There’s a lot riding on the cash management department at organizations.
From managing cash flow and optimizing liquidity to reconciling bank accounts and making informed investment decisions, cash managers play a big role in an organization’s success.
That’s why it’s critical that organizations take a comprehensive approach to hiring cash managers.
But hiring and retaining top cash management talent is not always easy.
The job market for cash management pros is expected to grow by 17 percent from 2021 to 2031, driven by the growing complexity of the cash management process, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Against that backdrop, it’s no surprise that the most in-demand skills for cash management professionals, according to Indeed, are financial analysis, risk management, and technology.
This article explores proven strategies for identifying the best talent for a cash management position.
How to hire the best cash managers
Finding the right candidate for a cash management position can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Today’s challenging labor market has made it even harder to attract and retain top cash management talent. Here are some tips to help you find the perfect cash management job candidate.
- Clearly define the job requirements. There’s no room for guesswork when it comes to finding the best cash management talent. Before you begin your candidate search, speak with senior management to understand the organization’s short and long-term needs. Using those needs as a guide, spell out the responsibilities of the role, list the desired skills, qualifications, and experience level required for the job, and detail any industry knowledge or certifications that you desire. A well-defined job description will help you attract ideal job candidates.
- Take stock of each candidate’s skills. It takes a tremendous amount of financial acumen and technical knowledge to excel in a cash management position. Assess each candidate’s understanding of investment strategies, cash flow management principles, financial reporting, and risk mitigation techniques. Rate each candidate’s understanding of financial statements, cash flow projections, and financial models. Pose situational questions to gauge their ability to handle real-world scenarios, such as how they would invest surplus funds to generate returns. Ask each candidate about their role in managing relationships with banks and financial institutions. And investigate how candidates keep their skills current.
- Think like an auditor. Investigate each candidate’s experience in helping their organization comply with relevant financial and banking regulations and tax and reporting requirements. Similarly, handling an organization’s cash assets requires a high level of integrity and ethical standards. Only hire candidates that always act in the best interest of the organization.
- Prioritize decision-making. Strong decision-making is a crucial attribute of successful cash managers. One bad decision can cost an organization millions of dollars (or worse!). Look for job candidates who can demonstrate sound judgement, critical thinking, complex problem solving, and an ability to balance risk and reward. Ask references how candidates performed under pressure. And role play to see how candidates would respond to real-world scenarios.
- Use history as a guide. Gauge each candidate’s ability to optimize cash flow, manage liquidity, and drive better financial outcomes by reviewing their experience, roles and responsibilities, and achievements. Prompt candidates to provide data demonstrating their successes. And ask for references for examples of how each candidate excelled in their job.
- Weigh each candidate’s interpersonal skills. From finance and accounting to treasury and operations, the best cash managers collaborate with various departments to understand the organization’s cash flow needs and ensure that cash management strategies align with organizational goals. Evaluate each candidate’s interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships, collaborate across functions, and convey complex financial information. Conduct behavioral interviews to gain deeper insights into a candidate’s work ethic, personality, problem-solving approach, time management skills, and leadership qualities.
- Be prepared for the worst. In these uncertain economic times, cash managers play a big role in identifying potential risks and safeguarding their organization’s assets. Assess each candidate’s ability to spot and mitigate risks associated with transactions, cash holdings, and investments. Explore their process for weighing risks and rewards. And determine whether they have experience in making snap decisions to protect their organization’s financial health.
- Be sure that candidates are technologically savvy. From cash application to cash forecasting, automation is increasingly important to optimizing cash flow. Best-in-class cash management functions are deploying technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation, and predictive analytics to increase efficiency and improve outcomes. Evaluate each candidate’s technological proficiency and their experience in using technology to enhance the cash management function. Investigate the types of financial software, electronic banking platforms, cash application systems, and analytics tools that they have used. Understand their role in evaluating, deploying, and managing different types of technology. And explore their familiarity with the ERP that your organization uses.
Candidates with these attributes will be more likely to succeed in your cash management role.
Hire the best cash management talent
Cash management is critical to the success of any organization. But the best cash managers must have deep financial, industry and regulatory knowledge, an ability to solve complex problems under pressure, strong interpersonal skills, and technology expertise. These attributes will help ensure that job candidates can help your organization manage its cash and achieve long-term financial success.
