Attracting finance talent is one thing, but attracting the right talent for your company’s needs is another challenge entirely. Many small to mid-sized businesses, especially younger ones, need to take extra caution when investing in more advanced positions. Budgets can be tight, so it’s critical to make the most impactful capital allocation decisions when making a financial hire. In a discussion between AmpliFi co-founders Nick Lipetzky and Jake Chapman, discover which financial positions could make the biggest difference in your organization. Then, read on to find how to find that talent.

Understand what your needs are.

It’s obvious, but we’ll say it anyway: A lot of thought needs to go into your financial hiring. The first thing you’ll want to nail down is how exactly this hire will take your organization to the next level. Does this mean hiring an in-house team? Possibly. But this can be a costly option, especially given the plethora of outsourcing options available in today’s market.

Decide which roles may be right to keep in-house: accounting, forecasting, investing, etc. While these are all important skills for a financial role to fulfill, there are also so many soft skills that really set some apart from the rest. A good leader could be a huge asset to your team and future growth. When it comes to financial hires, the key is finding someone who has just the right balance of financial savvy, intuition and communication skills.

Where will your money make the most impact?

Assess how much bang for your buck you can get with the budget you have for this hire. If your company is still gaining traction, looking into an outsourced CFO option could be just the catalyst you need to sustain healthy growth.

How do you recruit finance roles?

Who has the chops to understand how to not only take existing performance metrics, but the ability to scale up strategically as your business grows? This is a desirable skill, but it’s hard to find—especially when you may not have the capital to invest in a qualified CFO.

Right now, we’re facing a candidate’s market. This will undoubtedly play a role in your hiring process if you’re actively recruiting. Top talent will be drawn to top offers—so if you can’t afford a truly qualified CFO or similar role, you may need to consider other options that are more affordable but just as effective.

Anticipate talent scarcity.

A truly effective CFO should possess the following skills: strong leadership, ability to connect and strengthen company culture, forward-focused finances, reporting chops … the list goes on. You can see why it’s so difficult to recruit, and actually hire, CFOs who have all of these skills. And that’s not to mention the cost or scarcity of someone of this caliber. Many companies will find that it’s too expensive to afford top talent, which is typically hard to come by even in a stable economy.

In our video above, we outline the different options you have when hiring a financial position. It generally comes down to these:

• The “old-school” method of hiring a fully formed in-house finance team
• Working with an hourly contractor on a retainer basis
• Outsourcing a CFO who can scale up and adjust to your needs

The first two options are more expensive—and even worse, they’ll limit your growth. Working with an outsourced CFO gives you access to the top-talent level of CFO we described earlier, with all the tech-enhanced solutions that can give you insight into your company’s performance and forecasts.

Ultimately, it’s up to you as the leader of your organization to decide where your money will make a difference. But if you think you can benefit from a holistic and tailored approach to forward-focused finances, it’s time to reach out to the AmpliFi team.