Category: Management & Leadership

6 Steps to Maximize Your Team’s Effectiveness With a Good Consultant

By Ron Blair, COO
For a time, that viewpoint held some truth: consulting was often a euphemism for unemployed. Today, consulting is an increasingly viable and attractive option for talented and energetic professionals, so hiring an independent project consultant is no longer a distant second choice to hiring a conventional CPA or specialty consulting firm. Borrowing from a sardonic cliché, the prevailing theory toward consultants used to be, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, consult.”

In fact, the abundance of qualified consultants presents a new dilemma: How do I choose the right person for the job, and how do I optimize the contributions of this critical human resource? The following six steps will help you sort through the various actions you should take to ensure that your experience with your consultant — from beginning to end — is positive and productive.

Step 1: Plan Before You Shop

Before you talk to a single potential consultant, take the time to thoroughly understand the requirements of your project. First, consider the nature of the project:

  • Are you looking for an extra hand during a peak period, such as audit or tax preparation, SEC reporting, budgeting season, or the end of a fiscal cycle?
  • Do you need a consultant because of limited staff resources, the lack of subject matter expertise among your staff, or the recent loss of a key team member or executive? Next, examine the required logistics and resources:
  • What is your estimated budget for this project?
  • How many consultants do you need for this project? Who on your staff will be working with the consultant(s)?
  • What is your project’s estimated time to completion? Do you need a part-time or full-time consultant to meet this deadline?

Step 2: Tap the Stream for Candidates

Since 2003, the demand for experienced executives and professionals, particularly in the financial arena, has exploded. Here are a few suggestions for how you can find a reliable and effective consultant:

Former employees — Recently retired or laid-off employees know your company culture and the key players, so they have a much shorter learning curve than other consultants. Obviously, there can be challenges in bringing back former employees; but if you can work it out, this can be an excellent way to fill your need.

Conventional consulting firms — You’ll have the advantage of an established firm with the backing of expert managers and partners, but unless you’re a major client, you’ll probably get the firm’s more junior (and less experienced) consultants. This is also a typically more expensive approach than other options.

Independent contractors — Referral is the best way to find a competent and trustworthy independent contractor for your project since these professionals typically do little or no marketing. It is also difficult to verify the capabilities of an independent contractor without talking with someone who has used his or her services.

Temporary staffing agencies — Although this is a less-expensive option, temp agencies often have trouble attracting the best consultants. Caveat emptor certainly applies here.

Project consulting firms — This approach helps to eliminate the potentially negative characteristics of conventional firms, temp agencies and independent consultants, while retaining their best qualities. Businesses like these are a new breed of professional services firms.

With a large client base, firms are able to attract and retain experienced professionals who are not interested in being perceived as temps, but also do not want the pressure of client development and marketing that independent contractors face.

As former executives and top-level employees in leading firms and Fortune 500 companies, these men and women have the technical expertise, industry experience and communication skills to seamlessly integrate into client teams and lead the way to project success.

Step 3: Make the Cut

After you’ve found a few qualified candidates to fill your consultancy position, hone in on the specific expertise and experience you need for your particular project:

Industry experience — How much does the candidate know about your specific industry, especially as it relates to the project at hand? How important is industry- specific knowledge for the successful completion of this particular project?

Functional skills — What are the functional (technical) skills this candidate absolutely must possess in order to add value to your team and project? What functional skills would be a nice asset, but are not an absolute requirement?

Step 4: Prepare for Your New Team Member

Nothing makes a staff more jittery than when a new face suddenly appears on the scene — and more so if that person seems to have a hotline to the boss and the power of persuasion. Therefore, it is extremely important that you discuss the impending arrival and role of the new consultant before his or her first day in your office. Here are a few issues to cover with your staff:

Team membership and roles — Anyone who will work with the consultant should be involved in discussions about the consultant’s responsibilities and key objectives. People get nervous when they believe they’ve been left out of the loop.

Supervision — Clearly define the consultant’s reporting structure, which will help to nip hurt feelings, power plays and confusion in the bud. Remember that the higher the level of person to whom the consultant directly reports, the greater the empowerment of the consultant in the eyes of your staff. This key decision can move the project along by eliminating internal tensions and turf battles.

Job responsibilities — Clearly defining the consultant’s job responsibilities can reduce the sense of threat your staff members may feel. When they know the limited scope and duration of your consultant’s activities, they are less likely to go into self-preservation mode. In addition, you will save precious time and hassle if you prepare your consultant’s workspace and take care of employment logistics (security, parking, computer login and so forth) before he or she arrives.

Step 5: Start off on the Right Foot

On your consultant’s first day, devote a block of time to ease his or her transition into your organization. During this kickoff meeting, cover the following issues:

Introductions — Make sure the consultant meets everyone on your staff and other key people in your organization. Explain each person’s role and responsibilities within the project (if any), as well as the level of access the consultant will have to that person.

Company overview — Discuss pertinent company policies and procedures, including hours of operation, dress code, reporting structure and so forth.

Role review — Reiterate with the consultant his or her responsibilities for the project, key objectives and resources, such as information, computer/data access, people and so forth.

Communication plan — Clearly define your expectations regarding project status reports, meetings, and the level of feedback you require.

Step 6: Follow-Through for Success

How a project concludes is the key measure of its overall success. Projects that have a true impact on your organization have a way of changing the landscape. Therefore, it is crucial that you ensure the success of the project by minimizing resistance and keeping people focused on the desired outcome. Here are a few ways you can ensure — from the beginning — that you’ll reach your project goal:

Lead by example — You may be tired of hearing this, but a leader’s impact on team dynamics is undeniable. Your team is watching you at all times, taking cues from your commitment, enthusiasm and drive toward your goal.

Communicate constantly — Your team needs feedback from you on a regular basis to know that what they are doing is on track and contributing to the project goals. When you see that changes brought about through the project may negatively affect some of your employees’ job roles or responsibilities, acknowledge this fact and communicate it immediately to your entire team. This practice disbands the rumor mill before it even has a chance to form.

Reinforce your project’s purpose and benefits — Occasionally go back to your purpose statement for your project and review this with your team. Remind everyone of the benefits of the project.

Generate involvement — Make sure that everyone on the team has a meaningful role to play so that they will feel invested in the project and its successful outcome. Leaving out employees who should really be part of the team can cause frustration or fear.

Manage resistance — Prepare for resistance — or even all-out sabotage. Plan ahead for your response to potential areas of resistance, and remember that some resistance is perfectly normal. It just needs to be managed. Often, the difference between success and failure when working with a consultant comes down to simple planning and preparation. When you choose the right person for the job, set up your staff and consultant for success and follow- through with integrity and strong leadership, you’re on your way to positive growth and development for your organization.

Ron Blair is COO of Century Group, a firm that specializes in providing senior finance and accounting professionals to middle market, Fortune 500 and Global 1000 clients for project engagements and interim roles.

 

Everything You Need To Know About the Salary and Criminal History Bans

It’s a new year. And for California employers, that means one — well two — new things to consider: laws AB168 and AB1008.

Effective Jan. 1, the salary history ban outlaws employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. While the criminal history ban (also known as “Ban the Box”) prohibits companies from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history on employment applications or before making them a conditional job offer.

From a candidate’s perspective, these are a welcome changes in the hiring process. For employers and staffing firms, it’s a new way of doing business. Century Group’s Managing Director of Human Resources and General Counsel, Francesca Brooks, helps break down both laws, and provides best practices moving forward.

THE LAWS

Salary History Ban
The California Labor Code now provides section 432.3, which restricts employers from seeking applicants’ prior salary information. The bill bans recruiters and employers from asking candidates verbally, in writing or through searches or an agent.

On request, candidates should be given a pay scale for the position sought — whether it’s by a specific wage, salary level or compensation formula. “If they voluntarily disclose to you — without any prompting — how much they’re making, you can use that information,” Brooks explains. “Once we or an employer has that amount, we can use it to make a decision of what we’re going to pay.”

Criminal History Ban
AB1008 is a new section added to the Fair Employment and Housing Act, which prohibits discriminatory employment practices. The law renders it illegal for employers to inquire about an applicant’s criminal history on employment applications. It also requires employers to delay background checks on candidates until a conditional employment offer has been made.

When rescinding a conditional offer, employers need to ensure it’s not based “solely or in part” on the candidate’s conviction history. “They have to justify denying the application. It has to be relevant,” Brooks says. “In our case, what would be relevant for people in accounting is embezzlement. If someone has a DUI, it’s not going to be as relevant.”

If the employer chooses to move ahead with the withdrawal, they must notify the applicant in writing.  Five business days should be allotted for the candidate to appeal the decision before filling the position. But Brooks notes that this isn’t necessarily the case for staffing firms that take on consultants as their employees to complete key roles and interim projects.

“If it’s a temporary position, we can go ahead and fill the position while we’re considering whether or not to bring the temp on as our employee,” she says. “We don’t have to wait five days because that’s not specifically the position they’re interviewing for. They’re applying to join our talent pool.”

WHAT IT MEANS

Salary History Ban
When it comes to the goal behind both laws, there’s no question about it: they fall heavily on the employee-side of the spectrum. Demographics, such as women and minorities, who have historically been underpaid for positions can expect their salaries to meet those of their professional counterparts working in the same role. It’s a way to bridge the wage gap, so to speak.

But for employers and staffing firms, the approach to properly placing applicants in suitable positions is less clean-cut. Instead of viewing this is as a challenge, Brooks suggests professionals use this to ensure their candidates are seeking a fair wage and clients are maintaining compliance with the law.

Criminal History Ban
This is another measure created to help counter bias and discrimination within the hiring process. Many employers automatically reject applicants with a conviction history — eliminating qualified candidates without giving them an opportunity to prove their worth. Banning the box on employment applications gives applicants that chance.

“Employers have access to a talent pool they may not have considered before,” Brooks says. “It also helps qualified candidates out there who are self-selecting.”

BEST PRACTICES

Salary History Ban

  1. Develop a script. “Have some kind of script where you tell the candidate, ‘I’m not asking you for your salary history or what you’re making right now. I’m only asking what your expectations are,'” Brooks says.
  2. If the candidate — without any prompting — voluntarily discloses their salary, establish a process where you document the circumstances of the disclosure.
  3. If the candidate discloses their salary information and it benefits them, you should also note you received authorization from the candidate to disclose this information to the employer.

Criminal History Ban

  1. Implement training with your human resources department detailing legal interview questions for candidates.
  2. Don’t inquire into a candidate’s criminal history, verbally or on the employment application.
  3. A conditional job offer cannot be denied solely on the part of the applicant’s conviction history, unless the employer is able to link the offer withdrawal to specific job duties required of the position. Employers must also notify the candidate of their decision in writing, and explain they have five business days to respond and/or submit evidence in their defense.

Are you a candidate or client seeking assistance with your search? Century Group’s team of placement experts is equipped to help find your next hire or career move. Contact us today.

Q4 Employment Report

U.S. private employers continued to add jobs in September, with an additional 156,000 nonfarm jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 151,000 private sector jobs according to the ADP National Employment Report. Professional and business services, which includes accounting and finance roles, was far and away the fastest growing sector of the employment market.

72 Consecutive Months of Job Creation

Although it was less than the 170,000 jobs expected by economists, September’s report marks the 72nd consecutive month – or six full years – of job creation. Job growth averaged 192,000 over the third quarter, which closely mirrored the first quarter’s pace and was up from the 146,000 average in the second quarter. Sustaining this level of growth will deliver enough jobs to keep up with the growing population.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index also increased in September, suggesting moderate job growth through the first quarter of 2017. “Despite the recent decline in corporate profits, employers are not showing any signs of reducing payrolls,” said Gad Levanon, the Conference Board’s Chief Economist for North America.

Moreover, jobless claims fell to the second lowest level since 1970, just above the four-decade low in April. This marks 83 straight weeks that the filings have been below 300,000, which is not only the longest streak since 1970, but an indication of a healthy labor market.

September 2016 Jobs Report

The War For Talent

While job gains have slowed from 2015, they were robust enough to entice many Americans to look for work when they had previously been discouraged to do so. The labor force has increased by 3 million workers over the past year and nationwide unemployment has remained at or just below 5% – an eight-year low. More importantly, unemployment in Los Angeles is 4.6% and 2.5% among those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

The labor-force participation rate came in at 62.9% – mostly due to the retirement of many baby boomers – but more workers are rejoining the labor market, and the number of temporary employees has increased by more than 65% since the end of 2009 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

September was no different, with temporary and contract employment expanded by an additional 23,200 jobs, taking the Temporary Penetration Rate to near all-time highs. A recent workplace survey by the Addison Group revealed that 94% of hiring managers were more willing to hire contract workers today than they were five years ago – 88% for senior-level roles – and 46% have used contract workers to fill their project and staffing needs in the past year. The survey also showed that these on-demand opportunities will continue, especially as the competition for skilled workers increases as the labor market continues to tighten.

Employment and Compensation are Driving the Economy

Companies facing increased pressure to fill positions faster as they compete for skilled accounting and finance professionals has had a positive effect on wage growth. For the general population, wage growth was previously stuck at around 2% and increased to 2.6% over the last year, outpacing inflation.

That said, the unemployment rate for accounting and finance professionals is half of the national and regional unemployment rates, and the increases in compensation have been more dramatic, with research from the Association for Finance Professionals reporting average salary increases of 4.6% in the past year. Dallas-based compensation consultant Dindy Robinson noted that top performers are seeing salary increases of up to 10%.

The good news is that the healthy job market has improved consumer spending and is driving economic growth amidst low productivity. Deutsche Bank’s Chief US Economist Joseph La Vorgna told Business Insider that “GDP growth in the ongoing cycle has been entirely supported by labor market gains.”

All Signs Point To… An Improving Economy

If the recent months are any indication, the economy is on a major upswing. As of mid-July, unemployment applications hit the lowest number since 1973. New unemployment claims have come in under 300,000 since February – the longest run in 15 years – and the end of the second quarter revealed the lowest unemployment rate since April 2008. The Consumer Department also reported good news halfway through the second quarter – consumer purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, showed the biggest gain since August 2009.

 Labor Department Jobless Claims

Highlights from the Labor Department

  • The overall unemployment rate decreased to 5.3%.
  • The unemployment rate for individuals with a Bachelor’s degree or higher decreased to 2.5%.
  • The share of people out of work for 27 weeks or longer decreased to 25.8%, the lowest since March 2009.
  • The underemployment rate decreased to 10.5%, the lowest since July 2008.
  • The number of Americans working part-time for economic (rather than personal) reasons decreased to 6.5 million, the fewest since 2008.
  • California had the largest increase in employment from the prior year (+461,900 jobs), nearly twice that of the next-largest increase (Texas).
  • California also had the second-largest increase in employment from the prior month (+23,000 jobs), only slightly lower than the largest increase (New York).
Unemployment Projections

Projections show this decline in unemployment continuing
through the end of the year, reaching 5.0% by January 2016.

Professional and business services – which includes accounting, finance, audit and tax roles – topped the list of job gains for June 2015, accounting for 64,000 of the 223,000 total private sector jobs added. Plus, according to CareerBuilder’s Midyear U.S. Job Forecast, the number of employers planning to hire both full-time, permanent staff and temporary/contract workers have improved from this time last year. This report shows that nearly half of these employers expect to increase starting salaries over the next year, with 1 in 6 showing an increase by 5 percent or more.

CareerBuilder also reported the hot areas for hiring – those industries expected to outperform the national average for full-time, permanent hiring in the third and fourth quarter. They include information technology, health care, hospitality, financial services, manufacturing and retail.

Bolstering this optimistic picture, the 2015 KPMG CEO Outlook Study reported that 52% of CEOs are more confident about company growth in the next three years than they were last year. Moreover, the report showed that 78% are expecting to hire more people over the next three years as well.

A Welcome Message from our new Managing Director

As a lifelong Angelino, I take pride in a career that has helped shape local professionals’ finance and accounting careers and impacted local organizations. I have spent the past 20+ years working closely with the companies and people in Los Angeles and Orange County. That’s why I am excited to be the new Managing Director for Century Group’s San Fernando Valley Office, servicing the markets where I was born and raised, as well as where I now reside, at a company with such strong roots in the Southern California area. Phil Bruno

Combining my two decades in local staffing and recruiting with Century Group’s unprecedented reputation in our field provides the perfect backdrop to providing exceptional resources to Accounting, Finance, Tax and Audit professionals and organizations that need top expertise.

I look forward to meeting and partnering with many of you in the coming months. Please contact me to introduce yourself or with a position inquiry at any time. I can be reached at 818.844.1105 or [email protected].

Phil Bruno
Managing Director

FAST FACTS: Latest Statistics on Employment and Economic Trends

A healthier job market helped spark the biggest gain in Americans’ confidence in almost a year, raising prospects for the economy at the start of fourth quarter.

For accounting and finance professionals, the current trends point to tightening professional labor markets with extremely low unemployment rates (less than 1% in some professional categories) and increasing compensation.

There were 4.8 million job openings on the last business day of August, up from 4.6 million in July and the highest level of job openings since January 2001, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate continued to decline, and more importantly, it was for the right reason. If both the unemployment and labor-force participation rates fall concurrently, it means the drop in unemployment was the result of job seekers dropping out of the talent pool and simply giving up.

The good news – that’s not what’s happening. In September, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to 5.9%. That’s the lowest since July 2008. The labor participation rate also dipped but by a smaller amount: 0.1% to 62.7%. Essentially, there’s a very positive reason for a part of the drop in the unemployment rate – more people are finding jobs!

Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted)
Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted)

Hiring is picking up. Century Group is currently engaged on 498 searches and projects for accounting, finance, internal audit and tax professionals. The volume of search activity is equivalent to the pre-recessionary years of 2006 and 2007.

Perhaps more importantly for the accounting and finance professionals that we work with daily, the unemployment rate for individuals with a bachelors degree or higher dropped to 2.9% in September.

 Unemployment Rate – Bachelors Degree or Higher
Unemployment Rate – Bachelors Degree or Higher

At the same time, Professional and Business Services led the way in job increases, posting 81,000 job gains in September.

Job Gains

Job Gains

Temp Penetration Rate

Likewise, the temp penetration rate climbed 0.01% to a new all-time high of 2.10%, as temporary help services added 19,700 jobs in August. That’s important, because temporary employment is seen as a leading indicator for employment, with temporary staffing trends leading employment by six months during periods of economic growth (and three months when the economy is emerging from a recession)

Temporary Help Services Jobs (000s), seasonally adjusted)

Demand for temporary workers grew 8.6% through September 2014 and is expected to increase 8.7% in Q4 2014 which would be the 19th consecutive quarter of increases (year-to-year).

Year-Over-Year Growth in Temp Jobs, seasonally adjusted

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Staffing Industry Analysts and American Staffing Association

Finance Staffers Earn Larger Pay Increases

CFOs earned a 2.8 percent rise in base pay in 2013, but gave staff-level finance personnel an increase of more than 4 percent.

Corporate finance professionals at all job levels received pay increases in 2013, but staff-level employees earned the greatest hikes in pay, according to a new report by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).

Overall, financial professionals reported a 3.8 percent average gain in their base salaries in 2013, after garnering a 3.4 percent raise in 2012: staff-level finance employees earned the greatest increase — 4.1 percent — while management-level personnel received an average increase of 4 percent and executive-level employees an average raise of 3.5 percent.

The staff-level increase was up a full percentage point on 2012′s rise, the AFP survey found. “Analyst” titles earned the biggest salary increases, averaging 4.8 percent. Among management-level professionals, the “financial reporting specialist” title saw the highest salary increase — 5 percent. The 3.5 percent salary hike for executives, meanwhile, was down 0.3 percentage points from 2012, but still higher than was reported in the three years prior to 2012, the AFP said.

Finance-Salaries-Rising-2014-base-pay_chartbuilder-1024x397

 

Directors of treasury/finance did the best in the “executive” category, earning base salary increases of 4.6 percent, followed closely by vice presidents of finance (4.4 percent). For chief financial officers, the average base salary increased just 2.8 percent, to $201,271 from $195,811. However, CFOs, like other executives, earned a substantial amount of pay in bonuses. Of all three job tiers, executive-level financial professionals received the largest average bonuses in 2013 — both in terms of total dollars and as a percentage of base salary, the AFP survey found.

However, the numbers showed no increase over 2012 or 2011. The average bonus for executive-level professionals in 2013 was $54,632, or 34 percent of base salary, about the same as in 2012. CFOs earned an average $76,620 in bonuses in 2013.

At the management and staff levels, bonuses were smaller — $16,357 (17 percent of base salary) for management and $5,874 (10 percent of base salary) for staff. For the most part, companies based performance bonuses on traditional measures, at least in part: 62 percent used operating income or EBITDA targets; 51 percent “completion of specific projects”; 48 percent “profit or increased profit” targets; and 34 percent “sales or increased revenue” targets.

Holding an MBA or graduate degree earned financial professionals at all levels a premium salary. This was particularly true at the management level, where managers with an MBA or graduate degree earned on average $15,000 more than their peers who did not hold advanced degrees.

The AFP compensation survey was conducted in February 2014 and had 4,300 respondents at more than 2,800 companies. About half the companies had revenue of more than $1 billion, and 22 percent had revenue of less than $100 million.

Originally posted on www.CFO.com – by Vincent Ryan | June 2, 2014 | CFO.com | US

How to Structure Your Staff for Success

 

Interim & Temporary Staffing Employment Up 6.8% from a Year Ago Employment data released in April by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the staffing industry added 55,100 new jobs (up 2.2%) from February to March of this year. From March 2012 to March 2013, the number of staffing employees increased by 6.8%.

Overall employment growth was mostly driven by new job creation in professional and business services (+51,000) and health care (+23,000) with job losses focused in retail (-4,000) and government (-12,000).

Interestingly, a staggering 40% of employment growth in professional and business services was driven by new jobs created in the interim and temporary staffing industry.

“It continues to be a very strong employment market for Accounting and Finance professionals – CPAs and MBAs – with strong experience in public accounting and Fortune 1000 companies,” says Ron Blair, Managing Director of Century Group Professionals.

“The shortage of qualified Accounting, Finance, Tax and Audit professionals has many clients asking us for help executing interim roles and completing key projects.”

The overall U.S. unemployment rate edged down from 7.7% in February to 7.6% in March

Investment Bankers Spend Their Recession

So How Should an Investment Banker Spend Their Recession?

There was a time when investment banking was a career path representing prestige and respect. After the effects of 2001 with the tech bubble bursting and the tragic impact of 9/11 we believed the worst had happened for the industry. In the years that followed we continued to build careers with the expectation of continued prosperity until this current credit crisis, after which we are now questioning what’s next. The immediate thought is to just get another job, easy enough. Another option would be to take some time off and ride out the storm. Although that sounds ideal, is it really a viable option? With the demise of the most highly respected investment banks in 2008, what can we expect for 2009? The media has prepared us for the worst predicting no jobs in investment banking for the foreseeable future. With all the negative press and talk of a severe recession what lies ahead for most bankers? The good news is that you have options.

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Professional Recruiters Help Companies Fill Key Roles In Contingency Situations

Leadership transitions are a natural part of the business cycle. However, when high-level vacancies are unexpected, companies can be left scrambling to react.

Leadership transitions are a natural part of the business cycle. However, when high-level vacancies are unexpected, companies can be left scrambling to react.

For instance, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Intel CEO Paul Otellini has announced his impending retirement. This move came as a surprise, as the 62-year-old had been expected to retain his position until he reached age 65, at which point retirement would be mandatory under the company’s rules.

In a press release, an Intel spokesman stated that “the decision was entirely Paul’s,” and that the company’s board “accepted his decision with regret.”

The forced leadership transition comes at a critical moment for Intel, with rising sales of smartphones and tablets leading to reduced demand for the PC chips that make up the core of the company’s business. Although the chip-maker has been positioning itself to compete more effectively in the shifting market, it will continue to face significant competitive pressure on price and performance as it seeks to adapt.

The Journal suggests that Intel has historically shown a strong preference for promoting experienced internal talent to top leadership positions, with all five of the company’s chief executives having been promoted from within the company. However, Otellini’s presumed heir, Sean Maloney, has announced plans to retire after suffering a stroke.

The company is now reportedly looking at a number of candidates to replace its outgoing CEO, including professionals from both in and outside of the business.

Whether a company finds itself in a contingency situation due to an unexpected departure or is looking to find a long-term replacement for a sitting corporate officer, recruitment firms can aid in the conduct of a fast, effective executive or financial professional search.