeds (or Borrowing Some Fully-Formed Flowers!)

Happily, we are seeing a shift in the weather at Forshay. It’s definitely not raining, but the sprinkles of key hires are happening. And the interim, 3-6 month fill-in-your-leadership gap requests are always the first to come in.

What’s missing in your beautiful team garden? When you aren’t sure if you can support the longer-term employee headcount, but you need to keep your team healthy and hitting it’s goals…the interim model is ideal. It’s portable, fully-formed adults jumping in.

We’ve been placing interim CFOs and backfilling Chief People Officers when the garden needs a little rotation. As our most recent client said, “You really took the time to understand our culture, adjusted to our needs and nuances, adapted quickly, and delivered the right candidates.”

We love taking a holistic approach to learning the current state of the market and then sourcing top talent to cultivate a leadership team that will flourish.

Tilling the Soil: Working With What You’ve Got

Even the most vibrant seeds can’t thrive in the wrong soil/structure. An outdated org structure, unclear roles, or inefficient workflows can stifle growth and frustrate your team.

Forshay’s organizational design and job architecture experts are like tilling the soil in your garden. We help you create a clear, fertile foundation with just the right amount of structure, well-defined roles and responsibilities, and modern ways of working that empower your team to do their best work.

Nourishing Your Team: The Power of Learning and Development

High-performing teams are more like prize-winning orchids, roses, or tulips…and less like wildflowers. They need regular watering, nutrients, and shaping. Similarly, your team thrives with ongoing learning and development opportunities to stay sharp and motivated.

Just ask your favorite AI engine what the data are for the ROI on learning and development, and the citations will fill up your screen. We’ve been designing and delivering custom workshops with absolute JOY this year. But if you want to do this part of the gardening yourself, we can also support you in creating customized learning plans using AI. However, you want to nourish your team…we’re here to make it high-quality, effective, and easy.

Thinking of Expanding Your Garden? Let’s Strategize

Regardless of the economic climate, companies need to grow to survive. Just like any gardener with a grand vision, we all need a plan…with a budget that will get approved.

If you’re looking for new ideas, we are evaluating a business idea for a large AI company where their “garden” might expand. They cited the need for “big company consulting services” without the big company consulting fees and asked for management consultant/analysis support. We also seeded their internal leaders’ perspectives with an objective outsider POV to help them decide where to expand.

If you are considering tilling a few more rows, we’ll help you assess the feasibility of expansion plans and develop a roadmap for supporting your ambitious goals.

 

Don’t Overwork The Master Gardener!

The market conditions have been rough, and leaders who have been tending their team gardens (ie, you) have been through some tough, exhausting storms. Forshay is here to partner with you to ensure your garden bears fruit season after season…and that you don’t burn out!

Is it time to add a key leader (interim or direct hire), strengthen your organization’s latest structure, nourish your team with new skills, or strategize for future growth? Reach out – let’s cultivate a bumper crop harvest!