The Close with Krumroy: episode three

In this week’s episode of The Charles Aris Podcast, Krumroy shares noteworthy work-from-home trends he’s noticed, specifically in finance:

Read the full transcript:

Welcome to The Close with Krumroy. This is Ryan Krumroy from Charles Aris Executive Search. I want to say thank you for tuning in to this month’s episode. I’ve been with the firm here at Charles Aris since 2006, and I appreciate each and every one of you that I’ve had conversations with in the past, and for those of you that are joining that I’ve never spoken with, I want to say thank you for joining.

I want to discuss something we’ve noticed at Charles Aris that has evolved over the past few years. It’s the work-from-home, remote, hybrid and in-office dynamic that has played out over the last couple of years

At the CFO level, pre-COVID, really all our clients were in the office five days a week at the CFO level. I really never expected in the 17 years that I’ve been with firm that I’d ever see anything other than five days in the office. However, when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, we realized there needed to be an adjustment to that standard, and that did happen.

In 2020, and even in 2021, we saw almost every search we were leading have some level of hybrid component to it. Then, we saw the first-ever fully remote CFO opportunity pop up, where one client said, ‘it doesn’t really matter where this person might be.’

We continued to see a rise in the number of hybrid-related opportunities and really to be fair it became a war for talent. We saw CFOs diminishing in number as many of them retired out of the workforce, and we saw increasing pressure from private equity groups acquiring several different businesses and rolling up family businesses that needed professionalization that created an increase in demand for top-level talent at the CFO level.

This led to a situation in 2022 where top-level talent, true A-players, had options. A disproportionate number of the cards went to CFOs. They had the ability to write their own terms.

However, in 2023, we have seen this return-to-work scenario unfold significantly at the CFO level. Almost all our clients have some level of flexibility that wasn’t present before COVID, where clients understand the need for some work-from-home time or flexibility during the day. While in-office presence is still expected for most of the week, companies are willing to accommodate their CFOs’ needs.

From a personal assessment standpoint, I believe this is a healthy approach. It allows companies to be more competitive and attract stronger talent.

Currently, we have a client with a rigid five-days-in-office mandate, and that has become the longest-standing search we have open in the finance and accounting ranks. It is challenging to attract top-level talent to an organization with such a pre-COVID, in-office requirement.

Moving forward, I project that we will continue to see flexibility regarding in-office presence, with CFOs being expected to be in the office 3-4 days a week. This arrangement may even vary on a weekly basis. I don’t anticipate many clients insisting on a strict five-days-in-office scenario like our current client.

I’ll also mention that as far as the number of true remote opportunities, where they’re allowing for the CFO to be remote five days a week, maybe come in a couple days a month, right now those also are very few. Most roles we’re seeing out there in the marketplace on the CFO front are going to be a hybrid scenario. Just like the five days in office, it’s equally as rare that there is a CFO position that is fully remote.

Folks, as you’re thinking about your next opportunity or you’re thinking about onboarding world-class talent to your organization, I think there’s a reasoned approach to having flexibility with your C-suite executives but also understanding they are there to be a core driver of culture of that business to ensure its financial success.

Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to hearing from you in the future. If you found this discussion interesting, please like and subscribe. Have a fantastic month!

Once again, this is Ryan Krumroy from Charles Aris. Have a great day.